Not a Utopia Throughout its existence America has been called a country of Equality, Liberty, Rights for All, Democracy and of course Opportunity. In our infancy people of all origins flocked to America in hopes of obtaining these ideals. Even today many still hope to relocate in order to have their chance at a slice of the American dream. But is this image of America projected largely by our own citizens but also many others around the globe at all accurate or just blind patriotism and admiration? Thomas Paine believed America to be a utopia of sorts; a place of “cordial unison” where the “poor are not oppressed,” and there are no “riots and tumults”. Unfortunately, you would be pressed to find the image of perfection that he implies in his book Rights of Man anywhere in the world, and certainly not in modern America. One specific quote from Paine’s’ passage I don’t believe holds true today would be “there, the poor are not oppressed, the rich are …show more content…
I’ve already mentioned the Occupy Wall Street movement that lead to many upset working class citizens camping out in protest but there’s much more where that came from. The Black Lives Matter movement is something that just about every American has an opinion on. Whether you agree with the protesters or think they’re being ridiculous; you can’t argue that they haven’t caused an uproar. Just this summer there were plenty of protests and controversy over whether or not the confederate flag should be removed from government buildings. For many the flag is a reminder of slavery but others argue it’s just a way to show southern pride. The controversy grew to the point that a flag in front of a government building was taken down by a protester. Polarizing issues like these are constantly arising in our country leading to riots and