Yet another unpopular opinion....

Once again, I'm going to say something that will be unpopular with most of the people that read it:

No one alive today owes anyone else that is alive today an apology for slavery in Colonial America.


There, I said it. The recent actions of the Virginia State Legislature are ridiculous. Who exactly are they apologizing to? And what exactly are they apologizing for? Apologizing for slavery is like saying that they had some control over it, that those of us alive today bear some responsibility for the actions of people now long dead. Isn't that the whole "Sins of the Father" argument?

Slavery was an atrocity. It is unthinkable to me that one human being could so easily overlook the value of another in order to make money. Sadly, it still occurs in many parts of the world. Children are sold into slavery by their own families on a daily basis. Men and women are forced into slavery by people promising a better life. The people who work to make our clothing and other daily use items are often treated as little other than animals. Where are the heartfelt apologies for these people? Have you stopped buying items that are made by the hands of these people? When you put on a t-shirt, are you sure it wasn't sewn by a child who doesn't even get paid? When you eat an apple, are you sure the person who picked it was paid a fair wage, provided protection under the labor laws and not forced to work fifteen hour days? I'm betting not.

If there are apologies owed, it is to those people in this country and others that are forced to work in substandard conditions for miniscule or no pay so that those of us with money can have the little things in life. The apologies should be coming from the men and women in our government that know these things are happening and do nothing to punish the American companies that make a profit on the backs of the poor.

Before we start apologizing for the things we had no control over, how about fixing the things we can control?