Freedom is what America is supposed to be all about. Whether you were born here, immigrated here or your ancestors were brought here in chains ultimately you still have the opportunity to pursue the "American Dream". In order to do that you must be free from encumbrance however America is no longer setup for the common man to be free. In fact America has become a place based on "Corporate Slavery" where upon turning the age of 18 you are forced to become a slave to a corporation or alternatively to the federal government. The following are the three types of 21st century slavery in America.

Corporate Slave

Credit card debt is the primary form of corporate slavery in America. If you owe more in loans and credit card debt than cash and savings you are a corporate slave. You are a slave to the bank who holds the loans and credit cards and the majority of cash from your labor is spent paying off the bank. If you refuse to pay your debts, the bank will punish you - severely. Miss a payment and the chains tightens with added late fees and charges. Stop paying your bills for a month or two and your finances and living situation will be ruined. Millions of Americans are enslaved - spending the majority of their paychecks paying for things they either bought years ago (cars, furniture), or paying for something they won't own for another 30 years (house).

As soon as you are 18 years old the mega bank corporations bombard you with credit card offers and tell you that you need credit to survive in America. They lead the masses to the slave quarters and we willingly put on the shackles by signing up for credit cards. Once you purchase something with a credit card, you own the item and the bank owns you. Don't pay your credit card and the banks will make your life hell through harassing calls and letters. The late fees and penalties they add serve to worsen your debt , tighten your shackles, and force you into longer hours of slave labor.

Government Slave

If you borrow several thousand dollars is student loans to get a college education you have become a government slave. This is possibly the worst form of slavery as you cannot get rid of this debt, not even through bankruptcy. Let's say you borrow $10,000 a year to get your 4 year degree in education. You graduate with a $40,000 debt with the average teacher's salary being $30,000. As soon as you graduate you must immediately begin paying your debt. According to the terms of the loan you will spend the next 15 years paying this debt off - and that's assuming you are able to find a job! Delay the payment and the interest racks up, making your debt worse. Bankruptcy and even death cannot save you from this slavery.

Media Slave

If you spend more than 5 hours a day watching broadcast television you are a media slave. Television is not about the shows, it is about the advertising. If media corporations have you captive for 5 hours a day you are bombarded with ads from other corporations brainwashing you to buy their products. For example, in 5 hours you will see literally hundreds of commercials to buy McDonalds, Burger King and the like, but you will not see 1 ad telling you to buy an apple at the grocery store.

The more time you spend watching what the media corporations want you to watch, the less time you spend thinking for yourself. 8 hours of sleep, 8 hours of work, 5 hours of TV leaves you 3 hours to think as a free person. This is not enough time to do anything besides cook, eat, shower and sh*t. Free your mind and turn off the TV.

If you want to get rich in America and be free you must avoid these 3 types of slavery at all costs. If not, you will spend the majority, if not all, of your adult life forced to work for the corporate or government slave master.

Author's Bio: 

Team Afro writes for AfroDaddy.com - The Black Man Survival Guide , one of the premiere websites for black men to survive and prosper in America.