Self-proclaimed journalist, Ta-Nehisi Coates relates his experiences of institutional racism to his son in his book Between the World and Me. Throughout his work, he is able to expose how whiteness attempts to cover up or glorify its villains. He cites in particular John C. Calhoun, a man who in my own AP American History class is placed on a pedestal as a memorable politician: "The two great divisions of society are not the rich and poor, but white and black. .” Highlighting the ways in which whiteness intentionally subjugates the black body beyond its immediate implications also raises other considerations. The social contract, without reference to a particular author, is an agreement between an individual and his government. The individual gives up his freedoms in exchange for the security provided by the government. Under contemporary social contracts, the individual pays taxes to the government in order to pay for the services the government provides. The element of the social contract in question is that it is a two-way street between the government and the individual. Since black people do not have the protection of the legal system, it should follow that the government is coercive when it forces black people to pay taxes. Therefore, black people should not be morally obligated to pay taxes to the United States federal government, its state governments, and other municipalities. (104)Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In the first part of his book, Coates describes the personal violence he had to endure due to the laws written and tolerated by the American majority. Growing up in Baltimore, he and his parents were taught, through domestic violence, to be “twice as good” as white kids. Their parents thought that if they didn't beat their children, they would be arrested by the police or worse. The streets were/are a likely destination for a black child because schools were/are designed to force them there. The streets were/are dangerous because the so-called “black on black on crime” protests were incited by white people. The war on drugs was created by Richard Nixon who associated black people with heroin in order to criminalize them. After forcing black people onto the streets, prison or death is their final destination. The obvious conclusion is that America is abusing its black citizens. Social contact is designed (according to some) to bring people out of the state of nature so that living a life that does not end prematurely becomes actually tenable. However, when practiced in America, it targets and breaks black people. This overburdens black people and completely robs them of their freedom, because how can you be free if you have to be afraid of those who are supposed to protect them? This privileges those who are white. Coates writes about white people who can be safely drunk in public and not be harassed by the police. They do not feel the fear so endemic among black Americans. The implication here is that the government has abused its social contract that should free the black body from the burden of paying for its own slavery. (84) Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Forcing a person to pay for their own slavery is not justifiable and constitutes a special type of evil. However, a rebuttal could be made on many grounds. The first is that because of the tacit nature of the social contract and because..