The Constitution of the United States of America, Bill of Rights, AMENDMENT XIII

Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865.

Note: A portion of Article IV, section 2, of the Constitution was superseded by the 13th amendment.

Section 1.
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.

Section 2.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

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Involuntary Servitude

     A nation of free and equal individuals has long been the desire of those such as myself; especially here in the USA where the actual words are written into the foundation of our democratic republic.  Yet, the very life of freedom and equality are daily threatened by the commonly accepted economic practice of barter, where currency is exchanged for the necessities of life.  By their very nature, these necessities are a requirement for living, and are therefore not negotiable.  Yet, those who would exploit the participants in a free and equal society, have stolen both the land and its resources, and hold them for ransom.  Whosoever is willing and able to pay the extortion money will tend to thrive.  Those unable or unwilling to reward such criminal activity are relegated to the group of Americans known as the poor or the underprivileged; poverty stricken outcasts, whose error is living according to the original words upon which our United States of America was founded.  Barter, using money, creates disparity; it is an un-equal exchange that creates an ever-growing gap between the haves and the have-nots.  If the barter were truly equal for equal, then exchanges would be constant, without profit or loss.  However, the very notion of equality is dismissed in commerce, because the motive of commerce is profitability, and not equal trade.  While this may appear reasonable in the trade of non-essentials, it is criminally inacceptable in the manipulation and distribution of the necessities of life.  The Congress of the USA, as empowered by the thirteenth amendment of the constitution, is required to adjust or create legislation to put away any and all business activity that causes or results in either slavery or involuntary servitude.  Just as there is separation between church and state, there must be separation between business and government.  Government protects and enhances the lives of the citizens that it governs.  Business does whatever it does in the name of profitability, and therefore, must be prevented from intruding upon the freedom of the citizens of a free and equal society.  A very serious and productive conversation is demanded.