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Posted on 07/09/2003 12:47:09 PM PDT by Perseverando
The Birth Defect
BreakPoint with Charles Colson
Slavery and Redemption
Yesterday, standing on a spot that was rendered both infamous and hallowed by the slave trade, President Bush called slavery "one of the great crimes of history." But he didn't stop there. He demonstrated that he sees and understands the theme of redemption woven into history: that is, good can come out of the greatest of evils. The president made his remarks on Goree Island off the coast of Senegal. It was from Goree Island that countless thousands of Africans boarded slave ships bound for America.
"At this place," Bush said, "liberty and life were stolen and sold. Human beings were delivered and sorted, and weighed, and branded with the marks of commercial enterprises, and loaded as cargo on a voyage without return."
The effects of slavery weren't limited to the enslaved, however. As the president said, their "captors were corrupted" as well. "Years of unpunished brutality and bullying and rape produced a dullness and hardness of conscience" in those who called themselves "master."
National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice got it exactly right when she said slavery was America's "birth defect." Yet, throughout American history, the president said, "there were men and women who clearly saw this sin and called it by name." In one of history's greatest ironies, "African Americans have upheld the ideals of America by exposing laws and habits contradicting those ideals."
Even more inspiring is the manner in which those who were enslaved, and their descendants, overcame their oppression. The president was right when he told us that their "spirit did not break."
As a result, "by a plan known only to Providence, the stolen sons and daughters of Africa helped to awaken the conscience of America. The very people traded into slavery helped to set America free." Although their ancestors did not ask to play this role, African Americans forced America to live up to her promises and potential.
The president focused on Christianity's crucial role in this chapter of our history. In a story filled with ironies, this indeed may be the greatest. Not only were the leading abolitionists Christians, but slaves adopted the religion of their captors, made it their own, and turned it into an instrument for their emancipation. Bush noted, "In America, enslaved Africans learned the story of the exodus from Egypt and set their own hearts on a promised land of freedom. Enslaved Africans discovered a suffering Savior and found He was more like themselves than their masters."
Of course, it's considered to be the height of political incorrectness to suggest that any good could have come out of slavery—let alone to give credit to the Savior. It's far better to wallow in the status of victim. But not only does that ignore the lessons of history, it also ignores the power of redemption and leaves us powerless in the face of today's crises.
Call us here at BreakPoint (1-877-3-CALLBP), and ask for a copy of the president's magnificent, eloquent speech on Goree Island.
The heart of any good narrative is redemption, and this story is filled with redemption and hope. It's the heart of the story of the Exodus, of the Babylonian captivity, of the cross, and of African slavery. And the reason it's the heart of a good narrative—as the president so well knows—is because it is the heart of the Gospel.
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For further reading and information:
"President Bush Speaks at Goree Island in Senegal," White House Office of the Press Secretary, 8 July 2003.
"Dr. Condoleeza Rice Discusses the President's Trip to Africa," The James S. Brady Briefing Room, White House Office of the Press Secretary, 3 July 2003.
Richard W. Stevenson, "Bush Opens Africa Trip with Denunciation of Slavery," New York Times, 9 July 2003. (Free registration required.)
Dana Milbank, "A Somber Bush Tours Slave Depot," Washington Post, 9 July 2003, A01.
Bill Sammon, "In Senegal, Bush denounces legacy of slavery," Washington Times, 9 July 2003.
Tom Raum, "Bush Condemns U.S. Slavery Past in Africa," Associated Press, 8 July 2003.
Kevin Belmonte, Hero for Humanity: A Biography of William Wilberforce (NavPress, 2002).
"Hero for Humanity" - In this "BreakPoint This Week" special broadcast, managing editor Jim Tonkowich speaks with Kevin Belmonte, a fellow of the Wilberforce Forum and author of Hero for Humanity: A Biography of William Wilberforce. Belmonte discusses the life of William Wilberforce, whose faith led him in his fight against slavery—witnessing its abolition before he died.
BreakPoint Commentary No. 030224, "'Follow the Lord Jesus': Black History Month."
Steven Garber, "Good Books, Bad Books: Windows into the Human Heart," BreakPoint WorldView, January/February 2003.
How many African-Americans truly wish that their family had never left Africa? How many African-Americans would give up their life in the USA to return to Africa?
See? Lots of good came out of Africa. Millions of people were able to grow up somewhere else -- somewhere where they could have a better life, with opportunity and freedom. Shame about the slavery, though.
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Well, a lot did return - that's why there's the terrible mess called "Liberia."
I don't think that's the issue. Of course African Americans are truly American, not African, and never do they realize it more than when they actually go to Africa. (Ditto for those of us of European origins when we visit "the old country" -- whichever one our ancestors came from -- and I'm told it's also the same for Asian-Americans.)
So the point is that African Americans don't wish that their family had stayed in Africa. They would have liked their ancestors to have left Africa, sure, but of their own free will as most of our ancestors did. Sure, most immigrants endured hardships, both in the passage and once they got here. My ancestors came from Ireland during the famine and were despised by the "Native Americans" -- but they were FREE. (My Irish ancestors were also able to retain their religion and cultural traditions, which the slaves were not -- the imported Africans were stripped right down to their names and their knowledge of their heritage -- but that's another story.)
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Exactly! We're all Americans. The race card is being played over and over again by the libs, and it's disgusting!
At the present moment, the issue of reparations is at the lowest interest level it's been in years. Sharpton running for president is about the only thing I can see making it a major policy debate again any time soon. This doesn't mean the issue is dying, but just that right now it's not on people's radars.
Bush is taking this opportunity to take the issue and turn it into something else: on that is uniquely pro-American, but putting it in terms of error and redemption. Because Jesse and the like really don't have people's ears much these days, there is no one around to spin this any other way. The net effect of this would be to create a meme that would propagate and eventually block the next wave of reparations advocacy.
Looking at it more broadly, Bush could very well be doing that to race issues on the whole. It's not going to be long before the primaries start up, and the race drum will be beat hard. This won't stop it, but if he is successful, it could very well blunt its effectiveness.
This could very well be just my absurd theory. But I was wondering exactly why Bush would choose to bring this up now, and this is the best explanation I can come up with. Submitted for your approval.
Sin is just that... sin. To be brutally honest, the slave traders/capturers and those who bought them are two sides of the exact same coin.
It happened. We accept the truth of this, and move forward.
At some point, the finger pointing must cease if we are to ever get where we need to be.
At some point, the finger pointing must cease if we are to ever get where we need to be.
You are so right, and we will move forward together.
Bless you.
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