Slavery -

I have been watching the new TV program "Spartacus, Blood and Sand", and it got me to thinking that slavery has been such a substantial part of mankind’s history. The Romans had slaves; the Greeks,…. the Hebrews had slaves and were themselves slaves in Egypt about 1500 years BC.

Slavery was also known to exist in the Americas BEFORE Columbus or Amerigo Vespucci’s travels, and in Africa hundreds of years before the white slave traders arrived. So what is my point? I got to thinking that all of us probably have slavery in our lineage, whether as slave... or slave procurer... or slave owner. In some of our cases, hundreds or even thousands of years ago, but to others, not so very long ago at all. In fact, some Arab and African countries only abolished slavery within MY parents’ lifetime. Can you believe that? There are people alive today who were once legally owned by others.

But things have changed since the days of legitimized slavery. We don’t tolerate such behavior anymore do we?

Sadly some do. We don’t call it slavery any more, though. We give it the sophisticated name, "Human Trafficking", and it’s hidden underground.

Sometimes, the "slaves" aren’t outright bought and sold, but "merely" held as indentured servants, or under debt bonds, or as child factory workers, paid virtually nothing, and prohibited from leaving. It’s just a little more subtle, but still exploitation.

But whatever you call it, slavery is not extinct. Whether it’s true slavery or the greyer areas people are still toiling in inhumane conditions, people are abused and exploited today, as they were thousands of years ago. And for this to happen, there have to be people willing to abuse fellow humans, to profit from that abuse… and there have to be people who support that abuse by purchasing the goods produced by that labor. Chances are, you and I are in that latter category, at least sometimes.

And that is what I was thinking. Have we really come so far from the days depicted in "Spartacus, Blood and Sand"? Tragically, it seems not. We would like to hear what you think on this subject.