"I am not sure, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about, in any way, the social and political equality of the white and black races….. I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor of the intermarrying with white people: and I will say, in addition to this, that there is a physical difference between whites and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of political and social equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together, there must be the position of superior and inferior; and I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race."
Abraham Lincoln
Have you ever said or done something you wish you could take back but couldn’t? Have you ever held a position, judgment or posture concerning a person, movement, political, religious or social issue that later proved to be wrong? Can you honestly say that every assessment you believed to be accurate at the time turned out to be absolutely right or irrefutable? Did you know that Hitler and the Nazis used the teachings of Martin Luther on anti-Semitism as a primary source for their prejudice against Jews? Are you aware that the founding fathers of this wonderful country of ours were not as provincial as the history books make them out to be? In fact our revolutionary leaders were quite controversial, radical, liberal for their times and full of contradictions. One of my favorite biblical characters was a murdering adulterer.
When it comes to accountability we're not just responsible for the good we do but also for the bad influences we’ve made on impressionable minds. Sometimes we can go back and clean it up. Unfortunately there are those things that only time and grace can erase.
The next time you feel so passionate about sharing your opinion; stop and think long and hard about whether or not you want that statement to be a part of your legacy. Coming from me that may sound hypocritical especially since I spout opinions weekly in this blog. I’m trying to do better. The truth is that we are all full of contradictions.
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