it's time to repeal our antiquated anti-slavery laws.

Slavery is the most immoral thing humanity has perhaps ever done. a) Human Rights Abuses Article 4 of The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights does, indeed, state "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. " However, the Preamble to the Declaration states that "shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures. " [1] In other words, the Articles are not legally binding, they are merely suggestions which member states can abide by or not, as they see fit. Indeed, the United States does not currently abide by all the Articles, as we shall see. b) Morality > Economy My opponent says that the United States was built on "basic human liberties" and refers to the American Declaration of Independence which stated: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men were created equally. " [2] This document was signed in 1776 but blacks still enslaved in America until President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Indeed, blacks did attain equal rights with white people until the Civil Rights Act of 1968. [3] And what about the persecution of the indigenous people of America? The white Americans slaughtered the Indians on a wholesale basis and drove those left off their land. Indeed, these human rights abuses continue until this day: a United Nations committee recently condemned the U. S. government for violating Native Americans' land rights and said Washington had run afoul of an international anti-racism treaty. [4] So we can see that America was actually built on slavery and the dispossession and discrimination of the native people and what the Declaration of Independence really should have stated was "all white men were created equal". Finally, with general regard to the issue of morality, if you were hungry and homeless on the freezing streets of New York, Chicago or London, or if you were starving to death in a refugee camp in Africa, wouldn"t you welcome the opportunity to do an honest day"s work in return for a roof over your head and decent meals? Surely there"s nothing immoral in giving these poor unfortunate people a chance to escape death through cold or hunger? 2. The Bible Although I am not personaly religious, many people, especially in America where 77% of the adult population self identify themselves as Christians [5], consider the Bible to be their moral compass in life, and if the Bible condones slavery then, at least for the pious, it must, therefore, be morally permissible to own slaves. Relaxing the laws on slave ownership would, as we have seen, be of enourmous economic benefit to Western countries that are currently falling behind their competitors in the developing world, so, please vote Pro to bring back the good old days when employers were allowed to help disadvantaged people by giving them unpaid internships in their homes, factories and farms. Thank you. [1] . http://www.un.org... [2} . http://www.ushistory.org... [3} . http://www.archives.gov... [4] . http://www.commondreams.org... [5] . http://www.gallup.com...