David Boaz Commentary, Up From Slavery, Sheds Light on the "Golden Age of Liberty" that Still Eludes Us

The "golden age of liberty" still evades many as the shackles of economic hardship continues to consume the lives of many. Can we ever be truly free?

Dred Scott (Harvard Law School)

The issue of slavery and racism in the United States was revisited by Gov. Bob McDonnell's (R-VA) insensitive slight in his proclamation order to celebrate April as Confederate History month.  Though I am sure there were decent soldiers fighting for the Confederacy you can no more ignore the issue of slavery during that time than embrace the actions of these soldiers. For many blacks, the Confederacy stood for pain, denigration and abject poverty. I came across an very interesting essay written by the Cato Institute's David Boaz, entitled "Up from Slavery," he poses a very serious question to all those people who would rather sweep the issue of slavery under a rug and make the argument that we. He asked, if you had to choose, would you rather live in a country with a department of labor and even an income tax or a Dred Scott decision and a Fugitive Slave Act? The reality is that we wouldn't but we are still not really free, especially African Americans, who have seen the highest rates of unemployment in this economic downturn and continue to have the highest drop-out rates in public schools.

I said that white Americans probably considered themselves free. But in retrospect, were they? They did not actually live in a free society. They were restricted in the relations they could have with millions of their — I started to say "their fellow citizens," but of course slaves weren't citizens — their neighbors. They lived under a despotic power. Liberalism seeks not just to liberate this or that person, but to create a rule of law exemplifying equal freedom. By that standard, even the plantation owners did not live in a free society, nor even did people in the "free" states. Source: Cato Institute

I am amazed at the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Pat Buchanan and all those who make the argument that the Confederacy was a far more noble entity and that it fought a devastating war for reasons other than anything connected to slavery, upon which their social and economic system was neatly ensconced. The reality is that we are still in chains, economic chains and being held captive by a government that continues to get bigger. There has never been a "golden age of liberty" in this country, though many would have you think otherwise. There is always something that dogs us and there will always be people who want to exploit others, as they did during slavery.

To echo David Boaz, in 1776 black Americans were held in chattel slavery, married women really had no legal rights and in 1910 and beyond blacks suffered under the denigration of Jim Crow, and yes, there were and still are confiscatory taxation. Confiscatory taxation are taxes which are primarily directed at a particular income group with high rates of taxation, not revenue generation. The intent of these taxation laws is to confiscate money from the wealthy, a notion that riles the right wing to no end. The reality is that the Obama Administration wants to create a government that wields far too much power over the people and their lives. Some can make the argument that the government's interference in every aspect of our lives is a pesky reminder of the shackles many faced long ago and that we are still not truly free.

Read more:  Up from Slavery -- David Boaz | Cato Institute

SHOP AMAZON.COM:   The Duty of Disobedience to the Fugitive Slave Act (Dodo Press), The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics & The Politics of Freedom: Taking on The Left, The Right and Threats to Our Liberties (David Boaz)