The ongoing Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver got me thinking about this.
I am of the belief that everyone–everyone–should know, understand, and celebrate his/her own ethnic or national background(s). I come from a strong Anglo-Saxon background on my father’s side, and have strong French roots, on my mother’s. I appreciate (read: am proud of) and celebrate them both. (My screen name, Cyningablod [KOO-ning-ah-blohd], means “blood of kings” in Old English/Anglo-Saxon, btw.)
I suppose the “ought” contained in that first opening sentence is debatable in and of itself, but my actual question is this:
Without letting ourselves get bogged down in the peripherally-related but topically-irrelevant issue of racism,
If we are going to celebrate and take pride in our ethnic/national heritages, does that mean we must also “carry the guilt” for our ancestors’ wicked deeds? Is there a kind of logical “carry-over” of sorts, from our respective “bragging points” into the things that we really would prefer not to acknowledge?
Does my pride in the accomplishments and culture of the English people, for example, logically entail that I should also be ashamed of their traditions of imperialism and slaveholding? Is it inconsistent to uphold and praise certain aspects of one’s people/culture, while downplaying or ignoring the negative aspects?
I could provide other illustrations, but you get the idea.
I suppose in the interest of beginning an actual debate, per se, I should take a position. So I’ll argue for the affirmative; I do in fact think that we need to acknowledge and possibly in some way “atone for” our ancestors’ evil behaviours, for two reasons:
First, acknowledging, accepting, and understanding history–allhistory–helps to ensure that the bad parts won’t be repeated; and second, it’s just more intellectually consistent to take the bad with the good.
Have at me!