A self-described journalist, Ta-Nehisi Coates tells his son about his experiences with institutional racism in his work, Between the World and Me. Over the course of his work, is able to expose how Whiteness attempts to hide or glorify its villains. In particular, he quotes John C. Calhoun, a man who in my AP American history class, is put on a pedestal as a memorable politician, "the two great divisions of society are not the rich and the poor, but the whites and the blacks". .” Highlighting how Whiteness intentionally subjugates the black body beyond its immediate implications also raises other considerations. The social contract, without reference to any particular writer, is an agreement between an individual and his government. The individual gives up freedoms in exchange for security provided by the government. As part of contemporary social contracts, the individual pays taxes to the government to pay for the services the government renders to the individual. The element of the social contract in question is that it is a two-way street between the government and the individual. Since blacks are not given security by the legal system, it should follow that it is coercive for the government to force them to pay taxes. Therefore, blacks should not be morally required 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 Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In the first part of his book, Coates describes the personal violence he faced as a result of the laws written and tolerated by the American majority. Growing up in Baltimore, he and his peers were taught, through domestic abuse, by their parents to be “twice as good” as white children. Their parents believed that if they didn't beat their children, they would be reported to the police or worse. The streets were/are a likely destination for a black child because the schools were/are designed to force them there. The streets were/are dangerous because supposedly “black on black crime” was instigated by whites. The war on drugs was created by Richard Nixon who associated blacks with heroin to criminalize them. After forcing blacks onto the streets, prison or death is their final destination. The obvious conclusion is that America abuses its black citizenship. Social contact is designed (some say) to bring people out of the state of nature so that living a life that doesn't end prematurely actually becomes sustainable. However, when practiced in America, it actually targets and destroys black people. It overburdens black people and completely deprives them of their freedom, because how can you be free if you have to fear those who are supposed to protect them? It privileges those who are white. Coates writes about white people who can safely stay drunk in public and not be harassed by the police. They don't feel the fear so endemic to black Americans. The implication here is that the government has abused its social contract that is supposed to relieve the black body of its burden to pay for its own slavery. (84) Keep in mind: this is just one example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Forcing a person to pay for their slavery is not justifiable and is a particular kind of evil. However, a rebuttal could be advanced on numerous arguments. The first is that, due to the tacit nature of the social contract, and because America is a democratic republic and not a true democracy, individuals cannot voluntarily withdraw from the contract.