Oscar Wilde, Irish writer, theatrically said in 1891 that “progress has been made” because of “disobedience and... rebellion.” Furthermore, Wilde argues that disobedience is man's original virtue. Disobedience of law led to the American Revolution, desegregation, and improved civil rights across the board, proving that Wilde is correct. However, Wilde's claim ignores disobedience or the law that is regressive and detrimental to the health of the public, such as the Confederacy seceding for slavery, school districts that refused to desegregate, shootings that kill dozens of people. Additionally, in early human life, obedience was important for survival, leading me to believe that disobedience is “man's original virtue” if motivated by greed, …show more content…
The creation of countries, end of segregation, women's suffrage, etc. can be credited to disobedience. America was created because we disobeyed England; we thought that taxation without representation was unfair. Our motive was freedom and justice; the outcome was American people with more rights. In the 50s and 60s, people of color and allies protested segregation with “sit ins”. They disobeyed the laws of segregation and sat in restaurants or other locations designated for white people. Their motive was to end immoral segregation; the outcome was more rights for people of color, and a step towards equality. Moreover, women's suffrage was achieved through protests and sacrifice. They were put in asylums and had their children taken away. The motive: the right for women to vote; the outcome: a more fair and equal society. Examples of the benefits of disobedience do well to prove Wilde's point that “disobedience is a valuable human trait” that “promotes social progress,” because disobedience is found throughout human history and has led to many revolutions and movements that advance human connection, science, arts, etc, but disobedience is not one