Last Friday, Condoleeza Rice stated that we still have a racial problem in this country due to a national “birth defect” resulting from slavery. “Black Americans were a founding population. Africans and Europeans came here and founded this country together–Europeans by choice and Africans in chains. That’s not a very pretty reality of our founding,” said the Secretary of State.

Maybe not, but it’s hardly the whole story either. At the time of our founding, slavery was a worldwide institution practiced by virtually every country–and every ethnicity–on the planet. When the Thirteen Colonies decided to form a national government, half the colonies found slavery morally repellant, and half found it economically expedient. Neither side was willing to concede to the other. The formation of the country hung in the balance.

To get an idea how hardened the positions were, substitute the word “abortion” for “slavery.” The same intransigence on both sides, driven by the same moral repellence for some, the same expediency for others. The big difference? The founders had their priorities straight: form a nation first, work out the details later.

How did they pull it off? Those that found slavery morally repellent prevailed in keeping any mention of it out of the Constitution, with the idea that Americans’ better natures would eventually prevail. Those that found it economically expedient—already a numerical minority–were satisfied with counting slaves as three-fifths of a person to balance out proportional representation in Congress.

A perfect solution? Hardly. Historically justified? America was the second nation in history to outlaw slavery. The cost? Over 600,000 died in a Civil War preserving the Union and freeing the slaves. Progress? Since then, the country has moved from a “whites only” mentality to the point where a black women has attained one of the highest offices in the federal government, and a black man is likely the Democratic standard-bearer for president of the United States. In fact, considering such things as affirmative action, quotas and government set-asides, one could make a reasonable argument that we have gone past the point of equilibrium.

If Ms. Rice wants to call that a “birth defect” that is her right–bought and paid for by the historical sacrifices of Americans from every ethnicity and race. And while every country in the world has suffered from the same defect, it was, and continues to be America which has moved heaven and earth to ameliorate its after-effects.

That’s part of our “reality” as well, Ms. Rice. It would be nice if it were included more often in commentaries about race.

atahlert@comcast.net

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