Like most other Americans today, I will be attending barbecues, spending time with family, relaxing, eating, laughing, and enjoying a day off from work. I will see a fireworks show, maybe take a dip in the pool, and at the end of it all, head to the beach and spend another day celebrating there. This morning, I question myself and wonder how often I have taken these liberties for granted? Thousands of people around the world do not have the freedom, the opportunity, or the resources to have such a celebration as this. And yet, we do this all the time, not only on the 4th of July. Today, I challenge myself, and others, to truly remember at what cost we have gained our freedom.
Hundreds of thousands of men gave their lives in the American Revolutionary War because they believed it was worth it to leave behind a life of freedom to their children and the generations that would follow. Let us celebrate their honor, dignity, and courage and the life that we live today because so many men are willing to continue to fight to this day for our freedom.
Let us also not forget that although our country is free, there are thousands of people living within it that are not. We may celebrate our country's freedom from England, but our country is made up of millions of people, many of whom on this very day are NOT living a free life.
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency estimates that 50,000 people are trafficked into or transited through the U.S.A. annually as sex slaves, domestics, garment, and agricultural slaves. The United States is a destination country for thousands of men, women, and children trafficked largely from Mexico and East Asia, as well as countries in South Asia, Central America, Africa, and Europe, for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation. Three-quarters of all foreign adult victims identified during the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 were victims of trafficking for forced labor. Some trafficking victims, responding to fraudulent offers of employment in the United States, migrate willingly—legally and illegally—and are subsequently subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude or debt bondage at work sites or in commercial sex. An unknown number of American citizens and legal residents are trafficked within the country, primarily for sexual servitude.
The chart below gives a visual representation of the different types of slavery currently existing in the U.S. and the percentages of each.
As you celebrate your freedom today, please consider the men, women, and children who are living in slavery. Consider joining in the fight against human trafficking. Pray for these people today. FREEDOM IS A PRIVILEGE, do NOT take it for granted!
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