Yesterday, the United States unanimously passed S. 382, “A resolution supporting the goals and ideals of observing the National Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Month from January 1 through Feruary 1, 2010, to raise awareness of, and opposition to, modern slavery.” And what did this resolution change? Nothing.

Coming from the most powerful legislative body in the world, all this resolution did was to issue a collection of powerless words. Introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein, the resolution merely expresses support for a month of relatively low key activities to “raise awareness”, which means that the goal of the month is merely to encourage people to think about slavery, rather than doing anything to stop it.

The Senate could have taken action to create real change. It has the power to regulate commerce, and so, the Senate could have passed a law to forbid importation of products known to be associated with slavery and other forms of coercive labor. Such a law would deprive slave masters with the money that keeps them going.

Yet, no one in the Senate has even proposed such a law. Why? Sadly, it’s because Americans want to be able to shop for inexpensive Christmas gifts and goodies for themselves. They want santa-shaped chocolates, even when that chocolate has been linked with slavery. Powerful corporations make big profits because they outsource work away from the United States, and to countries where people are known to be enslaved or to work for next to nothing in a variety of other coercive arrangements. It would be too inconvenient to take concrete action against slavery. It might force Americans to save their pennies.

It’s easy for Dianne Feinstein and the rest of the U.S. Senate to say that slavery is wrong. However, no effectual anti-slavery legislation has come from the Senate this year. I think that lack of action speaks more loudly than a toothless resolution.