Racism In Thomas Paine's Rights Of Man

In his characterization, Thomas Paine was correct in envisioning a diverse American, one that he describes as “people from different nations, accustomed to different forms and habits of government, speaking different languages, and more different in their modes of worship.” People are constantly immigrating to America which contributes to the diverse environment. The immigrants bring their different backgrounds and qualities, however, those traits are not always welcomed resulting in issues like discrimination and social divides. Contrary to Paine’s beliefs, eliminating divides is not as simple as “constructing a government on the principles of society and the rights of man.” While the government does put effort into diminishing the divide among people, the difficulties still remain and there is very little “cordial union.” Today, over 225 years since Thomas Paine

In 1791, Thomas Paine wrote the book Rights of Man, in which he expresses his thoughts on the unity of the American people. Walter Russell, however, claims America "has always been a division of man. There has always been the conqueror and conquered - the master and the slave - the ruler and the ruled - the oppressor and the oppressed. There has never been content nor unity. There has been only discontent and disunity". While in the United States there are people similar to Paine who strive for freedom and diversity, there are also those, as Walter Russell illustrates, who promote racism, violence, and disunity. Thomas Paine's viewpoint is mostly inaccurate because while there are times of peace, justice, and concord, there are far greater instances of oppression, privilege, and riots in America.

To start off, Paine explains to his audience about the different nationalities held in America in 1791. He states, "Made up, as it is, of people from different nations..." (Paine). This in comparison to now holds true to a very high extent. Today in the U.S. we have a huge variety of people from all over the world. There are people in America from Asia, Africa, Europe, etc. This is very true based on the fact of the am ount of different cultures that still exist in America and thrive today as and important part of our society. America was founded by immigrants, so it proves true that there are still millions of immigrants in America today. Lastly, he explains about all of the different cultural traits that have followed and the different worship ideals and other concepts that still are very prominent in American society today.

Thomas Paine’s characterization of America from his book, Rights of Man, does not completely hold true in today’s American society. His description of social class relationships as well as just government is currently not a reality for Americans. However, his description of diversity is something that we do have in America today.

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, immigration control and national homeland security have been issues of concern for both the national government and private citizens. In the wake of the attacks, a lot of articles were written about what the appropriate response should be to prevent another attack. In 2004, Mark Krikorian wrote an article for the Providence Journal entitled “Safety through Immigration Control” in which he contends that the only means to keep America safe from a follow-up attack is to strengthen and enforce immigration law to prevent terrorists from being able to enter the country. Edwidge Danticat, writing for The Nation in 2005, provides a juxtaposition to Krikorian’s stance in her essay “Not Your Homeland”, in which she describes her witnessing of the inhumane conditions many immigrants are forced to endure in the name of increased security to protect the country. She questions whether the added protections are worth the human cost we are paying by treating immigrants and refugees as guilty until proven innocent. At the crossroads of these two perspectives lies the question: what is the proper balance between national security and the humane treatment of immigrants?

Upon turning on the news in America, the media is not reporting stories of wholeness and community, which one would expect upon reading Thomas Paine 's passage. It instead is littered with videos of protests and fights, church shootings, riots, racist graffiti, and other hate crimes. Paine has an idealistic view of America, and while Americans have the capacity to join together (as shown following the 9/11 terrorist attacks) we also have struggled throughout history with racism, and continue to today. At the time Thomas Paine wrote his passage, America was hard set in its racist ways, and has continued its history of oppression to modern day.

Thomas Paine, someone who was public about his dismay toward England and her tyrannical rule, made it clear that although he and the other citizens of England were oppressed, America was the prime example of mankind (Common Sense). Meaning that America’s mission toward freedom was what all of mankind was working towards, and that without England, they would have nothing to work

The topic of Mexican immigration recently made headlines again when republican presidential candidate Donald Trump released a 3 page statement detailing his blunt beliefs on Mexican immigrants. Trump’s blunt statements against Mexican immigration have led many to join the discussion of Mexican immigration. The views on the issue vary, some believe that Mexicans are the route to all of America’s unemployment trouble while others believe Mexican’s simply take jobs American’s refuse to take. Either way, there are nearly twenty four million people of Mexican decent living in the United States that have started their own communities which contribute to American society. Many American’s however, refuse to accept this and are still prosecuting Mexican’s. This can be seen in the media, public schools, and in the work place.

