Thomas Paine's Argument Analysis

Thomas Paine, a large supporter of America during 1791, describes his perspective of America as a perfect utopia that lives together in harmony and produces no flaws. This however, is not always the case, as Paine’s argument can be justified as both accurate and inaccurate. One topic that Paine addresses in his piece is the topic of diversity and how people from different nations join and live peacefully with Americans, which is known as immigration. Nonetheless, Americans in today’s society have contrasting viewpoints on the topic of immigration. Some people believe that immigrants are an accepted and large part of America, while others have negative viewpoints and opinions about immigrants. Immigrants play a large role in American culture
The 27 percent of immigrants and their offspring is calculated to about 43 million immigrants out of 321 million Americans. These 43 million immigrants help contribute to the diversity of the United States. They usually come to America in search of opportunity and new beginnings that improve their lives, and these immigrants create a differing environment for America because they come from all over the world. By inhabiting such a large amount of immigrants, it creates a unique and diverse environment in America. When immigrants first come to America, it is a new and strange place. There might be a mix of emotions such as excitement, terrified, eager, sadness, etc. However, America is an accepting and welcoming place for everyone. This can be seen in the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, a Jewish-American author and advocate for Jewish refugees. Lazarus describes the scene an immigrant sees when coming to America for the first time. She describes the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of welcoming and a “mother of exiles” (Lazarus 6). By using the word “mother”, it creates an image of caring and protectiveness. While the word “exiles” means to be
America does not necessarily live in agreement but rather upon negative stereotypes and non-acceptance of new, unfamiliar cultures. This proves Thomas Paine’s argument as false and invalid. On December 11, 2017, a Muslim immigrant from Bangladesh set off a bomb, injuring four people near Times Square, New York. This is just one of the many terrorist attacks that have involved a Muslim attacker. Because of this, many Americans generalize Muslims to be a threat to the wellbeing of the U.S., causing many remarks about stopping immigration. In a letter by Nadir Tahir Aslam, Aslam voices her opinion on this issue. She states that her “family immigrated here in the 1960s from Pakistan. They, like 99.99999 percent of Muslim immigrants, are hardworking, educated professionals who are now American citizens” (Aslam 1). Aslam justifies that not all Muslims are terrorists, many are handworking citizens that deserve to be treated as equals with other Americans. Not only that, but these Muslims are also educated as well, just like many other Americans. There are 3.3 million Muslims living in the United States, it is clearly impossible that all of them are terrorists. Unfortunately, not all Americans are willing to listen. Many Americans actually contribute to the issue of racism and discrimination in the United States. Racism is to be discriminated because of one’s