Slavery in America

 

SLAVERY IN AMERICA

On 1 January 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery in the United States, right?  Wrong.  The United States has never given up slavery and neither have the several states.  It simply has moved from private ownership to government ownership - - socialism at work as some would say not knowing anything about socialism.

The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows:

"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Article I, Section 23 of the Constitution of the State of Iowa provides as follows:

"There shall be no slavery in this State; nor shall there be involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crime."

There you have it folks, slavery and involuntary servitude still exists here in the land of the free.  If you have been convicted of a crime, that is.  So what do we do, we make more crimes every year.  Our legislatures are busy thinking up new ways to make more its citizens less free; it is an ongoing process - - more crimes, more involuntary servitude. 

A major difference between slavery before 1 January 1863 and slavery currently is that prior to 1 January 1863, slavery had mostly an economic function.  Today it is mostly political - - a tried and true method of controlling the public.  If you are convicted of a crime, you are subject to fines, imprisonment, probation, parole, sex offender registry, public identification, a loss of government entitlements, and probably others.  In other words, you are controlled by the government rather than by a plantation owner - - you have to obey.

Of course, one of the elements of the current involuntary servitude (we will call it that rather than slavery in that it doesn't sound quite as bad) is economic.  There is always the requirement that one be employed.  We must keep the economy moving at all costs and fast food places need workers all the time; they simply can't seem to keep employees very long and people on probation or parole required to seek employment are perfect candidates.

In conclusion, it really means a lot if and when people actually think about  the world they live in.  Most do not.  We Americans have been trained to believe that we are free - the most free of anybody on the planet - at some point we really ought to consider this statement rather than just accept what we are being told.  We have approximately 25% of the incarcerated people in the world.  Of the entire world mind you, not just China or Russia or Brazil or Iran or India but of the whole world entire.  We have several million on probation and parole; we have several million more who have no drivers licenses because they owe the government money or committed some infraction. 

So all I'm saying is, that before we start spouting off about how free we are, we give it some thought. 

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo

What's It to You?

 WHAT'S IT TO YOU?

Representative Randy Feenstra, one of our more enlightened brethren, is stating unequivocally, that California liberals have no right to tell Iowa farmers they can't raise their livestock in a sadistic manner.  Apparently what happened in California, the majority of the people in a referendum passed a requirement that pork or chicken can't be sold in the State if the hogs and chickens are raised in a sadistic fashion which apparently many are because it's the most profitable manner in which to raise them.

The allegations are that many hogs are confined in crates where they can not turn around or possibly even lie down - - they can't move. The pork industry association claims that few US hog producers would then be able to sell pork in California without significant capital investment.  All I can say about this is, "Go Randy!"  Money matters, hog treatment doesn't.  After all, Randy is correct when he says that humane treatment of the animals we eat is a liberal fantasy and just won't fly here in Iowa.  Here we know what is important - - profit.  If some sow has to suffer for it, so be it, it can't be helped and west coast liberals should mind their own business.

Unfortunately, west coast liberals are minding their own business, a fact that Randy seems to miss.  What Californians are saying to us here in Iowa is that they have decided that they don't want our product.  They aren't telling us we can't raise our livestock in a sadistic manner, they are simply telling us they want no part of it.  Pretty simple really.  Do what you want, just don't involve us.  Apparently Randy believes Californians can not tell us how to raise hogs and chickens, but we can tell Californians what they can buy and eat.  That's one thing you have to give  Randy - - consistency.

Now if we are to define liberals as people who, one, do not want fellow creatures raised in a sadistic manner, or two, are against profiting from it, I'll have to admit I'm with the liberals on this one.  We, here in Iowa,  have passed numerous laws in the past few years making it a crime to mistreat pets, which to my understanding are animals.  How is it then, that hog producers and chicken producers are exempt from these laws?  If you treat a non-human critter in a sadistic manner as a crime, it doesn't seem particularly appropriate that such treatment can't be considered criminal if it is a farm business.  Our legislature has even passed laws making it a crime investigating such farming activities.  Making a profit doesn't seem to me as something that should be the deciding factor in what is criminal and what is just business.  

We have gone so far as to be outraged by puppy mills.  How can this be?  Puppy mills, people in the business of raising dogs for sale, are no different than hog producers and chicken producers except for one salient fact - - they are not considered farmers.  So how is it that we are outraged by the treatment of puppies; after all it is a profitable enterprise - - it is a business just like hogs and chickens.  So let's just get over it - - if these puppies are treated sadistically and then killed if not sold, it's just business just like raising hogs and chickens.

We need a little consistency here (as usual):  either treating animals sadistically is criminal or it isn't.  So forget about California; let's decide for ourselves how we want to proceed.  Iowa for Iowans is what I say.

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo