Yesterday was Human Trafficking Awareness Day. This day was set by a resolution of Congress in hopes Americans would understand that the fight for freedom is not over. This fight is part of our national heritage and identity. It compelled our ancestors to colonize this continent.
Unless Americans remember the right of liberty is rooted in the nature of humanity’s equality and dignity, no legitimate reason exists for continued efforts to liberate enslaved people.
What is the nature of human equality and dignity? The Declaration of Independence defines as created by nature’s God. Because the human best reflects the nature of God, the dignity of every human being is of inestimable worth. Acts of injustice and cruelty reflect the worst of human thought and behavior.
It will take more than one day each year for Americans to reeducate themselves about God, equality, liberty, and law out of which American freedom originated.
At the beginning of this month, President Obama declared January as human trafficking prevention month. During his proclamation, Pres. Obama stated:
As a Nation, we have known moments of great darkness and greater light; and dim years of chattel slavery illuminated and brought to an end by President Lincoln’s actions and a painful Civil War. Yet even today, the darkness and inhumanity of enslavement exists. Millions of people worldwide are held in compelled service, as well as thousands within the United States. During National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we acknowledge that forms of slavery still exist in the modern era, and we recommit ourselves to stopping the human traffickers who ply this horrific trade….
Fighting modern slavery and human trafficking is a shared responsibility. This month, I urge all Americans to educate themselves about all forms of modern slavery and the signs and consequences of human trafficking. Together, we can and must end this most serious, ongoing criminal civil rights violation.
Indeed, it is a crime against God and humanity.
There are a number of organizations and on-line educational sites. They include Polaris Project, A-21 Campaign, humantrafficking.org, Human Trafficking Blog to name a few.
To understand the problem truly, one must retrace the history of the struggle of liberty. A good place to start would be with the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, it tells of the ancient struggle for freedom and how it has been achieved. This is one of the key texts that informed the Protestant reformers, Puritans, English reformers, colonists, preachers, theologians, moral philosophers, lawyers and their laws of nature and of nations, and even our national founding. Human nature and human rights cannot be fully understood without understanding the sacred text about human bondage and freedom.
