Civil Disobedience Essay

No person who did exactly as they were told started a revolution. Nor did any perfectly trimmed hedge in someone’s front yard create a new species. We are born to disobey, and though the word carries a connotation of rebellion and unbalance, especially in professional environments, disobedience is a necessary precursor to progress in society, and the absence of it is harmful both to the independent nature of the individual and the forward-moving nature of the world. Social justice movements are a great example of where disobedience made progress in society and a positive change in the world. Women’s rights were not earned by society deciding one day that women were of value; they were earned by the millions of women across the world who individually

As a result, women are today just as integrated into most sectors of society as men were before the movement. If they hadn’t made this conscious effort to break from the patriarchal system dumped on them as far back as the origin of Greek ideologies, we would never see the female perspective in our workplaces, our government, or even our lives -- throughout history, violence towards women and girls was seen as a natural expression of male dominance. Disobedience, in this case, led to liberation for half of the entire world population, though it is still a continuing fight for many today. Another form of progress sparked by disobedience was the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr, a respected civil rights leader at the height of the movement in the 1960s, brought up an interesting point about disobedience in a letter he wrote from Birmingham Jail. Despite his mostly upstanding protests, he did not believe in exclusively following the law -- he believed in following yourself. According to King, if your moral code lines up with the law, then you can live simply as a law-abiding citizen. But, if it does not, you can and should act against them. This mindset showcases his positive perspective on disobedience and, being a recognizable

And this thought process is completely valid; in professional environments such as school and work, one should refrain from disobedience as much as possible, as these institutions are aiding in moving society forward. For example, when I go to work and I see my tasks are to check out customers and check expiration dates, I do it. And in doing my job I am helping the company that is paying for my work, which is helping the customer, which is helping the economy. Though these tasks feel small in the moment, they ultimately keep society moving. This philosophy is not an ultimatum, though. The only reason we have an 8-hour workday and a minimum wage is because of worker’s unions and their insistence on disobeying their employers to combat harsh conditions. So, if these professional environments are not doing their part in societal progress or even halting its advancement, disobedience should be