In what other way would I interpret that passage? Well, you ask this as if there is only one way to interpret that passage, but there are several ways to do so in today's world, but since we're so far removed from the time, place, persons and culture of the person who wrote these verses, I tend to think that not all of these ways are entirely correct in and of themselves; on the other hand, neither do I think the obverse of this: that all of these ways are completely wrong in and of themselves on all points.
For instance, I could take up said passage in Exodus 21 and then just read it as you seem to do, just arbitrarily off the page in an “excised” manner. Or, I could respectfully approach the text, realize that I don't have ownership over it, that it belongs “elsewhere and elsewhen” and in the realization that I'm displaced from it person, place, time and culture, seek to under the passage as best I can as a Modern Day American, Liberally Educated, white-man [...that's "white-man," with a little 'w' by the way, or more accurately, just caucasian man, little "c," in case you're interested.].
Of course, that's just the trick, isn't it? We're gathered here today over the union of text and textual interpreter due to your own inquiry, so this whole issue of “slavery as ordained in the Bible,” as it is presented in your thread, is pre-contextualized socially by what you bring to it in your reading and, indirectly, by your own experiences of bigotry you've had in your own life. And I say this not even knowing whether or not you are, as your avatar seems to imply, an African-American man. Perhaps you are; perhaps you aren't.
How am I going to interpret Exodus 21, you ask? I'm going to it by taking into account the varied perspectives I've gleaned from different interpreters, not all of whom will share my preferences for interpretation. So, while on one hand, I'll readily adopt the principles of Critical Realism and apply philosophical Hermeneutics so as to approach the text in question in a more holistic manner, on the other hand, I'll acknowledge that the interpretation of the whole Torah and its inherent issues of slavery, and the fact that white people have claimed to be Christians themselves but have used the Bible to justify not only the [former?] North American slave trade of the Modern World, but also notions of racism wherein white people have trodden over the back of black men, women and children, among others.
So, in taking all of this in mind as a Hermeneuticist, an ethicist, and as a student of Social Science, I'll probably interpret Exodus 21 in a way that is sensitive to the thought forms of ancient Hebrews/Israelites, all the while remaining open to the recommendations and social praxis of someone like
James H. Cone, among others.
Now, maybe you can tell me something: How does one carefully balance and moderate a beating, or how hard or softly does one beat his servant or maidservant, so as to obey Exodus 21:20,21 on the one hand, and Exodus 21:26,27 on the other (in addition to any other O.T. Laws that apply along with the interpretive, even re-interpretive, force of which their legal adjudicators will apply, as mentioned in Exodus 18:21-26?)
And as for those troublesome verses in Leviticus 25, I think I'll interpret them in the same way as I do those above from Exodus 21.
Forgive me if I say I
honestly don't think that ANY of this is simple, ever.
As for the Golden Rule, we'd have to understand what it is predicated upon; it's not as if Jesus just pulled it out of thin air and said to his disciples, “Hey, listen to this! I've got a new idea!”