Slavery is OK If It Isn't Me!

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said "No one is free until we are all free." Slavery has been with us from the beginning of time. So has murder. Throughout history, we have never condoned murder. Not so for slavery. Before, during and after Biblical times, slavery has been common in our world.

Throughout Biblical times in both the Old and New Testaments, slavery of one sort or another has been baked into he fabric of society, but never encouraged or championed. In fact, the Bible is replete with provisions for the humane treatment of slaves, and with escape clauses for their freedom. In the New Testament, the Bible does not instigate slave rebellion, but it does remind slaves and slave masters that they both have a common master who is God.

African slaves who were brought to the Caribbean and to North America knew only cruelty if they were fortunate enough to escape with their lives. Today in America the success and mindset of Black people are being compared unfavorably with those of White people in total oblivion to the fact that it was only 155 years ago that the White man freed the Black man, having legally enslaved them for 243 years, and socio-economically enslaved them for the better part of 400 years.

To be clear, it was the Black man who sold the Black man into slavery. It was the White man who bought him and fueled the Slave Trade with the power of his wealth. But it was also the White man who freed the Black man in America, at least from the legal perspective. Largely it was left to the Black man to free himself socially and economically in a White man's world. And as admonished by Marcus Moziah Garvey, it was left to the Black man to emancipate himself from mental slavery.

But whereas the American White man has responded to the freed Black man with social segregation enforced by the Ku Klux Klan, economic oppression, limited access to quality education, enforced restriction to equal amenities, and an overwhelmingly skewed rate of incarceration, there has also been a reinforced declaration that the problems faced by one are the problems faced by all. Even the White Supremacist knows that the color of the blood of the Black man is the same as that of the White man. And today, a very large throng of White people, as were the Abolitionists in the days of American Slavery, continue to champion the full emancipation of the Black man and the future enslavement of none.

But in other parts of the world, the practice of slavery is rampant. And America is fast losing its authority on the high moral ground to condemn it and use its superior power and force to stop it, or at least to deter it. TD Jakes. among others, are highlighting the practice of slavery in 2018 in our increasingly small world. I join with him in challenging you and all of us not to be silent on this issue. And since our President is an incurable Tweeter, the very least that Americans should expect of our Government is that our President will tweet about it, and by that I mean, in opposition to it. And then use his almost absolute power to do a lot more.

The following text has been lifted, verbatim, from the commentary section of the accompanying video.

"SAY SOMETHING!!!!! The press is saying very little about this! Repost!!!!! This is no laughing matter! I’m so grieved! We WILL NOT be silent! This must stop!!! So what are we gonna DO? #REPOST #Repost @bishopjakes (@get_repost)

The slave trade that is going on in Libya, and even globally, is an atrocity that has to STOP. We, as a people have to partner together to put an end to this horrific disregard for human life. Here are a few ways you can help: —Use YOUR voice (Social Media, your community, etc.) to raise awareness! —Support organizations that give aid to countries from which migrants are fleeing. —Contact your local officials and become an advocate in the fight against slavery & human trafficking. 

We have got to say something…we CANNOT be silent. #Libya #HumanTrafficking #SlaveryInLibya

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After watching TD Jakes' video, I spent several hours bringing myself up to speed with the reality of Modern day Slavery. Perhaps you know all of this already. But whether you already have the knowledge, or whether you are now acquiring the knowledge, the time has come for you to do something. I took the liberty of adding a fourth item to the list of 3 that were sent to me on the social media link that was sent to me. And that is #4, and perhaps the most important, because this is a huge matter way outside the pay-grade of any single person except for President Donald Trump an a few other World leaders.

Beseech God for mercy, and ask Him for wisdom and guidance in identifying and executing the roll He wants you to play.

If you can invest 54 minutes of your time, I invite you to watch the video that I just watched and will be condensing for illustrative purposes in one of my perspectives. The link clearly ascribes all the credits to the producers and owners - https://youtu.be/pbezdg-4x_o