In 1808, the United States outlawed international slave trade. In 1863, President Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation which freed all slaves in the Union. In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution and officially abolished slavery.
That was almost 150 years ago. Yet for some reason, we still don't seem to get it. The United States still continues to hold markets in human trafficking, which is, in some ways, almost identical to slavery.
But what exactly is human trafficking? The name really doesn't provide much explanation if you ask me. Human trafficking is defined by Wikipedia as the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery.
Bam. There you have it folks, the United States is nothing but one big fat hypocrite.
However, much to my dismay, we can't say that just yet. Turns out the U.S. has done a lot to support antitrafficking efforts throughout the world. In 1904, the International Agreement for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic was created, although very few countries signed it. Since then, the U.S. has passed many an Act to prevent the continuation of prostitution, forced labor, and other unspeakable horrors.
All of these horrors are, obviously, horrendous. But if you ask me, the one that poses the biggest problem is prostitution. You see them everywhere. Creeping around among the hidden scandals of Governors and Senators. Downtown at night there they are standing on the corners. Last month my friend and I were driving through a town about 45 minutes away, and saw prostitutes just standing outside the local movie theater. They're everywhere.
Many may argue against my claim: So what if it's an immoral operation? It's a way for struggling people to make money. What's so bad about that?
What's bad about it is that it's bad. It's immoral. It's disgusting. It's exactly what we tried to do years ago in freeing the slaves and abolishing slavery. Although prostitutes don't just work for free, they still are entering a trade in which they are objectified and potentially humiliated. It's a scummy thing, and it should be ended ASAP.
What I got out of our discussions in Sociology this week is this: Not all slaves work without pay. Sometimes, just the mere concept of being objectified and bought is enough to abolish the trade entirely.
That was almost 150 years ago. Yet for some reason, we still don't seem to get it. The United States still continues to hold markets in human trafficking, which is, in some ways, almost identical to slavery.
But what exactly is human trafficking? The name really doesn't provide much explanation if you ask me. Human trafficking is defined by Wikipedia as the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery.
Bam. There you have it folks, the United States is nothing but one big fat hypocrite.
However, much to my dismay, we can't say that just yet. Turns out the U.S. has done a lot to support antitrafficking efforts throughout the world. In 1904, the International Agreement for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic was created, although very few countries signed it. Since then, the U.S. has passed many an Act to prevent the continuation of prostitution, forced labor, and other unspeakable horrors.
All of these horrors are, obviously, horrendous. But if you ask me, the one that poses the biggest problem is prostitution. You see them everywhere. Creeping around among the hidden scandals of Governors and Senators. Downtown at night there they are standing on the corners. Last month my friend and I were driving through a town about 45 minutes away, and saw prostitutes just standing outside the local movie theater. They're everywhere.
Many may argue against my claim: So what if it's an immoral operation? It's a way for struggling people to make money. What's so bad about that?
What's bad about it is that it's bad. It's immoral. It's disgusting. It's exactly what we tried to do years ago in freeing the slaves and abolishing slavery. Although prostitutes don't just work for free, they still are entering a trade in which they are objectified and potentially humiliated. It's a scummy thing, and it should be ended ASAP.
What I got out of our discussions in Sociology this week is this: Not all slaves work without pay. Sometimes, just the mere concept of being objectified and bought is enough to abolish the trade entirely.
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