Authority. The dictionary definition is a person or body of persons in whom power is vested, often as in a governmental agency. Although it is the government that creates the laws and regulations under which the people must live, it is the questioning of authority by those people that truly enhances a society.
The ability to simply challenge or speak against the government is a right that many people do not possess in the first place; thus to question authority when there are known consequences can be a great risk. Throughout history, oppressed people have challenged their superiors despite almost-certain repercussions; it is this challenging that led to the establishment of the United States as a free country and to the acquisition of long-desired rights by women and other minorities. The current U.S. government is constantly under fire by people all across the nation. The questioning of authority, therefore, both leads to the establishment of democracy and rights and allows for the constant challenging of democracy itself; it both creates and enhances societies.
In America, the questioning of governmental authority appeared on a large scale in 1776, when the country asserted its independence from Britain's rule. The thirteen American colonies had been subject to the imperialism of Britain and affirmed their right to be “free and independent states” in the Declaration of Independence.
Questioning authority is not only manifest in a minority group confronting the administration by whom they are being oppressed; it is also accomplished on a smaller scale. In the United States, authority is questioned every day; we as American citizens are able to voice our opinions and misgivings about the government (our main authority) without fear of being punished. This is the core of our democratic society: being able to express ourselves freely without consequence. This in itself enhances society; although the citizens of the U.S. are not overthrowing a tyrannical government or protesting for long-denied rights, to simply be able to speak their minds and to criticize authority enriches the country's knowledge and understanding of democracy. The basic rights of freedom of speech, religion, and the press, all foundations of the American government, allow the American people to express themselves and to have a say in the way their country is controlled-a right that many other people in other nations do not have. These rights have also led to the explosion of the media.
An account of the history of the United States and a look at the lives and rights of modern American people reveals the perpetual questioning of authority and subsequent enhancement of society. Although authority does not always come in the form of government (teenagers, for instance, view authority as parents or teachers), it is most commonly displayed and questioned the most as government. The challenging of authority allows for minorities to take a stand for themselves or simply for people to voice their opinions and to gain knowledge about the way they live. This challenging, therefore, makes society as a whole better.
