The biggest thing I think I took away from this book is my liberal use of the word "slave". I think we all tend to throw that word around a lot and it certainly seems to apply in certain situations. I know the current economy certainly makes me feel like a slave to whatever low-paying job I can get. That was particularly true with my last job which I really really really hated. Thank goodness I have since gained much better employment, even if it still doesn't use my very expensive and hard-earned B.A.
However, no matter how disappointed we might be in our current situations, there is simply no comparison to being treated like someone's property. If I get an offer for a better job, I am free to leave my current employer whether they like it or not. I have enough to eat (something I always try to remember to be grateful for) and there are laws in place which prevent employers from mistreating their employees, much less whipping them.
The thing I found most surprising was Douglass's statement that, in his experience, religious slaveowners were the worst. According to him, they were the most brutal and cowardly slave-owners out there. I found this interesting because I always wondered how people could justify slavery and call themselves Christians. I know they had their excuses but this particular observation made me wonder if the brutality was an effect of the hypocrisy. Did they know, deep down, that what they were doing was wrong? And, if they did maybe that prompted them to be more cruel than they otherwise might have been. After all, it is common for people to go to extremes when trying to convince themselves of something.
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