Several of my ancestors were slaveowners, and no, I am not proud of them.
Maybe they treated their slaves well, maybe the whipped them.
The plantation in Georgia was named Long Cane, which suggests that they grew sugar, or planned to, when they named the place.
Several others were abolitionists, and I am not proud of them, either.
One of my ancestors left a comfortable life in Maine to do missionary work at Ft Washita, in Indian Territory.
I have the records of the Sutlers store they ran. I cannot tell you how useful they were. I can tell you how many pencils they sold in 1842, and how much each one cost.
They acted according to beliefs that I do not share with them, but my beliefs would have been contrary to those of nearly everyone living in the 1840's. I see my ancestors as a personal way of regarding the history of my country.
Shame is what holds Japanese, Chinese and Korean societies together. It is a really big deal to Jews and some Christians. It has its pluses and minuses, that is for sure.
When mu parents or grandmother said "You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" the truth is I wasn't. I was not ashamed of taking too long to get home for dinner. I was not ashamed of missing some leaves I was supposed to rake up.
If I behaved the way I thought they wanted me to, it was because I didn't want to hear how I should be ashamed.