Old Slaves and New

By: Steve Huston

If you’ve checked your mailbox today and found that it’s empty, it’s not because your friends have forgotten you, that bill collectors are giving you a break, or that the junk mail people ran out of paper. It’s because we’re celebrating one of the “newer” federal holidays: Juneteenth, a combination of the words “June” and “nineteenth.”

Although the Left has skewed the purpose of this day and has rewritten history to denigrate the memory of even those who were against slavery during that, and previous, time periods; even though the Left attempts to make this hideous blot and sin representative of the whole of America’s history; we mustn’t let those things dissuade us from seeing what “Juneteenth” really represents: an end to the horrible and ungodly institution of slavery in “the land of the free.” Never forget the nearly half-million Americans who died fighting in the Civil War which freed four million slaves. May we always revere those men on both sides who were against slavery and, in doing so, not dismiss the unity they bravely fought for, regardless of the division the Left constantly pushes for today. Let us focus on loving one another, not endorsing hate and bitterness.

In a nutshell, William Federer describes this holiday within his American Minute (emphasis are his):

“To celebrate this victory of Republican abolition policies over the Democrat pro-slavery policies is ‘Juneteenth,’ the day Union Major General Gordon Granger issued General Order Number 3 from his headquarters in Galveston, Texas, June 19, 1865, announcing:

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves.”

It would behoove all who desire to see a fuller and accurate picture of what surrounded this day to read the whole of it here.

President Lincoln added his signature to the bottom of the 13th Amendment which states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

It was passed by the U.S. Senate on April 8, 1864. The U.S. House passed the 13th Amendment on January 31, 1865. Voting against the 13th Amendment were 50 Democrat Congressmen, joined by 6 Union men.

New Slaves:

In light of what we’ve discussed regarding Juneteenth, it’s ironic that just last week the Democratic-controlled Massachusetts House of Representatives UNANIMOUSLY passed a new bill (The Parentage Equality Act – H. 4672) that would permit women to sell their babies to the highest bidder. The Massachusetts’ congress seeks to redefine parenthood and legalize the practice of baby-selling in the name of “parentage equality.” In effect, the House declared that children are now a commodity to be bought and sold. Some call it a step forward in LGBT rights, but really, it’s an open door to exploitation and abuse because it removes critical safeguards designed to protect the welfare of the child.

God says that children are a blessing and that life is sacred, but when men, women, or children are treated as commodities – they can be bought or sold – it cheapens the value we hold on life. Surrogate mothers are treated much like “indentured servants” and the children they produce are bought and sold like “slaves.” At the very least, it’s a new chapter in human trafficking.

This is another step to redefine family and parents, remove gender-specific roles – stripping parents from their titles (“father” and “mother”), the legalization of baby selling, normalizes the LGBTQ+ agenda, and devalues the dignity of children.

Listen to some voices who lived through those times of the original “Juneteenth.”

President Lincoln, in addressing the Indiana Regiment, on March 17, 1865 declared: “Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.” How would the surrogate mother or the buyers of this child like to be put in its position?

General Ulysses S. Grant recalled his thoughts, in 1878, when he heard the Civil War had started: “As soon as slavery fired upon the flag it was felt, we all felt … that slavery must be destroyed. We felt that it was a stain to the Union that men should be bought and sold like cattle.” Are we so quick to step back into that which has been considered the greatest mistake America has ever made?

For as long as I can remember, if one wanted to get a law passed, or excuse a divorce, or push through some questionable school-related expense or program, it was often accompanied by the phrase “it’s for the good of the children.” By tugging on heartstrings, those traditionally objectional agendas had a better way of being accepted.

Today, nationally, we are in the process of changing our thinking about children. Instead of valuing them as the blessing from God that they are and instead of protecting them as a national treasure, we are exploiting them in order to ingratiate ourselves to those who stand in pride against God. This must not be so!

What can we expect? Danger, brokenness, and degradation are always left in the wake of rejecting God’s sacred design for marriage, gender, and sexuality.

I encourage you to read Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation in Appointing a Day of National Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer. In the face of another form of slavery and the many divisive ills our nation is facing today; with a nation that is enslaved to sin and in need of God’s Hand of repenting grace; we need to fast and pray!

 

To view this article in your browser, Click Here

For more information, articles and newsletters, please check out our website at https://americandecency.org/

You can support ADA financially by visiting: https://give.cornerstone.cc/americandecency

 

---