What Is Slavery?

George Orwell, in his book 1984, once wrote that “freedom is slavery.” Paradoxical as it may sound, when one delves deeper into Orwell’s thinking, logic arises behind the statement. Freedom, constantly sought after, describes a state of being many people desire. Depending on one’s location, mindset, and personal experiences, freedom is defined in a plethora of ways— for children, playing outside, for teenagers, hanging out with friends, and for adults, surviving. Despite the many contrasts, one concept holds true; inevitable is the struggle for freedom. People will always remain a slave to their aspiration and fight for freedom because freedom is another word for a war that will never end. First, throughout history, a myriad of causes have
For instance, African Americans in the U.S. before the thirteenth amendment, which outlawed slavery, defined freedom the removal of slavery while whites viewed freedom in white privilege and social ranking which put them above immigrants, African Americans, and Native Americans. To clarify, African Americans associated freedom with a lack of slavery, whites associated freedom with racial superiority, immigrants associated freedom with a better life, and Native Americans associated freedom with a restoration of the Native American culture and spiritual lands. Despite these diverse groups existing in the same time period, the definition of freedom varied upon race and culture. Fast forward about one hundred years, and the definition of freedom differs once again. African Americans now associated freedom with an end to segregation because “oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever” (3) and whites associated freedom with privilege as history shows that “privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily” (King 7). Furthermore, time changed, leading to new beliefs in what freedom symbolized. During the period after the Civil War, leading up to the 1960s, African Americans viewed freedom as integration, not segregation, but whites still believed freedom to be associated with privilege because their privilege put them in a position in society where they received the most benefits. In contrast, the location, not only the race, can also change one’s perspective on freedom. Those living in countries controlled by iron fists tie freedom with “the toppling of dictators” as columnist Thomas Friedman writes in the Sunday Review (Friedman). People who do not deal with oppressive leaders or oppressive governments view freedom as “the freedom to live your life, speak your mind, start your own political party, build your own business…pursue happiness, and be yourself” (Friedman). In other words, just the country