"I was changed. Until then, I’d felt my talent was a shield, that I could break the rules without consequence, because there was something special and even righteous about me."
The analogy he tries to draw is stretched too far, and too thin. There is a difference between brandishing your talent on one hand, and simply standing up for righteousness on another.
Aaron put all he had in to a cause much bigger than himself, and even in his death, put a spotlight on the lopsided legal system.
The author, on the other hand, considers his becoming the establishment as "right of passage" in to some higher level of maturity. While it may be fair for the author to characterize his youth experiences as plain basking in talent, he could not be more far off in describing Aaron the same way.
The analogy he tries to draw is stretched too far, and too thin. There is a difference between brandishing your talent on one hand, and simply standing up for righteousness on another.
Aaron put all he had in to a cause much bigger than himself, and even in his death, put a spotlight on the lopsided legal system.
The author, on the other hand, considers his becoming the establishment as "right of passage" in to some higher level of maturity. While it may be fair for the author to characterize his youth experiences as plain basking in talent, he could not be more far off in describing Aaron the same way.