You conclude on a factual and cogent note, which I appreciate and have come to expect from your posts.
"...nobody alive today in America has ever owned a slave, nor have any of the modern "victims" of American slavery ever been slaves."
I have been held captive in slavery for years in America. The fact that I exist - and am not alone by a long shot - proves your statement above false.
"The 13th Amendment states: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States..."
As you can read, the Thirteenth Amendment did not abolish slavery absolutely, and this exception is thoroughly abused presently. All prisoners in America are legally slaves, and compelled to labor against their will. This number of slaves is currently above two million persons today.
Slavery is a crime against humanity, and is currently SOP in these United States. Whatever else you believe about freedom, it is time to acknowledge the fact that the regional and federal jurisdictions in America claim the right and power to enslave free people, and do in fact coerce people into slavery daily. It is time to end this barbaric practice, that rational self government be possible to our free people.
Thanks!