Should individuals be encouraged to exhibit moral courage and intelligent disobedience as a means of challenging authority for the betterment of society? In a world where conformity often seems like the norm, should people be encouraged to step up against injustice, even if it means opposing the prevailing norms? In Jacob Lawrence’s magnificent art piece titled “Confrontation at the Bridge”, he vividly portrays the clash between civil rights marchers and law enforcement, showcasing the tensions that arise when individuals confront established norms and power structures. Lawrence’s masterpiece explores the concept of moral courage and intelligent disobedience, and how they serve as tools to challenge unjust authority and norms. Looking into …show more content…
Humans must have the guts to stand up against injustices and challenge authority when needed. By embracing this moral courage and intelligent disobedience, individuals can explore ethical dilemmas with integrity, advocate for fairness and justice, and contribute to the creation of a strong, trustworthy, and equitable society. This can be understood by examining three areas of analysis: understanding the moral courage in challenging authority, the societal and cultural influences on moral decision-making, and intelligent disobedience as a spark for societal transformation. Accordingly, the concept of moral courage in challenging authority has been seen throughout many points in history. Even in the face of adversity and when conflicted with oppression and injustice, those who stand for what they believe in will maintain the strongest argument in challenging authority. In the article “15 Examples of Civil Disobedience (Which Have Made A Difference)” author Caroline Grebbell provides specific historical instances where individuals and groups demonstrated moral courage by challenging …show more content…
This quote supports Eisinman’s claim by emphasizing the critical role of motivation in determining human behavior, especially in the context of resisting unethical behavior. Even though these psychological barriers force many individuals to conform, education on intelligent disobedience is crucial to prepare individuals to face future ethical and personal challenges. Similarly, there must be individuals who can showcase leadership in a futuristic landscape, especially one filled with conformity and unethical behavior. Vaibhav Pawar, author of the article “The Courage to Disobey: A Lesson in Leadership for the Next Generation”, stresses that future leaders must embrace intelligent disobedience to challenge antiquated norms and foster ethical decision-making in this modern society. He urges individuals to “Understand your own personal values and the values of your organization”. This will help you recognize when a request is wrong or unethical” (Pawar, para. 13). The syllable of the syllable. The problem with saying something in today’s society is how confronting hierarchical structures and social conformity can hinder potential leaders from practicing intelligent
Fromm, Erich. "Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem." Writing and Reading for ACP Composition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Custom, 2009. 258-63. Print.
Not all rules are always agreed on by every individual. Oftentimes people tend to keep to themselves about their differentiating views, but others fight for what they believe in. In order to make any type of progress for a specific cause, effort and determination needs to be put into a person’s every attempt towards a positive development. Individuals who rebel against an authoritarian society are often faced with the challenges to fight for what they believe in in order to make a change.
History has encountered many different individuals whom have each impacted the 21 in one way or another; two important men whom have revolted against the government in order to achieve justice are Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. Both men impacted numerous individuals with their powerful words, their words carried the ability to inspire both men and women to do right by their morality and not follow unjust laws. “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” by David Henry Thoreau along with King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, allow the audience to understand what it means to protest for what is moral.
Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau each write exemplary persuasive essays that depict social injustice and discuss civil disobedience, which is the refusal to comply with the law in order to prove a point. In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” King speaks to a specific audience: the African Americans, and discusses why he feels they should bring an end to segregation. Thoreau on the other hand, in “Civil Disobedience,” speaks to a broader, non-addressed audience as he largely expresses his feelings towards what he feels is an unjust government. Both essays however, focus on the mutual topics of morality and justice and use these topics to inform and motivate their audience to, at times, defy the government in order to establish the necessary justice.
Society’s norms change generation by generation. Every once and a while, someone will break the rules of society. Sifting through history, there are outcasts and rebels that went against what society thought was the right thing to do. Jesus Christ is among the most famous rebels in society. His rebellion against the religious establishment at Jerusalem created a large following of Christians after his resurrection that threatened Judaism. Christianity spread throughout all countries of the world. Jesus Christ was not the only non-conformist in history. On October 2, 1869 another great rebel was born. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, more commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was raised in Porbandar, India. Gandhi studied law in London, England but traveled to South Africa in 1893. Here, he spent twenty years opposing discriminatory legislation against Indians. Returning to India in 1914, Gandhi remained to follow his civil disobedience campaign. Even after his death, Gandhi’s commitment to nonviolence is living. The next famous rebel in history, became one of the world’s most influential men to ever live. Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American non-conformist during the civil rights era. King led one of the most suc...
Justice is often misconceived as injustice, and thus some essential matters that require more legal attentions than the others are neglected; ergo, some individuals aim to change that. The principles of civil disobedience, which are advocated in both “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. to the society, is present up to this time in the U.S. for that purpose.
