---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's not that hard to say slavery is…"
description: "\"It's not that hard to say slavery is wrong after we've abolished it.\" — Shane Claiborne"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/shane-claiborne-960_hard_it-s-not-that-hard-to-say-slavery-is-wro_63027.png"
---

#  It's not that hard to say slavery is wrong after we've…

![“It's not that hard to say slavery is wrong after we've abolished it.” quote by Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/shane-claiborne-960_hard_it-s-not-that-hard-to-say-slavery-is-wro_63027.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/shane-claiborne-960_hard_it-s-not-that-hard-to-say-slavery-is-wro_63027.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/shane-claiborne-960_hard_it-s-not-that-hard-to-say-slavery-is-wro_63027.png)

> “It's not that hard to say slavery is wrong after we've abolished it.”

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Moral condemnation of slavery persists despite its legal abolition, highlighting a gap between ethical belief and societal practice.

**In simple terms:** Ethics vs. law

Key Takeaway

Abolition doesn't guarantee moral acceptance

Themes

moral philosophy historical injustice social ethics human rights cognitive dissonance

Mood

reflective critical somber

Type

aphorism social commentary

When to use this quote

- post‑abolition societies
- education on historical crimes
- public policy debates
- human rights advocacy

Key Concepts

slavery abolition morality societal change

Practical Applications

- ethical curricula design
- social justice campaigns

Questions to Reflect On

- Why do societies cling to outdated moral judgments?
- How can we ensure ethical progress matches legal change?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/)

## Related quotes

> [I think that slavery is wrong, morally, socially and politically. I desire that it should be no further spread in these United States, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-think-that-slavery-is-wrong-morally-socially-and-politically-i/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Like Lincoln said: "If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong," and I feel the same way about the leftist dismantling of the West.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/like-lincoln-said-if-slavery-is-not-wrong-nothing-is-wrong-and-i-feel/)

[David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/)

> [Every year white people add 100 years to how long ago slavery was. I've heard educated white people say, 'slavery was 400 years ago.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/every-year-white-people-add-100-years-to-how-long-ago-slavery-was-i/)

[Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/)

> [I think most people when you say slavery tend to see a group of anonymous people pulling cotton sacks in great plantation fields, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/i-think-most-people-when-you-say-slavery-tend-to-see-a-group-of/)

[Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/)

> [We say that slavery has vanished from European civilization, but this is not true. Slavery still exists, but now it applies only to women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/we-say-that-slavery-has-vanished-from-european-civilization-but-this/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [“In a word, commercial competition, under the paternal aegis of the law, allows the great majority of merchants-— and this fact is attested to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lis-e-reclus/in-a-word-commercial-competition-under-the-paternal-aegis-of-the-law/)

[Élisée Reclus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lis-e-reclus/)

> [I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-naturally-anti-slavery-if-slavery-is-not-wrong-nothing-is-wrong-2/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Slavery is a wrong to each individual enslaved; and not merely to the first of a series. Natural law, therefore, as much forbids the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/slavery-is-a-wrong-to-each-individual-enslaved-and-not-merely-to-the/)

[Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/)

> [If slaves will make good soldiers, then our whole theory of slavery is wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-cobb/if-slaves-will-make-good-soldiers-then-our-whole-theory-of-slavery-is/)

Howell Cobb

> [The anti-slavery party contends that slavery is wrong in itself, and the Government is a consolidated national democracy. We of the South contend that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-m-keitt/the-anti-slavery-party-contends-that-slavery-is-wrong-in-itself-and/)

Laurence M. Keitt

> [No, this is not what a fair God would do. And why does it not say anywhere in the Bible that slavery is wrong?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-sorvino/no-this-is-not-what-a-fair-god-would-do-and-why-does-it-not-say/)

[Mira Sorvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-sorvino/)

> [It's a collective truth that slavery is wrong, that child labor is wrong, that gross inequality is wrong. God didn't send it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dar-williams/it-s-a-collective-truth-that-slavery-is-wrong-that-child-labor-is/)

[Dar Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dar-williams/)

> [“I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-naturally-anti-slavery-if-slavery-is-not-wrong-nothing-is-wrong/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [We call 'Slavery is wrong' a moral truth because there is a specific history of theoretical investigation of a particular kind of slavery. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/we-call-slavery-is-wrong-a-moral-truth-because-there-is-a-specific/)

[Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/)

> [Claims like 'Slavery is wrong' are not fully common-sensical, so they must be at least partly theoretical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/claims-like-slavery-is-wrong-are-not-fully-common-sensical-so-they/)

[Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/)