Thomas Paine was an English-born American political activist and revolutionary. In 1791 he published a book titled “Rights of Man.” In this, Paine describes the natural rights of the people and what may happen if governments choose not to protect these rights. In this he states that America is a place against all odds doesn’t have oppressed poor, and that the rich are not overly privileged. Thomas Paine’s characterization of America doesn’t hold true today because the government is no longer just and that poor people are oppressed.

In 1791 Thomas Paine wrote the book Rights of Man, in which Paine illustrates his thoughts on the unity of the American people. Walter Russell, however, says America "has always been a division of man. There has always been the conqueror and conquered - the master and slave - the ruler and the ruled - the oppressor and the oppressed. There has never been content nor unity. There has been only discontent and disunity". While in the United States there are people similar to Thomas, who believe and strive for freedom and diversity, there are also those who Walter Russell illustrates that promote racism, violence, and disunity. I mostly disagree with Thomas Paine because, while there are times of peace; justice; and concord, there are far greater instances of oppression, privilege, and riots.

This topic has been relevant in our society since donald trump has been elected into office. Donald trump wants to build a wall along the mexican border to keep immigrants out of our country. Donald trump claims that “ When mexico sends its people, that they’re sending people that have lots of problems.” He also says” mexico is ripping off the US more than almost any other nation.” This topic has been widely talked about in our world today. Many americans and people that I know are happy that Donald trump is going to build this wall. They see, to be against mexicans coming to america, and have a hateful view on anyone who is non-white coming to our country to start a better life for themselves. And I myself don't know very much about immigrant and politics, But to me, I think that immigrants should be allowed to come and live in our country, I mean isn't that what america is? We are all immigrants to this country so how can we be mean and turn our backs on others who need help, when we did the same thing in our past. We came to america to escape bad living conditions, and the bad government systems of our original homeland countries, we came to america to become free. And if we turn our backs on others who need help to become free then our country is becoming like the ones before us

“These are times that try men’s souls,” stated Thomas Paine. Paine was a man from Thetford, England, and born on June 8, 1809. Today, he is now known for his encouragement of the American Revolution, along with his various words of wisdom and to motivate independence and self-rights. Through his successes came great struggle when Paine’s wife and child had both died during childbirth. Taking the title of “The Father of the American Revolution”, he greatly influenced American history with his deist worldviews and his “Common Sense”.

Thomas Paine, a revolutionary, intellectual, and supporter of American independence from England published a book titled, “Rights of Man” which deals with the government shielding the natural rights of its people. Initially, the book captures the diverse aspect of this nation, but it fails to reveal the struggles that arise to preserve and adapt to such a society. Paine expresses his optimism towards the supposed perfection of American society, as one “made up...of people from different nations,” with certain expectations. Additionally, the time gap between “Rights of Man” and modern America cannot be neglected. Paine wrote during an era in which “constructing a government on the principles of society and the rights of man” was the essential objective of the country. However, modern-day America experiences opposite ideals and Paine’s theory no longer remains true because of the educational gap between the rich and poor, terrorism, and racial profiling.

“Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man”. Two men may follow the same religion but their beliefs and values will differentiate them from being a relentless man or a compassionate man. Although a man’s religious principles may follow what they believe their God wants, it doesn’t justify any crimes or villainous acts. In Thomas Paine’s essay African Slavery in America, he builds several strong arguments in order to convey the message that slavery is unjust and to persuade the Americans that we should not continue the horrid practice. Paine uses his knowledge of religion, humanity and law to strengthen his claim that slavery is immoral.

Michael Walzer’s Membership and Joseph Carens’s Aliens and Citizens: The Case for Open Borders present two strikingly different views on the justifiability of restrictions on immigration. In essence, Walzer argues that restrictions are generally justifiable, and Carens argues that they are not. In this essay, I will argue that Carens’s view is the more compelling one due to the following central reason: it promotes freedom of the individual. I will then apply Carens’s and Brown’s arguments to Donald Trump’s immigration policy, specifically his proposal to build a wall in order to keep immigrants from unlawfully entering the country. I will argue that this proposal is a marked move towards injustice and xenophobia disguised as an attempt to reclaim state sovereignty.