Friday, March 3, 2017

You Rebel!

In 1891, Irish author Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) observed "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 rebellion". Wilde claims that disobedience is a valuable human trait that it promotes social progress.

Write an essay that argues your position on the extend to which Wilde's claims are valid. Use appropriate examples from your reading, experience or observations to support your argument.

16 comments:

  1. I do agree with Wilde in saying that all history has been accomplished by rebellion or disobedience. It dates back to the very first people on earth when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were banished from Eden. If that would not have happened the world today would be so much different. So many scientific discoveries have been made from disobedience, higher ups tell young pupils that their project will not work and the student ignores them and ends up creating large breakthrough in science. This is the case for just about every invention, math discovery, medical discovery, and scientific discovery in history. Many of the common day items we use such as the light bulb, air planes, trains, telephones, cars, and even guns are all examples of inventions that people attempted to create, even after they were told that it would not work, rebelled and were successful. All of our history is based on disobedience and I do believe that it is human nature. Just because history is made up of disobedience doesn't mean that it is something we should strive for however. The disobedience and rebellious nature of humans does not always change history for the better. Human rebellions can lead to large scale changes like war, new countries, new religions, and assassinations. History has been altered by all of these things and that is not necessarily a good thing. Disobedience has granted common day people many good and useful things but it has also caused a lot of destruction and death. I do agree that the world is the way it is today because of disobedience but it is not always a good thing. If I was to encourage people to either be for or against rebellion I would not be sure how to answer. Rebellion is the main cause for history and the way history has unfolded. I do believe that rebellion can support a good cause and be successful. It can also cause death, so I think that in rebellion every person needs to go with their gut instinct and if their cause seems to be moral and just then they should go for it. Wilde observed this about disobedience over one hundred years ago and it is still relevant today. Even if a person looks at life one hundred years ago you can see that the world has changed in many ways and some was for the betterment of mankind and some ways for the destruction of mankind. Rebellion and disobedience are necessary for advancements in life but people should always strive to make their cause right and just. If a person agrees with Wilde but thinks that rebellion and disobedience are always a good thing, then look at the first people on earth and think that if they had not disobeyed God that we would all still be living in the garden of Eden today. It is important to know that the choice to disobey authority, which is sometimes necessary, will affect all of mankind and history that follows that decision.

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    1. Joe, I think we had very similar ideas, but you did a much better job of giving examples. I agree that if a person looked back there are times when disobedience has made life better and time that it made it worse.

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    2. I think you did a good job discussing the idea that disobedience can lead to evil actions. I ,too, discussed that in my paper. I think you explained well that there are good times to disobey and bad times, and there are bad people to disobey and also good ones.

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    3. I like that you say that disobedience should be used for the betterment of mankind and continue with that argument. In the end you bring in the Garden of Eden once more and changed history for all mankind. It bring many different perspective which made your blog very informative.

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  3. The world would be very different if no one ever disobeyed, but would it be better? Disobedience is not just breaking rules that are set in stone, but also going against things that are not supposed to work. Disobedience has undoubtedly shaped a lot of history. New things can be created when people rebel against societal norms. No one thought that the Wright brothers would ever get an airplane to work, but because they of their persistence, they were successful. Breakthroughs in many fields are discovered by researchers go against the odds to try and create something new. I am sure there are times when researcher are praying that something that should not work will somehow become effective. Who would have thought that drugs like penicillin would work? There are many good things that come from disobeying the standards set at a time, yet this type of rebellion can cause many problems. In Frankenstein, for example, Victor when against what was right and created a being that caused mass chaos in his life, along with many others. The first example of disobedience can be found in the Bible when Adam and Eve ate the fruit that they were commanded not to eat. This was not a good type of disobedience. Wilde is correct in saying that disobedience is a valuable human trait, but only to a certain degree. I think that the line between right and wrong disobedience is very fine and it can be a bit fuzzy. In Etched in Sand, were Regina and her siblings right in breaking the laws to stay alive and together? Do the ends justify the means? I think that the world needs rebellion, but for the right things and in the right way. In today's world, many people are fighting to make abortion illegal, which is a good thing to fight for and "rebel" against. There are also people fighting to overthrow the government, which is not something that should be done because it will lead to more chaos, not less. Disobedience is something that is important for human history, but not something that is always something that we want in our life. If it were not for disobedience our world would be very different, but for all we know we could still be living in the Garden of Eden if it were not for the rebellion of our ancestors.

