Not Long ago, in a land not far away, our nation thrived. Built upon the backs of slaves, men and women suffered because the color of their skin. At times shipped here, imported, for that very purpose… to make money for the white man, until a few stood up, and said it could continue no longer.

Those few must have been mocked. They disrupted the system. They fought what seemed to be an insurmountable enemy, greed, hate, and selfish human nature. Many must have thought the nation would crumble without the labor that cost them only food and shelter to keep their human possessions alive. The threat so great it is the only time in history our country, the citizens of the United States, took such strong stands against each other, that it lead to war. It had to look like the end of a great nation. But here we are today.

For those unexposed to the use of slaves it must have seemed so far off, so impossible, so distant. They didn’t have Internet, or mass media. No Cable news and Satellites. It must have seemed half a world away from them.

Now here we stand. We are a great nation. We have a relatively strong economy. The good life is nicknamed “the American Dream”. We have two and three car garages, and schools our children can attend. Grocery stores, Mega-stores, Mega-Malls, hobbies, un-censored Internet, access. But our hunger remains never satisfied. More is simply not enough.

Now a few are standing. A few see what is going on half a world away. We see that our material addiction has created an atmosphere of prosperous economy, but we also are beginning to wake up to the cost. Yes, its in another land. Because our great land wants everything cheap… corners are cut, lives are placed in slavery. We expose our children to lead; we expose their children to far worse.

We are standing. We are saying that even though it seems impossible, even though our society depends upon the low cost of relying on a country with little value for human rights to manufacture for us, we are standing and saying NO MORE.

Just because the abuses are not happening here does not make us less guilty. Just because we do not see it with our own eyes does not mean it is not happening. Just because we choose ignorance, does not make us less accountable. It has to stop.

That may mean we have less toys, less bibs, less “things”. That may mean our stock market takes a big dip as companies shut down. That may mean temporary dip in employment, but it will mean job creation eventually.

Oh wait! Americans are too good for those jobs right? No. We are too precious, as humans, made in God’s very image, to be treated as slaves… as is everyone else. We are not too good for hard work and a fair wage. Many sit in small towns where industry has shut down that would gladly take these jobs back.

We have to stand.

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