Slavery Isn't Dead

by
Fred McCaleb

One definition of a slave, according to the dictionary, is one who is the
property and is totally controlled by another. This type of slavery was
eliminated in the United States at the end of the Civil War. At least the
ownership part of the above definition was eliminated. The control part is
still around and much more effective than it could have ever been back then.
Another definition of a slave found in the dicitionary, is one entirely under
the domination of some influence. This definition covers a very wide field.
Pages and pages of writing would be required to cover all that. I will try to
cover what I consider some of the common types of slavery.
One type of slavery in the tobacco habit. Tobacco was introduced by the Indians
to the early settlers of North America, and this is the greatest blow the
Indians ever delivered to the citizens of the U.S. This habit has made the
tobacco industry rich while deteriorating the health of generations of our
ancesters. There were pipes, cigarettes, snuff and variations of chewing
tobacco. The tobacco habit was glorified as something great to do. People just
loved to become slaves of the poison nicotine. They still do. Tobacco is
required by many for what they feel as social acceptance. Some of my kinsmen
keep a big chew of tobacco in their mouths and drive a pick up truck with a gun
rack back of the seat. They are up in the world. One of my sons has to have his
cigarettes. He is in Marlborough country amidst tobacco bliss. There is no
concern that cancer may strike them down early in life. The tobacco habit is
costing more and more to support as the years go by.
Alcoholism is another type of slavery. It starts out as social drinking and,
with many, escalates into having to have large amounts of alcohol each day.
Alcohol is now a very expensive drug and takes what income the man of the
family, and sometimes the woman, receives. This puts a strain on the marriage.
Fighting,which is called spouse abuse, occurs. Most call it wife abuse, but I
think it may sometimes be the other way around, husband abuse. When the
families have children, the children fare very badly. Billions of dollars are
made by the alcohol industry while enslaving a large portion of the population.
"Old Massah" is by no means dead. He doesn't have a legal title to you, but he
controls the people, and they do what he wills. Why bother with a written deed
to a slave?
Many social habits promoted by TV are enslaving. With Hollywood, sex is
everything. Responsible sex under grown up marriage is a good thing even though
it may produce semi-slavery in trying to care for the offspring produced. Teen
agers these days "have the right to engage in sex". Even though the teen age
girl may think she is doing the right thing to keep her boyfriend, when she
becomes pregnant and bears a child she has just entered the institute of
lifetime slavery. Most further advantages in life are denied her. Her childhood
has been forfeited. Her future education has been jeopardized. If there are any
jobs at all in her future they will be menial. They define teen age sex love.
Its a mixed up definition of love. It is an introduction to slavery.
The first two paragraphs above illustrate the the use of old drugs,tobacco and
alcohol,to enslave the millions and the third paragraph illustrates the use of
sex. Perhaps combinations of drugs and sex is the greatest enslaver of all.
Today there are more sophisticated drugs out there. Cocaine products seem to be
getting the most attention, with marijuana a close follow up. They are more
expensive and will destroy one quicker than tobacco or alcohol or sex. There
are pushers near the schools and city populations ready to put the young, or
anyone else, under slavery. The government poverty programs furnish the youth
money to buy this junk. Congressman claim to worry about how to cut the trade
out. To me that would be simple. Cut out the handouts and the trade would be
dead. Someone in high places must make money off this slave trade. In my early
days drug slavery was confined to the slow killers tobacco and alcohol.
Slavery is more effective and efficient in the present time.
Many drugs can be purchased at the local drug store that can have an enslaving
or killing effect. The directions on each must be read very carefully and
balanced against what other pills are being taken to see whether they might
cure, kill, or enslave one into taking from now on. What about the fellow that
can't read and know about these things. He has already chosen the sure road to
slavery. It is harder to enslave the intelligent.
The armies of the countries of the world are absolute slave masters. I spent
three years and two weeks as a slave in the U.S.Army. The president of the U.S.
through his chain of command directs what is to be done and it is yours to "do
or die and not ask the reason why." Many times it is mostly "to die" if you are
in the combat troops. There is no talking back to "Old Massah" or one could get
shot or imprisoned for disrespect or disobediance. The slavery is dictatorial
and absolute.
Some statements in the Bible are given the wrong interpretation to cause the
husband to practice slavery on his wife and family. One is that "Wives must
subject themselves unto their husbands."Some Chrisstians, even preachers, read
that one statement and ignore the verses that follow. They use that one
statement and become wife and children abusers(beaters) using excessive force
to make them do what they think they should do. They forget the verses about
not provoking the children to wrath and treating their wife as if she were
Christ. The self esteem of the wife and children is sacrificed to slavery.
There are many other types of slavery of thought practiced by church people
such as no one else has the right interpretation of the Bible but us. No
thought can be right that doesn't come by me or my group.That concept is,
believe it or not, also practiced by non-church groups such as evolution
scientists, and many other fluent scientists. Like the good old Quaker said to
his wife, "Everyone in the world is crazy but me and thee, and sometimes I
think you are a little off." When I was engaged to be married, a Quaker
co-worker told me he always threw his hat indoors when he went home from work.
He would see if his wife threw it back at him. If she didn't pitch it back he
would go on in.
Many husbands are the slaves of their wives and vice versa. Many couples slave
all their lives for thier children to have better opportunities than they had.
Then the children will not take advantage of the opportunities presented. They
have been given everything and expect the gifts to continue.
Our thoughts about our short comings enslave us for our entire lives. I have
been slave to false thinking. I never thought that I could do public speaking.
I was never able to come from under that bit of slavery. I took speaking in
college and made C the first semester and D the second semester. I never
believed I could sing. I went to a country singing school. I didn't learn to
sing and still can't. Someway my mind got blocked on speaking and singing. I
suppose I could blame this on my mother and daddy. They expected me to keep my
mouth shut while the old ones did the talking. When the preacher came to visit
on Sunday he ate the good pieces of chicken while us kids waited and ate the
wings. I have had sixty years to correct my shortcomings and haven't done so.
So I better blame myself. I thought my dad was ignorant until I was through
college. Then I thought he did the best he knew how to do. Some of what he did
may have been wrong; some may have been very much right. At least he taught me
to work. Henry Ford said some such thing as the following, "If you think you
can't do something, you can't. If you think you can do something, you can."
Ford visited with us four times while I was at Berry College. He couldn't or
wouldn't make a speech either. When asked to at joint assembly he would just
hang his head and say, no. I suppose he let his money do the talking.
So you think you are not in any way, fashion, or form a modern slave. You had
better do some more thinking. Are you paying for a house, auto, furniture,
appliances,etc. on the installment plan? Do you and spouse both have to slave
at work every day on different shifts to meet the payments? Do you have time to
spend with your spouse and the children? "Old Massah Loan Shark" has you
absolutely as a slave under his control. He has no title to you, but he has
title to what you call yours. Your actions to many forms of slavery are
controlled by the most powerful mind controlling medium ever to be in the
world, modern TV advertising.
So watch your step. Let all the high pressure social come-ons promoted by TV
mind shaping roll past you like water rolls off the back of a duck. Get up on
the banks of the pond, do some thinking. Love your mate and little ducks, flap
your wings and soar free. Don't let master thought controllers tie some lead
weights to your legs so that you have to walk around in the mud the rest of
your life. Soar free. The thinking man was born to let his mind be free. He
can't be enslaved no matter what the color of his skin. So do a little thinking
and claim your birthright as a free man or woman. Good luck. You will need it.
prepared by Fred McCaleb 1995.