Mahatma Gandhi, a prominent leader in the independence movement of India once said, “Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state becomes lawless and corrupt.”(brainyquotes.com) Gandhi states that protest and civil disobedience are necessary when the authority becomes unscrupulous. This correlates to “Declaration of Independence,” by Thomas Jefferson; “Civil Disobedience,” by Henry David Thoreau; and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by Martin Luther King Jr., because all three leaders felt that civil disobedience was important to help protest against an unjust ruling. Jefferson stood up to the injustice of the king by writing the Declaration of Independence and urged others to stand up for the independence of America. Thoreau exemplified
The world roughly hold about seven billion people. People from different backgrounds, nationality, race, but there is a high percentage of people in this world that struggle to make moral decisions on their own because they are scared of becoming an outcast, an enemy. In addition, this cycle causes people to be controlled by the society and not make decisions that would possibly better them but rather turn them into the society’s robot. In essays such as, “‘Repent Harlequin’ Said the Ticktock Man” and “Shooting an Elephant,” written by Harlan Ellison and George Orwell, respectively, each character faces a conflict with themselves by not using their own moral sense and getting faced with challenges. In the essay “Civil Disobedience,” written
Necessary Rebellion Erich Fromm is a psychoanalyst and sociologist who has written many books and journals over the years. Fromm closely studied other psychologists such as Freud and Marx, and he published analytical works on both many other theories. In his essay, “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem,” Fromm explains that as humans we start out with disobedience, and make it into something horrible—something for which we must repent, feel sorry for, and act as if we won’t do it again (621). Obedience is thought to be a high moral standard which we are to follow. On the other hand, disobedience is considered a moral flaw, a wrongness, or something you just should not do.
One of the greatest feelings in the world is going against the grain of society and the universal fear to be different than the rest. Whether you are sparked by your own fire, or someone else’s, breaking the status quo to be diverse enhances progress. Oscar Wilde once said, “Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.” This quote sparks interest due to disobedience often containing a negative connotation. However, in this quote disobedience is honorable, and to be called disobedient is a compliment. According to Wilde, disobedience is beneficial and without it, social progress could not be made. Without
Everyone is aware of the unwritten law that asserts that rules are made to be broken. Nothing will ever change if no one stands up for what they believe in. According to the Irish author, Oscar Wilde, throughout history disobedience has always remained man’s original virtue, and it is among disobedience and rebellion that progress is made. Wilde insists that disobedience, rebellion, and going against the rules will be the most influential push towards positive change. Sometimes disobedience seems like it will cause nothing but problems and unwanted consequences; however, like Wilde urges, rebelling and disobeying is surely always worth it in the end.
Likewise, violent protests raise awareness in a negative and oftentimes irrational light. Following the tragic shooting of Michael Brown in the fall of 2014***, countless riots shed light on a new twist on a century-old issue; race in America. The man shot was an African-American, unarmed, young adult. He was shot by a white police officer who believed the young man to be a threat to his safety. His death became the catalyst for the modern Black Lives Matter movement’s stance on equality in American justice systems. While the movement places an emphasis on a need for change, much like Martin Luther King did in the 1960’s, the mass riots from Ferguson, Missouri to Baltimore, Maryland contradict civil disobedience. The riots caused hundreds of vandalisms, countless injuries of police officers in both cities, and created fear for the movement. Awareness for the issues were raised because of this movement, but the violent initial spark of it derailed the solid proof of the need for change. This further proves the necessity that civil disobedience is on a free society; peaceable expression of views has a heavier weight when it comes to altering the course of a
Despite the belief that fighting with violence is effective, civil disobedience has been tried throughout history and been successful. Fighting violence with violence leaves no oppertunity for peace to work. By refusing to fight back violently, Martin Luther King Jr. took a race of people, taught them the value of their voice, and they earned the right to vote. Henry David Thoreau presented his doctrine that no man should cooperate with laws that are unjust, but, he must be willing to accept the punishment society sets for breaking those laws, and hundreds of years later, people are still inspired by his words. Mohandas K. Gandhi lead an entire country to its freedom, using only his morals and faith to guide him, as well as those who followed him, proving that one man can make a difference. Civil disobedience is the single tool that any person can use to fight for what they want, and they will be heard. After centuries of questioning it, it appears that the pen truly is mightier than the sword.
Obedience is also seen by many as the path of least resistance; it isn’t as mentally demanding to follow someone’s orders. Assuming authority figures know what is best for everyone, it is simpler to do what we are told than to have to think for ourselves. But once we stop thinking for ourselves and begin following orders bli...
Reaching for justice throughout human history has been one of the primordial dreams chased by most humans while at the same time, hunted as a mere fugitive by others in order to satisfy their appalling thirst for injustice. “Injustice anywhere is at threat to justice everywhere” as stated by Martin lather King, if one doesn’t fight for justice he/she might end up having to face the sad reality of injustice taking over everywhere. In order to not let such a thing take place we need to fight against injustice as one. Two literature works which embrace this idea are Common Sense by Thomas Pain and Letter to Any Would-be Terrorists by Naomi Shihab Nye. These two literature works as example of protest literature were very important in illustrating how crucial it was to fight against injustice because both works were effective in encouraging and helping the authors and their audiences share their ideas about a preoccupying topic while hoping at the same time to someday bring about an important social or political change.