James Otis’s Moment of Moral ClarityIn this episode of the Possibility-Action Network, we return to the question that once shook the conscience of the colonies: Is it right to enslave a man because he is black? James Otis asked that question with moral clarity. If liberty is a natural right, how can slavery ever be right? His idea began to shake the foundations of a nation that claimed freedom as its creed.We step into late 1700s America, a paradise for slaveholders, where the law protected slavery. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 promised free territory but allowed the removal of runaways. The U.S. Constitution promised liberty while securing slavery’s survival. And in 1793, the Fugitive Slave Act showed the national government would enforce removal. For many, the creed of freedom sounded hollow. The truth of the creed and the reality on the ground were far apart.Slavery was global, and when we widen the lens, cracks began to open. In England, James Somerset was taken there by Charles Stewart. The case reached Lord Mansfield, who ruled that English law did not support slavery. Somerset walked free. Americans watched. From those ideas arose a principle carried across the Atlantic: once free, always free.The idea was tested in Mississippi, where Harry and others challenged bondage in the Decker and Hopkins cases. In Kentucky, Lydia and Rankin fought it out in court. Each case revealed a contest: the American creed on one side, the supporters of human exploitation on the other. The outcomes were uneven, but the arc of the universe bent, slowly, toward justice.Who is included when we say the words “all are created equal?” The American creed calls us to possibility, to optimism, and to moral courage. This episode invites us to stand again in that place of clarity and ask a necessary question: Is it right?Contact Information Have a story, a question, or a possibility you’re exploring? Email Dr. Middleton: [email protected] Break Free from Emotional Distress: A Practical Guide and Personal Journey by Stephen Middleton is available on Amazon

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