- By Sander Moolin
- Opinions
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Guest EditorialIt's strange to imagine that slavery is not just an oft-repeated war in history textbooks on the Civil War, nor is it a sad part of our past; it should not be forgotten, but, then again, its ending should not be celebrated with completely uplifted hearts. The very public slavery of early America is over, yes -- but more secretive modern slavery is a very, very real thing.It is not a sad part of our past because it is not in our past yet. It didn't end with the Emancipation Proclamation. And, in many ways, it hits much closer to home than we'd like to think.
Much of the slavery here in America exists in the agricultural, domestic (there are many people virtually jailed inside homes of some relatively well-off people, forced to act as domestic workers and not offered a real opportunity to leave), and sex industry spheres. But worldwide, some of the biggest culprits (or suspects) are the rug making industries, cocoa harvesting, diamonds, cotton, steel, and silk, according to freetheslaves.net. It's a pattern that only takes a couple of stories to learn: a hard-off family has a young child who is promised a better life: education, shelter, food, and so on; or perhaps a child is abducted in a raid in a war-torn country like Sudan; or any one of other situations.
Suddenly, a person is forced into a life where he or she could be bought and sold; with impossibly long, grueling days and sickening types of work, with neither pay nor opportunity to leave.
Wasn't this supposed to be over with around 140 years ago?
But, recognizing all that, you may say to yourself: what can I do, here in Lansing? The first step is knowing what's going on out there. Think before you buy coffee and chocolate, for example; consider the slave-free alternatives in Fair Trade-certified materials (which I know, having lived just outside of Ithaca, are plentiful -- try Greenstar Oasis in the Dewitt Mall a block or so outside of the Commons, as well as many other shops on the Commons).
But, mainly, think: realize that everything is not exactly how it seems, and that people have a basic responsibility to be good to each other."
Sander Moolin is a 2007 Lansing High School graduate. He is the 2007 Recipient of the Lansing Star Online Award, and plans to study journalism at Wells College this year.
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