Yesterday, the Board of Supervisors of San Diego County voted to formally support reparations bills that could cost California voters up to $800 billion dollars, though only a modest $12 million dollar down payment has been made so far by California’s legislature.
There is no question that slavery is and was evil. America was torn by the question of slavery from our founding, ultimately leading to the Civil War in which more than 620,000 Americans paid with their lives to end slavery.
Saddling millions of working California families with billions of dollars in debt to pay recompense for sins they didn’t commit however, is the definition of two wrongs not making a right.
Considering that California is now 40% Latino, it seems particularly unjust to force this population to pay for the sins of people who lived far away, long ago, and to whom they have no relation.
Supervisor Joel Anderson got it right when he said, “If we wanted to go through our history, there isn’t anybody in the United States that somebody in their history wasn’t discriminated against,” Anderson said, pointing to atrocities committed in California against Native Americans. “I think that if we keep looking to the past, we’ll never get to the future, and I want to focus on how we can improve things moving forward.”
Jim Desmond also took issue with the reparations bills saying, “Anyone getting special treatment based on their skin color…” is wrong. “If we really want to promote our disadvantaged communities we should be focused on education, job training and economic opportunities, instead of bringing each other down with racism.” Desmond said.
In my 45 years, America has never felt farther from racial harmony than it does now. I think many Americans are looking for leaders who can bring the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to life. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
Read more here:
‘Hope for the next generation’: Supervisors to support reparations for Black Californians
John B. Franklin
Mayor of Vista
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” – President Ronald Reagan
