Ramon Arias | September 30, 2013
How well do you understand slavery? America has a dark past due to slavery and this is a well-known fact. If you ask someone what the uncivil War Between the States, from 1861 to 1865, was all about, chances are you may get an answer like “to end slavery in the nation.” If you follow up with another question like, is there any slavery in the country now? Most likely the response will be, of course not!
A bird’s eye view of the meaning of slavery in its different manifestations can help us better understand what we’re talking about here. Conservapedia states the following:
“Slavery is a legal economic system with involuntary servitude, such that the people held in bondage must work for their owner, and can be bought and sold.
Legally, the slave has limited rights. For example, it was a crime in the American South to kill or maim a slave, except in self-defense.
In the American South, slavery normally was a lifetime condition, and children born to slave mothers automatically became slaves of the owner.
In human history, slavery originated when people were captured in warfare. Secondarily, slavery resulted when some able-bodied people became so poor through debts that some wealthy people claimed them as property at least until they worked off their debts. The Year of Jubillee was instituted by God for His own nation in order to prevent slavery from becoming a means by which cleverly unscrupulous, or cleverly ignorant, people made a living, such as happened in the American South.
In America the vast majority of slaves were African blacks, and many of these had been bought from African tribal leaders; Indians starved themselves to death rather than live as slaves. From 1500 to 1820, hundreds of thousands of Europeans were captured in war by Muslims and made slaves.
Western Christendom abolished slavery during the 19th century. The last forms of legal slavery were outlawed in 1970 in the Arabian countries, but hidden slavery still exists today in remote parts of Africa such as the Sudan where Arabs own black slaves. In Mauritania, dark-skinned people own lighter-skinned slaves.
Slavery was found in the history of most civilizations. Slavery flourishes where there is a high demand for labor and not enough workers. When the workers are plentiful, slavery dies out because it is unprofitable. That is, it becomes cheaper to free a slave and hire low cost paid labor than to buy and maintain slaves….
The most famous instance of slavery was in the American South until it was forcibly ended during the American Civil War (1861-65)–the only major war in world history fought over slavery.”1
Slavery comes in different forms. Most of the time advocates for ending any kind of slavery only end up implementing their brand of slavery. Consider socialism whose vision it is to develop an ideal and equal society. There’s nothing wrong with that, right? Except, this is an ancient idea that has been modified and recycled. In socialism, people see collectivism as the unifying social factor and private property as the evil to be destroyed. Karl Marx is known as the father of socialism. In our days, his ideas have almost totally taken over America. His disciples have been working tirelessly in the land of the free and the home of the brave to eradicate the biblical principle of free market that has done so much good to eliminate poverty.
One day Americans will wake up, and hopefully it won’t be too late. They will see, first hand, the devastation economic socialism has done to the nation. Socialism is the vehicle used by communism to elevate civil government as the master of society and the only one capable of effectively controlling mass production and the redistribution of wealth, goods and services. Communism is not the only one with aspirations of national control; there are other forms of socialism with the same intentions and results. A quick look at Europe teaches us the folly of socialist economics and where we are today.
In 1976, before becoming the Prime Minister of England, Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady, affirmed the evils of the Labor Party by stating: “Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people’s money. It’s quite a characteristic of them.” (Interview for Thames TV the week of February 5, 1976).
She was a fierce enemy of socialism, Marxist communism:
“Socialists cry ‘Power to the people’, and raise the clenched fist as they say it. We all know what they really mean — power over people, power to the State. (Conservative Central Council speech, March 15, 1986)
“Socialism’s results have ranged between the merely shabby and the truly catastrophic – poverty, strife, oppression and, on the killing fields of communism, the deaths this century of perhaps 100 million people. Against that doctrine was set a contrary, conservative belief in a law-governed liberty. It was this view which triumphed with the crumbling of the Berlin Wall. Since then, the Left has sought rehabilitation by distancing itself from its past.” (“Well Done Tony! You’ve Given William His Chance!”, London Daily Telegraph, 1 Oct 1999).
Here in America, freedom must disappear in order to enslave people. Those who believe in establishing socialism in this country have been eroding the foundation of freedom for a long time through a slow process but have succeeded in increasing the momentum. They have done so by indoctrinating us in their philosophy to kill the Bible, The Constitution, free market, promote sexual perversion, kill the family institution, kill babies in the mother’s womb, by choice of course, use the racist card, create social warfare, increment the welfare system, open the borders to enroll the influx of new comers into their political system, control the youth, control education, destroy anyone who opposes their magic potion called “Common Core,” and distribute condoms to children and youth. The list of strategies in their business of enslaving people is endless.
The State demands submission to its will or else. How did we arrive to this level of slavery in this country? Jesus told His disciples:
“The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors” (Luke 22:25).
Any form of government that is built upon ideas contrary to those of God’s Revealed Truth will always end up enslaving people. In the world there are only two types of rulers: the ones who see people as their subjects to dictate how they should live under ungodly ethical laws and the godly individuals who know the Supremacy of God’s moral law for developing the perfect society.
Jesus said that the power and authority in the hands of pagans would only enslave people. What do you say? Does Obamacare free people or enslave them? The United States Supreme Court declared this healthcare to be a tax. This means healthcare will be subsidized by those who will be forced to pay and carry all the burdens this law imposes unless they are part of a rare favored elite who is exempt.
Beware of the Fairness Doctrine of forced labor for it can only be called slavery. If you deny that slavery is alive and well in this nation, you are not alone. However, if you see the signs of the times, you cannot sit idly by. You must pray for the real transformation of this country by biblical reformation and be pro-active by doing your part in bringing the desired results of electing biblically principled individuals in all areas of civil and social influence. After all, Jesus expects us to work with His principles in order to turn this nation around.
We may still have time; it is up to the free and the brave, as long as we do not lose sight on how to do it:
“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).
“[A] wise and frugal government … shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities.” Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, 1801