Ashton Kutcher's Speech Human Trafficking Speech

“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.”

Out of the thousands of people that have been human trafficking victims each year, only an insignificant amount of them is actually reported. Imagine being in 8th grade. Having all sorts of hopes and dreams. Now flash forward to dreams being taken away by a pimp that lures people into human trafficking. In short, this is true for Holly Austin Smith, a survivor of human trafficking. The punishment for the pimps that ruin the lives of these young girls is not severe. Therefore, there is not much help for the girls after they get rescued from this tragedy. A realization Holly had soon on and explains, “...Although I was soon recognized to be a victim, the specialized aftercare needed for a trafficking victim did not yet exist... Twenty years ago, there were no anti-trafficking laws in place. This pimp, who raped and lured a child into prostitution, served only 365 days in jail” (Smith). This young girl had recovered from this horrible incident all by herself. Many other girls in her position have gone through similar experiences and have been hurt by their pimp. In addition, the pimp will not receive much punishment. A sad story repeated across America and is very prominent in other countries. In America, most of the time victims are the ones that usually serve time in jail since in some cases it’s considered prostitution, even if it was forced by the pimp. In most cases, the pimps stay uncovered and if the victims of trafficking come forward as to who their pimp is, they

“These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought. It was a new and special revelation, explaining dark mysterious things, with which my youthful understanding had struggled, but struggled in vain. I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty – to wit, the white man’s power to enslave black men. It was a grand achievement, and I prized it highly. From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom” (20).

By creating powerful imagery to depict the treacherous treatment slaves are enduring, he floods the audience with shame. He provides them with a chance to recall their moral standards and compare them to slavery. He questions them to evoke the truth that slavery is never justifiable. The denouement of his speech is that it is patent to his audience that celebrating freedom with slavery existing is atrocious and want to eradicate

100 years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free... and this nation, for all it hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizen are free. Next week I shall ask the Congress of the United States to act, to make a commitment it has not fully made in this century to the proposition that race has no place in American life or law (Loevy 17).

Additionally, it was primarily for the free blacks in the United States. This address, and many like it in this time, is filled with many juxtapositions, which contrast each other. For example, the speaker calls them country men which generally has a positive connation, and evokes feelings of pride and belongings. However, then in the next sentence the speaker says that they do not belong in America because they are not treated like citizens. However, this is important because this is how America was for these black men who were free. They were free but they still had no political rights. They were free while their brethren were held in captivity. It is important to note that these this individual highlights the hypocrisy, that in the 21st century we can also see. The hypocrisy of the founders who used such sophisticated and liberating language to justify their freeness but does not include the African American men and women of this time period. It is interesting to see that men of this time period shared some of the same ideas as the 21st century about this time

“What we’re experience right now is just exactly what the colonists experienced. Just like Britain, the North is tormenting and taunting us with their false laws to hold back our rights. Slavery is our right and is needed to help our country’s wealth. ”

“I will say here, while upon this subject, that I have no purpose directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do

Concluding by stating the U.S. Constitution is not admiring slavery but against it. Stating why the Declaration of Independence helped free this country from another country. That hopeful slavery will collapse and the rights will come to all.

During the time in which Lincoln’s powerful speech was brought forth, on the day of Monday, March 4, 1861, the 16th president of the United States was under extreme duress to deliver an eloquent and potent speech that could amalgamate the pugnacious North and South who were on the abominable verge of war due in large part to slavery. In addition to this, Lincoln’s speech was given at one of the most controversial times in the history of the United States, in which the country was destined to break apart and secede in light of the vile aspects of slavery. The Southern states, which relied heavily on slavery, asserted that the abolishment of slavery would have a monumental impact on the economic welfare of the their economy and in turn would lead to unemployment and create havoc amongst

One of the most useful things about the debate between Abraham Lincoln and Steven Douglas in 1858 is that it was held in a time prior to the advent of television. As such, there is a significantly greater emphasis on speech, rhetoric, and verbiage thatncurrently is found in contemporary debates regarding presidential elections, in which candidates can rely upon looks and other superficialities not related to pertinent issues to sway an audience. When left with just the words of Lincoln and Douglas during this famous debate, it becomes discernible that there are two primary issues in the critical years leading up to the Civil War the legality of slavery and the preservation of the Union. Moreover, there is an intrinsic link between these two issues, where it seems as though alterations made to the former may inevitably (and negatively) impact the latter. Thus, when ascertaining Lincoln's position on slavery it is clear that he is not in favor of it. Yet he makes it evident in a number of different points that he is not as concerned with the issue of slavery as he is with the preservation of the Union--meaning that as much as he is against slavery he will permit it so long as it is lawful.

"Nobody wishes more ardently to see an abolition, not only of the trade, but of the condition of slavery; and certainly,

Having escaped rule from a tyrannical British government, the United States was founded on ideals of freedom and equality for all people. These fantasies of universal egalitarianism turned out to be merely that: fantasies. American history is full of stories of the oppressed struggling to get the rights they deserve and of the controversy over these issues that consequently ensues. “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery” by Frederick Douglass and “We Shall Overcome” by Lyndon B. Johnson are two speeches made confronting two of these issues. Douglass’s speech, delivered in 1852, condemns the institution of slavery and maintains that slaves are men and are therefore entitled to freedom. Johnson’s speech, on the other hand, was written in 1965 and discussed the civil rights movement. In it, he implored local governments to allow all American citizens, regardless of race, to vote. Despite the significant gap in time between these two addresses, both speakers use similar persuasive techniques, including ethos, pathos, and parallelism, to convince their audience that change needs to be implemented in America.

We can all probably think of a time we watched a movie that depicted the ominous and illustrious circle of human trafficking. Movies like the blockbuster hit Taken dramatized the storyline in order focus on Liam Neeson’s character who is a father and a retired CIA agent that utilizes his skills to get his daughter back from the possession of sex traffickers. Although the movie is an exaggeration, the reality is that many victims fall into the vicious circle of human trafficking, which does not just include sexual exploitation. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), human trafficking includes “exploiting the prostitution of others, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery or similar practices and the removal of organs.” In an event hosted at the United Nations Headquarters, the president of the General Assembly, Mr. John W. Ashe addressed human trafficking issues in the modern world stating that the,” annual profits as high as $36 billion per year, it ranks as the world’s third most profitable crime after illicit drug and arms trafficking.” The profit made by human trafficking involved not just girl and women but it also involves boys and men as well. Many make generalization that naïve girls are the victims to this organized crime; however, the case is that boys and men make up the population of millions of individuals who are victims to human trafficking.

Human Trafficking has become the modern day slavery; endangering millions if innocent humans. What is human trafficking? Well human trafficking or sex trafficking is when someone is illegally moving people from one country to another; it’s typically known for forced labor or forced sexual exploitation. Many victims are tricked into thinking that they are getting a better job offer, better living environment or even tricked into thinking they will be moved safely to a better country. This illegal industry is making a fortune, over $32 billion yearly, and is spreading all over the world. Now many people aren’t aware of the major threat and that is because people aren’t aware of what’s going on. For example, many of the students in my English class were unaware of what human trafficking was. During the class we had the opportunity to read Sold written by Patricia McCormick, and it opened up all of our eyes. It gave us the perspective of what the slaves had to deal with. With the book and the recent movies, like Taken, have opened up the eyes of society and see how dangerous and common human trafficking is.