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    1. You had many great examples seen in the real world. I really believe that helped to strengthen your argument even more. Also, you did an excellent job discriminating from the two types of disobedience. Great work.

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    2. The example of Regina Calcatera was great addition in aiding your argument because disobedience was necessary to her survival. You show the positive and negative effects of disobedience and leave the reader with something to think about which makes your blog great.

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    3. Ours were very similar and we agreed on many things. You did a good job of incorporating our recently read books into your essay.

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  4. Oscar Wilde claims that disobedience to the normalities in any field or aspect of life is essential into seeing progress being made in the world. At first, one might look at this stance on life and think that it cannot be truthful or beneficial. In fact, there are many instances where going against the social norms has made history, but for the wrong reasons. One such example of a man who defied conventional warfare was Adolf Hitler. He went against honorable war which was seen at the time even though the battles were very bloody. His agreesive genocide approach to defeating his enemies directly led to the death of millions and the creation of the atomic bomb, a creation that still threatens world peace today. If one would simply look at that, it would be easy to dismiss the accuracy of Wilde's argument. However, if one looks past such evil acts done by evil-minded people, it becomes evident that Oscar Wilde may have a point. If every man and every woman followed every rule or every idea, progress would be impossible. There would be no curiosity, the source of creativity and invention. Without people stepping out of the comfort zone that society placed them in, there would be no Catholicism or organized religion, no law, no currency system, no agriculture, no organized living, no sewage treatment. The list could go on forever. Without someone rebelling against what the people of their time were saying, no o this could be possible. The world would be a different place. In order to progress in technology, one must think outside of what they already know to exist, for is that not want inventing is all about, thinking of a new idea that has not yet been created. Without any people breaking the shackles of society, there are no inventions, therefore no progress. That is why Oscar Wilde's argument is just. Although there may have been evil portrayals of his argument, for the most part, this disobedience or rebellion against society has lad to countless benefits, benefits that have changed the world and continue to do so. Oscar Wilde proves his argument with all these real world examples, but most of all, he uses those very same principles when writing his argument. He defies the norms by simply writing this argument, and it still has thousands talking about it well after his death. That is why Oscar Wilde has such a great argument.

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  5. I like how you show that if Wilde's argument is only looked at by one side it appears to be wrong, but there may be accuracy if viewed from many angels.

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  6. When Wilde claims that disobedience is a valuable human trait that promotes social progress I believe he is rig in saying this. If something fails through the disobedience of another then it allows for progress towards a correct solution. When Galileo was questioned about heliocentricity and no one wanted to accept it, this was because they thought he was disobeying the Catholic Church. So is going against the norm really disobedience or is questioning the norm what we consider to be disobedience. I believe that disobedience is an original virtue but what you and I would consider a common form of disobedience is maybe just questioning of normal activity or beliefs.

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    1. You connected his quote to an event in history and that helped show how it has always been an accurate statement. I do agree that sometimes the norm needs questioned

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  7. "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 rebellion". Wilde had made this statement and believed every word he spoke. He believed that that progress came from disobedience and I can agree with his statement. Many people throughout history have been disobedient and this disobedience has lead to great social progress. For instance, Rosa Parks was a disobedient women to society. She was riding the bus one day when she was told to move to the back of the bus because of the color of her skin. Rosa Parks refused and was sent to jail because of this. Her disobedience started the boycott against the bus system and brought attention to the issue of rights for African Americans and women. This disobedience lead to the equal rights for all people. Another similar example of disobedience leading to social progress was the many actions of the great Martin Luther King Jr. King fought for equal rights among African Americans. During his time, many African Americans were treated unfair and unequal. They were looked down upon and forced to be separate from society. For example, whites and blacks could not use the same water fountain or sit at the same tables in restaurant. King sailing with many other activists disobeyed these ideas and took place in sit ins and nonviolent protests. These acts lead to the integration of the different races. Without these rave acts of disobedience our world could still be extremely segregated. Parks and King were pit in jail for their actions, but the results of these actions were for the betterment of society. One of the most important stories of disobedience in history is of Adam and Eve. This proves that disobedience can have many negative aspects. Adam and Eve had disobeyed God's word when they were told not to eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the Garden. They had be tempted by the serpent to eat if the fruit and disobey God. This disobedience has banished the rest of humanity from the Garden and instilled each human with Original Sin. Humanity lives imperfectly due to this action, but it can one day be restored.

