Argument AP Essay Prompt
Prompt: Write an essay that examines the extent to which Paine's characterization of America holds true today. Use appropriate evidence to support your argument.
America, the land founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, is just as freeing as it was in 1776, or 1791. Or is it? In the analysis of America, some argue that the increased diversity of the nation has brought about a Golden Age of society, that the unity of the people, for the people, by the people reigns stronger than ever. Others maintain that Thomas Paine's Rights of Man is an utter falsehood and that America is hopelessly divided and that the government is unjust. Thomas Paine's assessment of America in Rights of Man is akin to a middle school student, correct on the underlying assumptions of the facts, but mistaken in its exact application for the future.
There are some that argue that Paine's word is the gospel truth and that America is a golden Eden for all who live within its borders. Diversity over the past century has increased by the boatload. From Northern to Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and even Latin America, immigrants have flocked to America for a better life. The desire to live in a land where their children would not be subjected to discrimination or senseless acts of violence was strong in their parental guts. To them, the supporters of Paine argue, America is that very haven. The idea of an American Dream has been incredibly prevalent in American society. In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden struggles as he searches for his identity amidst America and the concept of the American Dream. Other examples that illustrate the sense of prosperity and unity is in pro-American country music. I concede that after 9/11, America was incredibly unified in the desire to defeat a common enemy. Country artists, such as Toby Keith, illustrated the unity in their songs as a warning against potential terrorists.
However, while the opposition has some credible points, they are mistaken in the overall grasp of the argument. There are situations of the excerpt that do not reign true in this day and age. First off, unlike what Paine believes, low taxes do not equate to a just government. In Nazi Germany, if the taxes had been low, it did not mean that Hitler's hateful genocide campaign was just. Furthermore, Paine is incorrect in the present of assuming America would stay in cordial unison. In fact, America has never been more separated over diversity, then they are and have been for the past 100 years. Many minority groups have suffered at the hands of this lack of true unison. Novels, such as Ellison's The Invisible Man and Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, illustrate the forceful oppression that African Americans and women have faced due to the lack of those acceptance of differences, of the idea that man is created equal. There have even been ideological consequences facing a threat to the American ideal. During the late 1960s-1970s, America suffered a moral crisis over the Vietnam War. Tim O'Brien detailed this very crisis in Things They Carried, where many Americans violently fought over whether or not American ideals would/should be upheld in the Vietnam War.
Thomas Paine in the 1791 Rights of Man detailed an America of true freedom and unison in the face of diversity. Proponents of this theory believe that this remains true to this day in the face of adversity. To some degree, this is indeed true. However, upon closer observation, one must also realize that America does not still have full unity and that diversity has...
(ran out of the suggested time so was unable to finish this conclusion part) :)
America, the land founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, is just as freeing as it was in 1776, or 1791. Or is it? In the analysis of America, some argue that the increased diversity of the nation has brought about a Golden Age of society, that the unity of the people, for the people, by the people reigns stronger than ever. Others maintain that Thomas Paine's Rights of Man is an utter falsehood and that America is hopelessly divided and that the government is unjust. Thomas Paine's assessment of America in Rights of Man is akin to a middle school student, correct on the underlying assumptions of the facts, but mistaken in its exact application for the future.
There are some that argue that Paine's word is the gospel truth and that America is a golden Eden for all who live within its borders. Diversity over the past century has increased by the boatload. From Northern to Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and even Latin America, immigrants have flocked to America for a better life. The desire to live in a land where their children would not be subjected to discrimination or senseless acts of violence was strong in their parental guts. To them, the supporters of Paine argue, America is that very haven. The idea of an American Dream has been incredibly prevalent in American society. In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden struggles as he searches for his identity amidst America and the concept of the American Dream. Other examples that illustrate the sense of prosperity and unity is in pro-American country music. I concede that after 9/11, America was incredibly unified in the desire to defeat a common enemy. Country artists, such as Toby Keith, illustrated the unity in their songs as a warning against potential terrorists.
However, while the opposition has some credible points, they are mistaken in the overall grasp of the argument. There are situations of the excerpt that do not reign true in this day and age. First off, unlike what Paine believes, low taxes do not equate to a just government. In Nazi Germany, if the taxes had been low, it did not mean that Hitler's hateful genocide campaign was just. Furthermore, Paine is incorrect in the present of assuming America would stay in cordial unison. In fact, America has never been more separated over diversity, then they are and have been for the past 100 years. Many minority groups have suffered at the hands of this lack of true unison. Novels, such as Ellison's The Invisible Man and Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, illustrate the forceful oppression that African Americans and women have faced due to the lack of those acceptance of differences, of the idea that man is created equal. There have even been ideological consequences facing a threat to the American ideal. During the late 1960s-1970s, America suffered a moral crisis over the Vietnam War. Tim O'Brien detailed this very crisis in Things They Carried, where many Americans violently fought over whether or not American ideals would/should be upheld in the Vietnam War.
Thomas Paine in the 1791 Rights of Man detailed an America of true freedom and unison in the face of diversity. Proponents of this theory believe that this remains true to this day in the face of adversity. To some degree, this is indeed true. However, upon closer observation, one must also realize that America does not still have full unity and that diversity has...
(ran out of the suggested time so was unable to finish this conclusion part) :)