According to Webster dictionary a democracy is “a government by the people”. This is the type government the United States has. The U.S government is built on maintaining and enforcing order and equality in a democratic format. With order and equality comes conflict and compromise among the people. John Locke once said “citizens have the right to rebel against a government that does not respect the rights of its citizens”. The responsibility is in the hands of U.S citizens to rebel when felt needed, until a compromise is established through cooperation from them and their government. Being a United States citizen is not just about exercising their rights as Americans like to vote or pay taxes. Being a U.S citizen is about protesting, taking …show more content…
In this story a lady accidentally trips over Rashad forcing him to drop a bag of chips. Officer Paul quickly runs over and assumes that Rashad is stealing. Paul then begins to use excessive force on Rashad because he was “resisting arrest”. The video of this quickly goes viral and some people begin to understand that the authority was in the wrong in the situation. From there it leads the community to a protest ranging from spray painting “Rashad is absent again” to a simple march. Unfortunately this is where the book ends. All of this is a small example of conflict and compromise defining the meaning of what being a U.S citizen is like. The citizens in this story were experiencing a conflict and working towards a compromise. The conflict in this situation was that a young man was being racially profiled and beaten for no reason. If the story were to end on a good note the compromise would be that the officer would be punished for abusing his authority. Rashad is a excellent example of a American citizen because he stood up for what he believed was wrong despite, being injured and did so in a peaceful manner. American citizens in the past have also done this like, in the American revolution with the Boston tea party and in the 60’s protesting for Civil Rights. All of these historical events are proving