| By Kirk Douglas Let's face it - the world is a mess and the young people will inherit this mess. We should do all we can to help them deal with it. That's why I wrote the book Let's Face It and dedicated it to the young people. I try, with humor, to help them navigate through what lies ahead. But the reality is, the problems they face are not very funny. What has happened to our country? We started off with such noble intentions: The land of the free, the home of the brave. We have lost our stature in the world; many countries hate us. We are misusing our military power, and some civilian mercenaries are even killing innocent Iraqi civilians. We are losing allies in our war with Iraq. Turkey is an important ally. Almost all our military supplies go through Turkey. We don't want to lose Turkey. The House of Representatives recently voted to condemn the mass killings of Armenians by the Turks during World War I, and call it genocide. I don't want to discuss the pros and cons of that argument. But, I feel we have no right to engage in this contretemps until we deal with the closure of the Civil War in this country. That war was fought 142 years ago, but there was no finality. Newly freed slaves faced racism and cruelty which continues to this day. Our country has not fully accepted responsibility for our mistreatment of our own citizens. Recently, we have seen nooses hanging from trees, from the back of trucks and even on a doorknob. Before Congress deals with the issue between Turkey and Armenia, we must issue a formal apology for the heinous acts of slavery that existed in our country. We must support the black museum which is being discussed in Washington. We must never forget that part of our history, but we must apologize for it. We have lost our stock in the world; many countries hate us. We are accused of being arrogant. This apology will have a great impact on the world. It will remind people to fight all acts of slavery against children, women and workers. There are many states in the union - Virginia, Maryland, Arkansas, Alabama and others - that are now dealing with an apology for slavery. The governor of Alabama stated: "Slavery is evil and is a part of American history." That attitude should be expressed by Congress and our representatives of the whole country. We are the strongest country in the world. We are the richest. We must take self-inventory. We must look less into the stars and planets in the heavens and more into ourselves. What can we do to make our country better? To earn back the respect we used to have? The strength of a nation depends on the children who will grow up and rule it. They must be well educated. They must be well fed. They must have good examples to follow. These are matters that my generation has neglected. It's up to the younger generation to correct them. | 