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  8. Honestly, I believe that this old Irish guy has a good point. Let's think back to the old days of when the colonies were being established. The people who lived there were there because they did not like it back in England. They believed that if they were able to go one of the colonies they would be able to find a better life and live in the way they wanted. As we all know, that didn't happen but the American Revolution did happen. With this, the people were able to realize that they did not like what they were presented with, organized with other people, made a plan, and carried it out. In this, they were able to create a much better civilization for themselves and those around them. They made progress because of the rebellion. They were told to follow the monarch, to stay quiet and just live their lives as they were. Without this rebellion and the disobedience of the people, our country may just as well still be under English rule. We could still be jailed or even killed because of what we say or believe. Religious persecution would not only be something that we learn about in history books, but something we live through daily. Own your own business? That is a concept that would never have been able to become a reality. If the monarch needs money, they could call out a tax on the people. It doesn't matter if the money is needed to fund a dinner for their sons first birthday party that you aren't even invited to. This is not only odd to think about, but would be even odder to live through. When you think about it, the only reason that we have the world we have is because of the people who came before us, who said enough was enough, and stood up and did something about it. Yes, it was considered rebellion. Yes, it was considered treason. But it was able to turn that wretched world into the world we know of today. The thing is, there had to be a war for this to happen. Many many people died for this new world to become a reality. Does the end justify the means? We now have our free world, but is it okay to just say, well, they would be dead today anyway, and forget about those that died? The answer is more of an opinion question, but I believe that sometimes a little rebellion is what is needed for the part to become whole.

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  9. Disobedience, the ambition to not listen to a set rule or law—to question authority—without disobedience the world would be a much more uneasy place with many violations towards human freedoms. The first human to disobey was the first man, Adam. He disobeyed God by eating from the forbidden tree, thus bestowing the trait of disobedience upon mankind for the rest of eternity. The way in which Adam disobeyed cursed man to a mortal life with sin and death, this is not a place where disobedience was a good thing. On the other hand, there are countless instances where disobedience has caused progress to be made. Irish writer Oscar Wilde claims that "it is through disobedience that progress has been made, disobedience and rebellion." This could not be a more true statement on the importance of disobedience. Without disobedience the world would never change. Tyrants would have never been silenced, new countries would have never been formed, and technology would have never been advanced without the aid of disobedience. Did not the United States, one of the greatest countries, form under the hand of disobedience. We disobeyed Britain, and forced our own independence down their throats to attain what we have so beautiful and great today. Our country was formed at the brink of rebellion and revolution. The same goes for the French, who's bloody revolution gave way to order and balance within their country. Without disobedience, none of these events would have ever taken place. The world would indeed be a far worse place. Granted if man had never disobeyed God we would all be living in peace and harmony, but because he did disobedience is a very important virtue. Disobedience is often looked upon with disregard because it is bad to be disobedient. The truth states that man needs this virtue to discern right from wrong and if true wrong is seen the he must disobey for the sake of progress. Almost every significant disobedient act within the world's history that had a just cause in mind promoted great change and progress for the better. Maybe it is time for mankind to view disobedience as something to bring about great change and view it as a virtue in reserve for any kind of violation, whether it be human rights or the reign of a tyrant figure disobedience will indeed be needed again someday in the future to sway a significant event, just as it is needed in small amounts every day by individuals all over the world.

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