The riots have exposed a contradiction in American values - a contradiction perpetuated by right-wing politics

The argument

America grounds itself as the ‘land of the free,’ and a beacon for the democratic values of Western society. In a piece for the Washington Post, Jonathan Turley writes, “Every year, the State Department issues reports on individual rights in other countries,” thereby self-prescribing authority in regards to the standard of human rights when compared to other countries. However, Emma Brockes, a columnist for The Guardian, writes that the death of George Floyd draws attention to the fact that America is “a nation with its roots in white supremacy,” and that Floyd’s death crossed a line considering it followed in closely after that of Ahmaud Arbery. The culmination of wealth disparity amongst Americans as well as the disproportionate violence towards black Americans has resulted in the exposure of America’s contradicting values. If the US is truly the land of the free, how can there be such gross inequality? When more than forty million people cannot trust the police force to protect them from crime and injustice and see the police as the main outlet of persecution against them, then America is not the ‘land of the free’ but of the privileged. President Trump only plays into the denial of racism in America and does nothing to uphold the constitutional right to freedom for every citizen.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Whilst America’s central values around freedom are for the individual, this means that the individual is also responsible for how they exercise their freedom. To whatever extent the criminal suspicion surrounding George Floyd goes to, it is evident that there was at least some grounding for the police arresting him. This analysis is not a justification for his murder, but at best an explanation that attempts to look at whether Floyd's death is the best example for activists and reform. Freedom is essential, but its abuse has consequences, and they uphold a moral society which is safe for as many people as possible. Moreover, whilst the principle behind the BLM protests are entirely justified and come from a desire to fight for equality, some abuse the opportunity and choose to commit criminal acts and therefore tarnish the name of the movement. When someone breaks the law, there are punishments to deter others from also breaking them. George Floyd’s death was not justified, but the reason for his arrest may have some legitimacy. Ultimately, America’s values are not contradictory, and the only responsible way to exercise freedom for all is to have rules in place that prevent people from abusing this freedom.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Describing a country as the 'land of the free' is a claim about liberty under law, not a promise of equal outcomes, so the standard the argument measures America against is one the phrase never set. [Rejecting P2] One killing, however indefensible, does not by itself establish that the legal order systematically fails millions; the argument moves from a single case and aggregate disparities to a claim about the whole system without supplying the connecting evidence. [Rejecting P3] Attributing the gap between ideal and practice to right-wing politics assumes what has to be shown — the same disparities in wealth and in policing persisted under administrations of both parties, so a partisan explanation does not follow from the premises offered.