Rebellion; Man's only Virtue

    Table manners, internet etiquette, phone etiquette, traffic signs, school, social gatherings, parenting, government, and religion; what do these and every facet of our world have in common? They all expect obedience to their rules and regulations; with some having harsh consequence for deviation. This trait of society is not quarantined to the x or y generation but it spans to the beginning of civilization. HG Wells authored a book, The Outline of History, in it he asserts that early civilizations were “communities of obedience.” Expectation for obedience began early and begins young. Benjamin Franklin counsels “Let thy child’s first lesson be obedience, the second may be what thou wilt.” Milgrim’s Agency Theory divides obedience into different forms: obedience to laws, social norms, government, church, God, spouse, parent, and managers in a works place. Every sphere of human life falls into one of these categories and from a very young age we’ve been taught the expectations, and that transgression will be met with stringent consequences. In contrast to the strict rules and the adherence to them man has for reality, is how in film, literature, and history we revere the rebels.
   
 Milgrim and Zimbardo explored the nature of human obedience with two different studies. Under the pretense of a learning experiment Milgrim found that despite ethical and moral violations people still obeyed authority and “caused” pain for the volunteers. Further in Stanford Prison experiment people committed brutal acts of violence because they were conforming to social roles and obeying expectation. These studies reveal the basic obedient nature of humans.   
 
   James Dean, the Rebel without a Cause, has been immortalized in pop culture. He is smiled on for the same things we ostracize people in our own community for. Why do we respect the fantasy rebellions? Star Wars one of the most iconic films revolves around the rebellion against the empire (disobedience to government). In real life we find behavior like this abhorrent and in contradiction to our nature but on the big screen we want nothing more than to exercise the same independence, strength, and ultimately disobedience the fictional characters do.

    These discrepancies in social ideals are especially confounding when media is so inextricable from society. A debate rages on whether media simply reflects societal ideals or influences it.  “Media Now: Understanding Media, Culture, and Technology,” by Joseph Straubhaar, Robert Larose, and Lucinda Davenport discusses the validity of both sides and that the truth is irrelevant because the intense relationship between media and society is there. When aware of this tie it’s especially odd when in cinema we cheer for rebels like James Dean or Veronica Mars when they stand up and disrespect authority and rules, yet punish and expect punishment for the very same behavior for peers or our youth.

    This respect for rebellion is in the written word as well. The most respected pieces in literary history often have socially defiant airs in the characters, rhetoric and theme. “To Kill a Mockingbird,” represented all of these aims. To name characters so widely adored as “Scout” and Atticus Finch would be difficult. The reason these characters are so well received is their devotion to the truth. They were disobedient to every social, southern truth and yet we view them as heroes. Rhetorically, Harper Lee, disregards his fictitious public and their expectations with the books aim to increase tolerance and thematically it criticizes society and asks readers to also rebel if the morally it calls for it.

     More than fiction, once time passes rebels are immortalized and respected. Name every prominent person in history that is respected and you will find them to have been rebels in some way. Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Joan of Arc, George Washington, Thomas Paine, Martin Luther, Martin Luther King Jr., and Abraham Lincoln all are examples of history remembering the rebels. Our entire country is based on rebellion and disobedience to expectations. “Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s only virtue. It has been through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion,” Oscar Wilde.

    It’s best to describe these contradictions as the difference between human nature and our higher ideals. Innately our world revolves around obedience. The expectations man has for itself restricts behavior. Disobedience to these rules and regulations is however man’s greatest quality. As Oscar Wilde asserts, disobedience leads to the greatest achievements of our time. Only when stepping out of society’s cages are the most beautiful creations and when the most admirable traits of man occur. The respect we have for historical and fictional rebel is the reflection of these truths.