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In an excerpt by Paine in his book “Rights of Man”, Paine begins by noting the obvious differences in America’s people, but then praises them for overcoming those barriers and living more as one, despite their differences. While America is still diverse in several aspects, it is not the utopian society that Paine portrays in his book. There is a huge gap between the poor and the rich and there are actually many things that engender riots and tumults. His observations, however, were fairly accurate during his lifetime. With such a diverse society, especially even today as numerous immigrants come to America seeking a better future for their families, one can see how these combinations of so many different cultural backgrounds might have difficulty of coming to terms with each other. But unlike perhaps any other government of its time, that of America’s was based on the rights that all of humanity shares and strives to attain and live by. This level of equality was unseen anywhere else in the world at that time, and already set America apart from other young countries. Thomas Paine makes it clear that according to him, "by the simple operation of constructing government on the principles of society and the rights of man, every difficulty retires". While this may have been true in 1791, it is not so today. While America has a diverse population, whether there is a "cordial unison" among all its citizens is a matter of much debate. For, while they may be given the same constitutional rights, many immigrants and Americans are far from being treated as equals.

America’s diversity is shown today prominently in its most densely populous areas. In a census study in 2000 of New York, the country’s number one most populated city, 36% of i...

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...so hard to achieve can be observed in our present nation. We are still governed by the same principles for a free country that was set forth for us more than two centuries ago. Poor people are oppressed because of the inability to give their children the education they need. Now there are not that many “good” public schools around so many poor children will try to get into those schools. Unfortunately, those public schools won’t be able to fit every child in there, so many poor children will have to go to the bad public schools they’re attending. On the other hand, rich kids are able to have the money to be put into private schools, therefore will receive a better education. Though his descriptions are debatable for eras in America’s history and today’s life, our nation altogether regardless of disagreement, thoroughly enlivens Paine’s words through the test of time.