Reading through the slave codes made me realize how repressive life must have been, not only for slaves, but even for those that wanted to free slaves. If you convinced a slave to run away, YOU would be responsible for paying the owner the price of the slave. If you tried to smuggle slaves out of the state, YOU could be arrested.
The even more troubling part about this is how this isn't new to our world, nor is it only in our past. People living in North Korea and China face similar censorship and punishment if they raise their ideas against the norm. The most troubling is how close to home this is: the hunt for communists during the Nixon years, or even the hunt for terrorists during the Bush administration under the "Patriot" act.
We live in a world where not only are laws means of protecting people from hurting or taking advantage of other people, they are also have severe cultural impacts. People become afraid to have varying opinions if they know it'll get them arrested. People won't go out to protest for fear of being fined heavily and not being able to provide for themselves and our families. People will, as such, accept whatever is told to them so that they can feel secure in what they have "been given". This has happened throughout history in so many forms, and is still going on today. We, as members of this (and, in many respects, more than one) country, need to remember this and work against the pressure of censorship, help people to not be unfairly treated under the "righteous ruling of the law", and be able to live in the diverse community that we claim to be.
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