What a piece of writing you've brought us this time, questioning our very civility!

You know, I think we have a serious problem with perception, even with self-concept. I've often wondered how free I am, and I suspect you have too.

To place the foundation of civilization on slavery is to disregard our own nature. Perhaps it's just a reflection of the well-worn law of the jungle.

My lineage is mixed, meaning that when I look in the mirror, I see evidence of my supposedly African past in my caramel-colored skin. Then I recall the assertion that Homo sapiens left the African continent to conquer the planet, and in that journey, assimilated other humans through mating during encounters. On the other hand, I see my straight, black hair—well, what's left of it—and I compare myself to my maternal grandmother, who passed away so long ago, and who was blonde with green eyes. And my children, white as milk, in the arms of my mother-in-law, whose eyes were as blue as the midday sky.

Forgive the descriptive family reminiscence, but I feel it's fitting in this particular instance.

The barbarians, by the way—a term used to refer to the Germanic peoples during the height of the Roman Empire because their speech seemed like incomprehensible gibberish to the Romans—applied the same ferocity as their conquerors. In both senses, both were uncivilized in practice, and in the end, in the homeostasis of history, they converged into what we know today as Western culture.

A stark reality that defines us today, and which you have so aptly described when speaking of disguised slavery. Moreover, modern work is the new facade of slavery, and what you refer to as the outsourcing of business practices are its extreme forms. It suffices to consider the unequal distribution of wealth—without resorting to Manichean thinking to blame the rich (who are simply following their instincts and exploiting the system's vulnerabilities)—to conclude that we live in a world of slavery that proclaims itself civilized in pursuit of the common good.

Solidarity and competition clash. I trust that we will have the wisdom to overcome our inherent nature so that we can finally end this everyday slavery.