<p>Hello, I’m new to CC and im not sure if there is a discussion for this, but if anyone has the time and preferably is an expert at this, can you grade my practice essay? Thanks in Advance :)</p>
<p>The prompt: Is it important to question the ideas and decisions of people in positions of authority?</p>
<p>Examples used: Edwards Snowden, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Galileo</p>
<p>The status quo is determined by those in power. Those powerless merely follow the standards set. This, however, deleteriously influences the advancement of society. The challenging of people in authority is essential to the well being of society as it secures the freedom of an individual to think how he or she desires.</p>
<p>Ken Kesey indicates the importance of challenging authority in his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. In this novel, the rebel, Randel McMurphy, runs things his way upon arrival at an mental institution. McMurphy frequently challenges Nurse Rached’s strict policies of TV hours and remaining on the asylum grounds. With his refractory nation, randel inspires the protagonist, Chief Bromden, to exit the unclear haze that he had been living in previously. By questioning Authority, McMurphy opened Bromden’s eyes to a new world of free thinking.</p>
<p>As well as Ken Kesey’s novel, the actions of Edward Snowden also indicates the necessity of questioning authority. Snowden worked as a computer technician for Dell, and was a contractor for the National Security Agency. In 2013, Snowden leaked many secret NSA documents to the media, releasing extensive information concerning the NSA’s surveillance programs. Since then, Snowden has received praise from the international community as well as from civil liberties activists in the United States. By releasing these documents, Snowden allowed information, critical to the public’s perception of the US government, to be unfettered and known by all. Snowden’s actions of challenging authority gave the public information necessary to think without bias. </p>
<p>17th century astronomer Galileo Galilei demonstrates the importance of challenging Authority as well. Galileo lived in 17th Century Florence, Italy, where and when there was no separation of church from state, of religin from science Galileo in this time, began to observe the orbits of Jupiter and other celestial bodies, eventually confirming a heliocentric model of the universe. Despite threats by the church, Galileo proceded to publish and share his findings. For this Galileo was put under house arrest. Yet as a result of his work, scientists for centuries on benefited and utilized his notes to think more freely about the universe. </p>
<p>As Ken Kesey, Edward Snowden, and Galileo Galilei have shown, the questioning of authority is a necessity as it allows people to think without outside influence. If powerful people were continually followed, peoples’ insular minds can never advance. Progress arises from those rebellious enough to change their minds. </p>