redblueamerica.com

I come here to praise white guilt.

White guilt -- over the sins of slavery and Jim Crow in this country -- does not have the best reputation. Among conservatives, the phrase is used sneeringly; among liberals, it's often used with self-knowing irony. Which is too bad, because I believe that white guilt is actually quite useful.

I've made this argument before, but in the wake of Barack Obama's big speech, it's worth bringing up again.

We are, as citizens of the United States, encouraged to take pride in our country. There are few countries on earth where that's not true. And in fact, there's a lot to be proud of: We gave birth to modern democracy, we've defeated tyrannical nations in combat and we walked on the moon. The list goes on and on, and for good reason: On balance, the United States has been a force for good in history.

But that's not the whole story, of course.

There was, as mentioned before, slavery and Jim Crow. And our treatment of Native Americans. There's stuff to be embarrassed about in the Phillipines, too. Plus a few more examples.

Few Americans want to embrace the "guilt" side of this equation: They didn't kill any American Indians. Fine. But they're good with the "pride" side of things -- even though they didn't walk on the moon, either. A healthy society acknowledges both sides.

Should we go around with our heads hung in shame? Probably not. A sense of balance and proportion is called for.

But if what we call "white guilt" is really just possession of the "tragic sense" -- the realization that our history is not all onward-and-upward towards this, the closest thing to utopia the world will ever see -- then I think we benefit from it. Without it, we become blind to the negative consequences of our actions, focusing relentlessly on our own good intentions and high ideals -- until it's too late.