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Amanda Cox
Mon. Wed. Fri. 9:30
Eng. Comp. 1
21 April 2015

America: Land of the Free?

American citizens have been fighting for freedom since the ratification of the Declaration
of Independence in 1776, when the thirteen colonies decided they wanted to be separated from
Great Britain and free from paying unfair taxes. In 1865, the thirteenth amendment made slavery
in the United States illegal. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech titled I Have a
Dream during the American Civil Rights Movement, where his purpose was to put a stop to
racism in America. The next year the Civil Rights Act was passed, ending discrimination and
racial segregation. Although U.S citizens may agree that our country as a whole has come a long
way, I feel that in certain ways we have taken a few steps backwards. There is still fighting that
needs to be done and awareness that needs to be spread before America can truly become a great
nation.
The changes that need to be made are similar to what Americans thought were already
changed. Civil rights for example needs to be extended to citizens who identify themselves as
gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Another change that needs to be made in order for our
country to be great is ending modern day slavery. Civil rights and slavery? We thought we
covered those issues, we learned from our history books that congress put an end to those
problems. Unfortunately, those problems still exist in the year 2015, and until we are all free,
America is not a great nation.

LGBT citizens have been fighting for social equality as early as the 1920s. Although the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination, it only protected citizens from being
discriminated against based on their sex, color, national origin, race, and religion. There was no
mention of sexual orientation. Today, Americans who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
are facing an abundance of discrimination, and are victims of hate crimes. For example, prior to
2007 not all states were for legalizing gay marriage.
An article by William M. Salka and Raymond Christopher Burnett mentioned that
between 1998 and 2006, twenty-seven states amended their constitutions to prohibit same sex
marriage. Today, there are only thirteen states that have yet to legalize gay marriage. Although
that certainly is progress, homosexual citizens are being discriminated against in other ways.
Teenagers whose sexual orientation is not heterosexual are being bullied by their peers. Bullying
also happens to homosexual adults in the work environment, but not all states protect employees
from discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Homophobia is one of the most common causes of hate crimes and discrimination
towards homosexuals. Too often, gay men and lesbians face hostility, discrimination and
sometimes deadly violence solely because of their sexual orientation (gays and lesbians,
civilrights.org). There are current efforts to try and protect homosexual individuals from
situations like hate crimes and job discrimination, but I think one of the best things we can do is
to educate ourselves on civil equality. We need to see and understand that civil rights have not
been extended to all Americans, and it is not right or fair. Doing this will make passing
legislative acts like the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and the Employment Nondiscrimination Act
possible. Unfortunately, spreading awareness isnt easy. Americans tend to believe that if its
not affecting them or someone they know, then its not an issue that needs to be fought against.

Human trafficking is not an issue we see or hear about every day. Its a scary idea that
we see portrayed in a movie like Taken where an American girl goes to another country, gets
kidnapped and is sold to a man who would use her for sex. Thankfully in the end she is saved by
her father who happened to be a former spy for the CIA, all is well and everything goes back to
normal like it never happened. Human trafficking is the modern day form of slavery that isnt
just young women being forced into prostitution. Unlike the exciting Hollywood version where
human trafficking only happens in other countries, it can happen anywhere and to anyone, even
in the United States.
In fact, according to Forced Labor Statistics.there are 12.3 million victims of forced
labor and commercial sexual exploitation worldwide at any given time (Hepburn and Simon).
All genders of all ages are being forced into slavery for a profit. Yet, we thought the United
States put an end to slavery in 1865 with the thirteenth amendment stating, Neither slavery nor
involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted, shall exist within the United States, nor any place subject to their jurisdiction
(amend. XIII, sec. 1). Victims of human trafficking are not being punished by the government
for a crime, they are being forced against their will to do tough manual labor in unsafe working
conditions, or they are being forced into prostitution by people who are greedy. In order to stop
this from happening we need to make it known to all U.S citizens that slavery is happening here
at home, and we need to learn more about this issue.
How does someone become a victim of human trafficking? Traffickers use violence,
threats, deception, debt bondage, and other manipulative tactics to trap victims in horrific
situations every day in America (polarisproject.org). Where in the United States does human
trafficking occur? Trafficking usually happens in false massage parlors, hotels, strip clubs,

farms, factories, and private homes (polarisproject.org). If we think about it, someone could be a
victim of slavery in the towns we think are safe, because human trafficking easily goes
undetected, because we are not all aware of it. Spreading awareness and education may not seem
like much, but they can go a long way. We would know how to see the signs of a victim, like
someone who is malnourished, shows signs of physical abuse, and is secretive. Then we could
report them to authorities who would investigate it. We could save a life and prevent it from
happening again. If everyone in America educated themselves on modern day slavery, it is
possible that we could eliminate the problem entirely.
America has come a long way since the 1700s. Our country is considered superior to
other countries. People come here for a new and more prosperous life, where they can work and
be offered more opportunities than they would have in another country. It is an honor to be an
American citizen, but not all of our citizen brothers and sisters are free. How can we consider
ourselves a free land when there are still hate crimes and discrimination happening towards
people because of their sexual preference? How can we consider ourselves a free land when
slavery is still occurring under our noses? Not until all citizens are free from discrimination,
hate, and slavery can America truly be a great nation. Why do these issues matter? By ending
discrimination against homosexuals and human trafficking, we can make our country safer and
better to live in. We can truly say that all Americans are free, move forward, and stop repeating
history.