What Color is America's Original Sin?

I often declare myself to be studiously apolitical, but perhaps I'm really more selectively political. I've certainly posted more political stuff on this blog than I ever thought I would. So why stop now?

In March, Barack Obama made this statement in a speech delivered at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia:

The document (The US Constitution) they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.

In Abraham Lincoln's words, "... our forefathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Whatever his reasons for doing so, Lincoln certainly led the US away from legalized slavery. And in my mind, every step we take in that direction is a good one.

And now our president-elect seeks to bring about an America where slavery's extended family of descendants - racism, discrimination and marginalization directed toward blacks - become as much a thing of the past as their ancestral sin. I sincerely hope he can do so. It belongs to another discussion to talk about whether or not this is possible.

But, it seems to me that the descendants of those who lived on this continent prior to the establishment of "America" might have a different view of "America's original sin." The "old nations" that were on this continent prior to Lincoln's "new nation" might think that America's "original sin" is more along the lines of "culture-cide" and outright genocide. It began the moment Europeans first set foot in the "New World." And it includes Thomas Jefferson's (one of those "forefathers" Lincoln spoke of) deceitful and systematic (and chillingly successful) plan to conquer, subjugate, and if necessary, exterminate "the noble Red Man."

Makes me think our point of view (or the color of our skin) tints the lenses through which we view the world.

Even President-elect Obama...