Analysis Of Thomas Paine's Rights Of Man

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Thomas Paine is the author of the book entitled Rights of Man. He was an intellectual, a revolutionary, and a supporter of American independence, despite being born in England. In a passage from his book written in 1791, Paine takes the time to elaborate on his view of Americans and their country. He examines several characteristics of America that seem to make it a better civilization than England. However, because of public riots and racial injustice, diverse ideologies, and inequality between the rich and poor, Paine’s characterization of America does not remain true today. It is no secret that America is not at its greatest right now, and probably never was. Nevertheless, Thomas Paine writes that “there is nothing to engender riots and…show more content…
I disagree because there are “riots and tumults” in the news repeatedly, all for a variety of reasons. For example, if research were done on the cases of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, one would come across just a few of these numerous riots. On July 5, 2016, the man by the name Alton Sterling was held down by two Baton Rouge Police Department officers, and shot several times at close range. Apparently, there was insufficient evidence to charge either police officer, and this verdict triggered protests nationwide. Again, we see a similar situation in a small suburb of Minnesota. Philando Castile was shot and killed in his own car in front of both his girlfriend, and his daughter, after being pulled over by an officer for a broken tail light. The officer was found not guilty, and again people protested this verdict. Members of different communities all over the States would march up and down streets, holding…show more content…
Although he states that “the rich are not privileged,” one cannot help but notice that the rich do have the tendency to get away with things no one should be doing. Take R. Kelly for example, and his countless rape and child pornography charges. In June 2008, after almost six years of delay, Kelly finally went to trial for the child pornography charges and was acquitted on all 14 counts. Kelly remains in denial about his charges regarding child pornography, underage relationships, and rape. Nevertheless, R.Kelly continues to sell dozens of albums, and people continue to buy them. He has upheld his large following, and it may have even grown over the years. At a glance, it may not seem as though this is rich privilege because he can never erase his wrongdoings from the minds of the people aware. Everyone is always going to associate R. Kelly with a disheveled criminal timeline, and one would be correct to assume that his privilege cannot do anything about that. Although he has more money than most and all this fame and glory, no one is going to forget about the crimes he has committed, especially not those affected. However, if R. Kelly were a regular, working class African-American man, he would already be doing his time, and no one would think twice about it. Nonetheless, R. Kelly is not a regular man, and his privilege, provided to
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