Thanks, Peter, for providing more evidence that I am a libertarian at heart. I thoroughly enjoyed Condoleeza Rice’s timely essay on the importance of Juneteenth to her family. In his book “Enlightenment Now,” Stephen Pinker gives an estimate of 40 million people around the world living in slavery today. When I shared that horrifying stat on our NRPlus FB page, Bill Schmidt mentioned the organization International Justice Mission (“IJM”) which fights slavery worldwide.
I encountered the 40M figure in my research for this piece. That encounter raised some points in my head that I found interesting.
First, it is my understanding that most of that figure represents persons who are under some form of subjugation, including women in some countries where they have no rights. Yes, as a libertarian, I abhor all of that, and I find any cultural or religious system that does not have "freedom of departure" and equal rights for all, regardless of gender, to be anathema. But, it is worth noting that this is a bit different from chattel slavery, and I did not want to "dilute" the nature of Juneteenth with that expansive definition of slavery.
Second, the search engines, despite my trying several different approaches, kept trying to steer me toward the expansive, rather than simply answering "how many in the world are in chattel slavery." This is a subtle "shaping" of our thinking, and unless you're attuned to it, it probably works.
Thanks for that information! I appreciate your judiciousness in not overstating the number. You raise a huge issue regarding shaping our thinking. I have recently been thinking about the impact of “photoshopping” on the rules of evidence in our legal system, which is certainly a form of shaping.
“If you had a gut-check moment of "anti" regarding Juneteenth, I do urge you to revisit it. And, more broadly, to tamp down any tribalistic responses to things that groups that are not "yours" might embrace. The only way a society advances is in harmony and in embracing good common causes, and I can't think of a better one than celebrating the end of slavery.”
This is the column you should submit to NR! It's great!
Thanks. Maybe I will.
Thanks, Peter, for providing more evidence that I am a libertarian at heart. I thoroughly enjoyed Condoleeza Rice’s timely essay on the importance of Juneteenth to her family. In his book “Enlightenment Now,” Stephen Pinker gives an estimate of 40 million people around the world living in slavery today. When I shared that horrifying stat on our NRPlus FB page, Bill Schmidt mentioned the organization International Justice Mission (“IJM”) which fights slavery worldwide.
I encountered the 40M figure in my research for this piece. That encounter raised some points in my head that I found interesting.
First, it is my understanding that most of that figure represents persons who are under some form of subjugation, including women in some countries where they have no rights. Yes, as a libertarian, I abhor all of that, and I find any cultural or religious system that does not have "freedom of departure" and equal rights for all, regardless of gender, to be anathema. But, it is worth noting that this is a bit different from chattel slavery, and I did not want to "dilute" the nature of Juneteenth with that expansive definition of slavery.
Second, the search engines, despite my trying several different approaches, kept trying to steer me toward the expansive, rather than simply answering "how many in the world are in chattel slavery." This is a subtle "shaping" of our thinking, and unless you're attuned to it, it probably works.
Thanks for that information! I appreciate your judiciousness in not overstating the number. You raise a huge issue regarding shaping our thinking. I have recently been thinking about the impact of “photoshopping” on the rules of evidence in our legal system, which is certainly a form of shaping.
“If you had a gut-check moment of "anti" regarding Juneteenth, I do urge you to revisit it. And, more broadly, to tamp down any tribalistic responses to things that groups that are not "yours" might embrace. The only way a society advances is in harmony and in embracing good common causes, and I can't think of a better one than celebrating the end of slavery.”
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love this!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️