I don't buy the suggestion that not a single Pharaoh abused even a single
person for personal "wealth beyond basic survival and comfort". Were all those
people burried with the Pharaohs really all necessary for basic survival and
comfort?
Perhaps I'm just too inundated with all the rest of the examples
of humanity's lack of civilized behavior via the last 2000 years: from Rome's
corruption through the dark ages and the Spanish Inquisition and Hitler that I
simply can't see such a large group of people over such a large period of time
somehow not having the same lack of civilized behavior when other cultures of
the time frame showed the same pattern of human behavior - Xerxes
anyone?
As for your definition of slavery: you won't convince me - ever -
that people be·queathed to their ... "owner's" children along with the cattle
does not fit the definition you just provided.
So let's establish my lack
of belief that the Egyptian Society of the time should somehow be considered
more civilized just because the behaviors were secular in nature rather then
without-spiritual-guidance.
Given that - there is the rare chance that
the Pyramids were built with everyone involved being totally willing and not
held against their will. But given the acceptance to have "enter whatever word
to indicate total control to be able to bequeath someone" in general Egyptian
society, in my humble opinion it was acceptable within the society to "own
people" even though the concepts may very well have been expressed differently.
And since such behavior was acceptable, there's no reason to think that at least
some of those that worked on the pyramids weren't quite so willing.
Do I
understand that it was quite possible "the peoples of the time believed what
they were doing was ok" - absolutely. The people of Rome who owned slaves also
believed what they were doing was ok.
The US Civil War was - partially -
about two groups of people: one who believed slavery was wrong, one who believed
it was acceptable.
So yea... it's easy to see how someone growing up in
such an environment may view everything as quite acceptable.
But that's
no reason we can't examine their behavior under the principles and understanding
we have today and call what we see to be a spade a spade.
RAS[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
| 
