We live in 2022.
Slavery should not exist.
What should be a thing of the past is still being debated today. The vestige of slavery was voted upon by citizens of five states during this year’s midterm elections.
In 1865, the U.S. Constitution’s 13th Amendment put an end to slavery and involuntary servitude. However, it had one exception: slavery can be used as a punishment. Although most states deemed that even the exception shouldn’t be established, a few states let the citizens decide if this exception should be allowed.
On Nov. 8, Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont marked their ballots on whether or not this “punishment” should be allowed by the language of the country’s Constitution.
In this time and age, the results should’ve been easily predicted: slavery should’ve been banned once and for all. However, this was not the case. Louisiana was the only state out of the five that chose not to abolish slavery as a form of punishment.
Sixty-one percent of the voters in Louisiana voted to keep the ambiguous amendment unchanged even though slavery has been abolished for multiple decades. And this is problematic.
This election result can be used to exploit prison labor, a multibillion dollar business. Prisoners can be forced to work for pennies every hour and not doing so can lead to strict punishments reminiscent of the antebellum, including no contact with family and solitary confinement.
Louisiana’s reasoning on the outcome of the result is that the wording is confusing. CEO of Council for a Better Louisiana Barry Erwin hopes that this amendment will come back on future ballots with clearer wording to change the minds of Louisiana voters.
This reason should still not make this result acceptable.
The U.S. has made lengthy strides in the past few decades in terms of human rights issues. And in those strides, some roadblocks hold us back. This choice shouldn’t have even been on the ballots of the five states. In this “progressive” society, these states shouldn’t have even had the chance to vote against slavery.
Prison slavery should’ve been deemed illegal in the first place. It’s exploitative and sets our country back ages. Our politicians should be more aware of the implications their policies and actions have, especially with some citizens following them blindly.
What happened in Louisiana is hopefully the last of what’s to come.
Senior Nikhil Ramaraju recently turned 18 and voted in the midterms, taking part in our country’s legislative process. “Voting sets the precedence and expectations to myself and my peers to be actively involved with legislation and political candidates to make sure we can have the impact on the results we want,” Ramaraju shared.
Ramaraju’s opinion is shared by many in our country. It is important for an eligible citizen to vote and do it responsibly in order to strive for a community that accepts and respects everyone.
