OG-1
Is it important to question the ideas and decisions of people in positions of authority?
Every individual has his or her own idea of ethics and morality, regardless of the nature of the objective truth. Authority figures, whether teachers, heads of nations, or other positions of power, may not always fit with each notion of morality. In order to determine whether an authority figure is doing what is correct, individuals must make themselves heard when they perceive injustice. Oftentimes, that means questioning authority.
Novels that portray despotism often portray systems of national leadership in which questioning governmental authority is forbidden. George Orwell's novel 1984 is such a story. The government is referred to as "Big Brother," a symbolic entity that continually watches over every citizen. The language, Newspeak, is constantly being updated in order to control people's expression, and through expression, access and control their thoughts. Anyone caught even thinking something forbidden is arrested by the Thought Police. Under this despotic rule, there are virtually no independent thinkers. All information given to the people is filtered and mediated by the government, which has the absolute authority and power to change facts and history with total impunity. The main character, Winston, realizes this, but in the end, he is brainwashed through torture. In this society of obedient drones, truth is irrelevant because there are no lies.
When a student goes through formal education in any countries' educational institutions, he or she must be aware and vigilant when it comes to what he absorbs. While presenting objective facts, a teacher may attempt to indoctrinate students with the teacher's own ideology. One need only look at the majority of United States universities. There are thousands of published articles exposing documented situations where teachers boldly asserting a liberal ideology that is fed...