New Thing- Take the International Justice Mission Quiz to Determine my Slavery Footprint
Inspiration: Frederick Douglass' Feast Day
Time: Under 5 minuets
Bottom Line: Sobering.
Reflection: Today is the Feast of Frederick Douglass. I remember being incredibly inspired by his story and speeches when I read selections of his work in school and that inspiration was renewed again tonight as I studied more about his life. I would recommend taking the time to head on over to wikipedia and read his bio, but here is a little taste:
Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, c. February 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing. He stood as a living counter-example
to slaveholders' arguments that slaves did not have the intellectual
capacity to function as independent American citizens. Douglass was a firm believer in the equality of all people, whether black, female, Native American, or recent immigrant, famously quoted as saying, "I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong."
So, in honor of him, I decided to take the online International Justice Mission quiz to determine how many of my actions shamefully support the slavery of others around the world. While my score was less than average, it was still completely sobering to see just how many people I have abused without even knowing it. I will certainly be making different purchasing choices from now on and will be praying about this tonight. It was also very informative as it was full of such scary facts as:
"There are at least 27 million slaves worldwide. That’s
roughly the combined population of Australia and New Zealand."
I highly recommend taking it. You can find it at: http://freedomcommons.ijm.org/action-alert/find-out-how-many-slaves-work-you. It will open your eyes. 
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