## More by Shane Claiborne

> [“we can live without sex, but we cant live without love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-can-live-without-sex-but-we-cant-live-without-love/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [We're not church planters. We are community planters and, as we work in our communities, we join local churches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-re-not-church-planters-we-are-community-planters-and-as-we-work-in/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [There are some - called 'death fatigue' - people who just grow so tired of death, so they don't want to keep perpetuating death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/there-are-some-called-death-fatigue-people-who-just-grow-so-tired-of/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [Every 70-year-old needs a young person in their lives to mentor, and every 20-year-old needs a senior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/every-70-year-old-needs-a-young-person-in-their-lives-to-mentor-and/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [I just have a more holistic sense of what it means to be for life, knowing that life does not just begin at conception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/i-just-have-a-more-holistic-sense-of-what-it-means-to-be-for-life/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [We think of justice sometimes as getting what you deserve, you know - what crime was committed and what is the punishment for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-think-of-justice-sometimes-as-getting-what-you-deserve-you-know/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [Mother Theresa said it is not how much we give that is important but how much love you put into doing it. So it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/mother-theresa-said-it-is-not-how-much-we-give-that-is-important-but/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [No one has seen God, but as we love one another, God lives in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/no-one-has-seen-god-but-as-we-love-one-another-god-lives-in-us/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [“If you find yourself climbing the ladder of success, be careful or else on your way up you might pass Jesus on his way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/if-you-find-yourself-climbing-the-ladder-of-success-be-careful-or/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [We need good laws, but no law can change a human heart - only God can do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-need-good-laws-but-no-law-can-change-a-human-heart-only-god-can-do/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [We're remembering each other's heroes, too. We are learning each other's songs. We are reminding ourselves that we are a global family praying together.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-re-remembering-each-other-s-heroes-too-we-are-learning-each-other/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [There is a certain power when old and young come together - we can do more together than we can on our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/there-is-a-certain-power-when-old-and-young-come-together-we-can-do/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [You can't really learn God's hope like you learn the logic of an argument or the details of a story. It's more like learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/you-can-t-really-learn-god-s-hope-like-you-learn-the-logic-of-an/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [“Clarence Jordan, co-founder of Koinonia Farm, wrote, “The Good News of the resurrection is not that we shall die and go home with him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/clarence-jordan-co-founder-of-koinonia-farm-wrote-the-good-news-of/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [There is nothing more sickening than talking about poverty over a fancy dinner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/there-is-nothing-more-sickening-than-talking-about-poverty-over-a/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

[Explore all 319 Shane Claiborne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

## More Hard quotes

> [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/)

[Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/)

> [It is hard to admit to someone that you love him..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misherie/it-is-hard-to-admit-to-someone-that-you-love-him/)

[Misherie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misherie/)

> [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/)

[Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/)

> [There Was Many Time I Had Wanted To Give Up In Life On So Many Things…But Naw F\*\*\* That...I'm Not Going To Never Give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/out-spoken/there-was-many-time-i-had-wanted-to-give-up-in-life-on-so-many-things/)

Out Spoken

> [I think you can get, as a player, stuck in the mindset of trying too hard to prove yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trinity-rodman/i-think-you-can-get-as-a-player-stuck-in-the-mindset-of-trying-too/)

[Trinity Rodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trinity-rodman/)

> [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/)

[Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/)

> [In our society we have hard nerds and soft nerds. The hard nerds are the ones who used to have the slide rules at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/in-our-society-we-have-hard-nerds-and-soft-nerds-the-hard-nerds-are/)

[Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/)

> [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/)

[Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/)

> [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/)

[Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/)

> [High school, going into my junior year, I kind of had the idea I was going to be the starting running back. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saquon-barkley/high-school-going-into-my-junior-year-i-kind-of-had-the-idea-i-was/)

[Saquon Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saquon-barkley/)

> [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/)

[Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/)

> [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/)

[An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/)

> [It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. what you need is what i had - BELIEF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/it-took-me-20-years-of-hard-training-to-get-the-physique-i-have-today/)

[Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/)

Browse all 29,826 Hard quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It's not that hard to say slavery is wrong after we've abolished it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Shane Claiborne"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/it-s-not-that-hard-to-say-slavery-is-wrong-after-we-ve-abolished-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Hard"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/it-s-not-that-hard-to-say-slavery-is-wrong-after-we-ve-abolished-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/shane-claiborne-960_hard_it-s-not-that-hard-to-say-slavery-is-wro_63027.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/shane-claiborne-960_hard_it-s-not-that-hard-to-say-slavery-is-wro_63027.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/shane-claiborne-960_hard_it-s-not-that-hard-to-say-slavery-is-wro_63027.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It's not that hard to say slavery is wrong after we've abolished it.” — Shane Claiborne",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Shane Claiborne",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It's not that hard to say...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/it-s-not-that-hard-to-say-slavery-is-wrong-after-we-ve-abolished-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/it-s-not-that-hard-to-say-slavery-is-wrong-after-we-ve-abolished-it/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
