No Contrition & No...

                         No Contrition & No Forgiveness
America needs to remove the remnant ethics of slavery in the same way Germany needed denazification at the end of WWII. When the horrors the Nazi ethic had imposed on selected peoples was fully revealed, part of the Marshall Plan and the aims of new political regime in Germany were to begin the process of stripping away the ethic of Nazism. They did this both culturally and by writing new laws into their criminal code (called the Strafgesetzbuch, section 86a) that did not permit the displaying of, the promotion of, nor the printing of symbols associated with that Nazi period, including the prime example, the swastika flag. Of course, section 86a did not limit itself to just the swastika but extended to any propaganda involving symbols of regiments, special forces associated with atrocities, and so on.
Contrition has to start somewhere. If the law makers and the cultural backbone of a country remove offensive symbols and portray their sordid past accurately – a learning process can begin devoid of hanger-on propaganda still praising the glory of the old regime. Now all this has happened in a country with a terrible history to overcome, one every single German I know is deeply ashamed of and is, somehow, content to see that history accurately portrayed, if only to show they do not forget and that they have sincere regret. Some call this contrition false, like a hair shirt to prove newfound piety. That has not been my experience. I feel the contrition is both genuine and, because it represents the whole country, its laws and culture, allows for some healing to actually take place and generational change. Healing can lead to forgiveness.
The problem we have here in the USA is that we’ve never, not for one moment, exposed the shameful parts of our history accurately. Unlike the concentration camps, meticulously photographed to provide visual proof for generations to come, the true horrors of slavery are couched in prose or anecdotes all too easily discounted as exaggerated or untrue.
Furthermore, we see the Civil War as a series of hard fought battles between brave men (true), completely side-stepping the moral ethic of the opposing forces and, what’s worse, allowing the adage of “they were only following orders” to portray those fighting to keep slavery intact as innocent of such (now recognized) racial motives. Yet, if you read the edicts of the southern states’ representatives from the moment they allocated 3/5 value to any negro in assessing population proportionality for congressional seat allocation all the way through those who lead, commanded, or were foot soldiers of the southern forces in the Civil War – their adherence to the principles (and therefore brutality) of slavery are crystal clear. They liked slavery and wanted it to continue unabated.
Would we, as any civilized nation, stand for a party in Germany to be reformed with the swastika as its emblem? It’s only a flag. It was only a soldier’s banner. So too with the Confederate flag. Allowing the continuation of the ethic of slavery in any form, visual or rhetoric, discrimination or hate speech, is just wrong, immoral and denigrates all those who died to overturn slavery and rid this country of such base, inhuman behavior. My argument is, therefore, on behalf of those who died in battle, the many, many thousands of Americans, who fought under the Stars & Stripes for freedom for all men and women. Their memory should not be tarnished by allowing the symbol, culture and ethic of that they sought to oppose to continue to be proudly flown, worn or portrayed – especially a flag propagandizing an ethic of slavery.
When that symbol is gone and truthful acceptance of the evil it still represents in the hearts of many is openly acknowledged and taught in schools, then, maybe, we can ask victims to “begin the healing and process of forgiveness.” If, on the other hand, we continue to allow the evil to be promoted as a publicly condoned measure of value, flying anywhere in public view, I strongly suggest that the victims do not forget at all, let alone begin to forgive anyone.