Obama is right.

I hope most of you who read this blog know that some of it is satire, a lot of it is exaggeration, and I try to generate responses both negative and positive. I am over the top at times to make a point. At no point is my aim to offend or misrepresent important issues.  With that disclaimer let me talk about something that pleases me.

Obama recently said he thinks reparations are not the solution to the repercussions of slavery. I am in complete agreement with that.  

Slavery is over. I am not, nor was I ever, responsible for it. The current African American community is not enslaved. Giving them money only encourages a mentality of entitlement and dependency. There have been numerous programs created by the government to 'help' the black community. These programs treat blacks like second-class citizens. The government favors them with welfare policies and school tuition subsidies, because it believes they can't make it without its help. This is America. We believe in the American dream. Anyone can make it big. Just go out and get it. We cannot create balance and equality by reversing the scale. We need to make it even. We all are capable people.

Reparations are not a solution, but would create more problems than they aim to solve. There is no way to quantify the suffering, death, torture, oppression, years of discrimination, or even continuing discrimination by a dollar figure. Furthermore, why should Asian Americans, Indian Americans, Muslims, Hispanics, and Caucasians dole out money to fill the pockets of African Americans who have not experienced slavery, and who are more than capable of making their own way in this country without a handout? There are many peoples who have been discriminated against in America. The Irish, the Italians, the Chinese, and the Jews to name a few, have all been discriminated against. We cannot play favorites, and we cannot expect that money will take away the years of pain and inequality. The apology congress came up with is meaningless.  People  cannot meaningfully apologize for something they themselves have not done, nor can they apologize to people who have not been victims of atrocities. We need not create more victims through apologies and reparations. 

Of course the government was wrong with the Jim Crow laws. People suffered needlessly. But no amount of money, pats on the back, or apologies will fix the hurt. We need to get on with out lives, let the African community live theirs, and give them the expectation that they can do it on their own, like the rest of this country.