Easy DA, get off the soup box. I didn't mean 'who cares' as in if it were happening now who cares.
Slavery is horrible, all forms of it, whether aggressive or under the radar. I hate, despise, find it abhorent to enslave any thing, so I fully agree with you. But again, in many cases I like to call out certain hypocrisies and note that we humans advocate many forms of slavery, all be it under other labels.
Agreed.
Like a circus for instance. But we look the other way, and even enjoy the entertainment aspect of it.
Some do. Not everyone.
And I'm not saying that some circus' don't take good proper care of the animals, but it would be the same as saying some slave owners took good proper care of their slaves. But here again I don't care because it's human nature to do this;
Human nature? Or do you mean animal instincts. Human nature is whatever we chose our nature to be. With intelligence comes greater responsibility and accountability. At the top of the intelligence chain we actually have the collective intellect to make meaningful changes. If we chose to. That is my point. But first we must acknowledge the shit that we have cause other human beings and organisms on this planet and then correct ourselves.
like I said before: to control and use those who are weaker or less intelligent.
We don't have to. We just choose to. Yes, it is in our nature to survive and adapt but we can temper this with balanced altruism as well. There is a balance between the two extremes (pure unadulterated altruism can be damaging to our survival as a species as well). There is a place for altruism, self-preservation and self-serving ambition. It is a balance that we need to strive for in order to survive as a species and not blow each other up to smitherines (reference October 1962).
We do it with animals in labs as well.
True, and I am hoping one day we can put this behind us as well.
I agree, we should fight back, but for all species, not just one particular organism. What's the sense of calling it moral if it's selective?
Baby steps. We have yet to have equality for all humans much less for all intelligent and sentient organisms on this planet (i.e. primates, dolphins, elephants, etc). Hopefully one day we will get there. One step at a time.
Also, it's great to fight against slavery but there are many forms of it that we take part in every day. The alternative to slavery was another form of manipulation, just not by way of force.
Agreed. First we must fight the root of the problem and that is intollerance. Slavery and inequality can take many forms whether it be physical or psychological.
Freedom from slavery is not being able to consume as you please, and that's what we have defined it as. Remember, its not "freedom" that one gets, it "the same freedom awareded to everyone else" - whatever those may be. Its freedom because someone called it freedom, but in my opinion it's not true freedom.
Freedom as defined by many humanists is the freedom to make choices without undue and harmful influence by others. Caveat to this is that one's freedom should not impede the freedom of others i.e. you are not free to harm or take the life of another human being.
I know where you are going with this Oni. It is true that in all sense of the word we are still animals subject to our basic instincts and psychological/social influences, even when we consider ourselves the most free (except of course married men
). I am not sure if this is really an issue though because as long as we feel we are free than isn't that all that matters whether we truely are cognitively free or not (whatever that may mean)?
But that's why I said ignore my opinion, because it will drag the thread off-topic.
Since Buz is not going to back up his ridiculous racist comments, I don't see the harm in straying a little off-topic here on the subject of freedom.
Edited by DevilsAdvocate, : No reason given.
Edited by DevilsAdvocate, : No reason given.
One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It is simply too painful to acknowledge -- even to ourselves -- that we've been so credulous. - Carl Sagan, The Fine Art of Baloney Detection
"You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep seated need to believe." - Carl Sagan
"It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World