Sins Of The Parents: The Politics Of National Apologies In The United States (Politics, History, and Social Change)

In the last fifty years, debates have swirled over the question of national forgiveness. Using two examples, the land claims of the Oneida Indians and the claims of reparations for Japanese Americans interred during World War II, Brian Weiner suggests a way of thinking of past national mistakes. Arguing beyond collective "innocence" or "guilt," Sins of the Parents offers a model of collective responsibility to deal with past mistakes in such a way as to reinvigorate our notion of citizenship. Drawing on the writings of Abraham Lincoln and the work of Hannah Arendt, Weiner offers a definition of political responsibility that at once defines citizenship and sidesteps the familial, racial, and ethnic questions that are often brought to the surface during debates of national apologies. An original contribution to social policy and ethics, Sins of the Parents will become an important contribution to the debate about what makes us Americans.