Essay Sample on Civil Disobedience

Oscar Wilde believed rebellion was necessary for social progress and expressed disobedience being an essential human trait. In order to experience modification, you rebel against the discriminating laws that bring problems to you and the people around you. Furthermore, when awareness is given to an issue, there is extensive social progress being taken place. If no one ever disobeyed what was considered unacceptable, people would never reconsider their way of life to recognize if they are wrong and correct their mistakes. It is the original thought and action that advances our world. In other words, disobedience affects social progress.

The Women’s Rights Movement was one of the more important social progressions in the world. From the beginning of time, men always had more rights than women. America was blessed with some disobedient women who fought for the rights of all women. Susan B. Anthony said, ”The day may be approaching when the whole world will recognize woman as the equal of man.” The first woman’s rights convention was in Seneca Falls, New York where the Declaration of Sentiments was created. Rebels like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady formed the National Woman Suffrage Association. That association led to women gaining the right to vote. Without this movement, women would not have the rights they have today. 

Furthermore, civil disobedience has been the cause for many protests, abundant rebellions, countless uprisings, and numerous revolutions and revolts around the globe, in which almost all were due to unfair governments and their rules. Civil disobedience is seen by many as an expression of an individual’s right to free speech. Today, many social movements have taken action to expose unfair governments. For example, the social movement entitled “Black Lives Matter” has brought a lot of awareness to police brutality, the issues of sexual assault, and violence or harassment that blacks face today. This is a great example of how disobedience has exposed the unjust and how without it, there would still be social and political injustices for many in society.

Although, some might argue that disobedience cannot be morally justified and could be a threat to people and society. However, disobedience causes society to flourish and realized the injustices it has and allows society to correct them. Disobedience gave power to many during the Civil Rights movements because it gave them a platform from which to speak and brought attention to the issues they faced as people. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most respected and remembered leaders during the Civil Rights movement, was given the platform to end racial segregation and discrimination in America and a leading spokesperson for nonviolent methods of achieving social change. The speech he is most famous for, “I Have a Dream”, called not only for Negro rights, but for the rights of all people and, more over, for friendship and unity among all Americans. The civil disobedience that he had demonstrated was able to change the public’s opinion and allowed them to prove the importance of African American rights. Disobedience allows citizens of a nation to rise up and achieve many of the things that they have considered or feel that is an injustice in society.

Oscar Wilde’s claim that disobedience is a valuable human trait and that it promotes social progress made perfect sense. Without disobedience, America wouldn’t have accomplished so many things. We would have so many national issues if revolutions didn’t take place. Women would only be used for housework and educating children. Women wouldn’t be able to vote. Black lives would not have been given the rights they deserve. There would never be anything new. We would be stuck in the same era. We would never have breakthroughs in science and technology. Society would have never progressed. America is the land of the brave, and it takes bravery to be disobedient and a rebel.