Issue142 终于又写了一篇，行为艺术可以算质疑权威吗？

chengnicoleUID: 2216897

TOPIC: ISSUE142 - "The well-being of a society is enhanced when many of its people question authority."
WORDS: 413(565)          TIME: 0:45:00(revised)          DATE: 2006-7-8

I fundamentally agree with the speaker that questioning toward authority is an essential element to our society advances. Withal the questioning should be conducted in a proper way that in accord with laws and morals, and should not harm the legal rights and interests of innocent people.

The chief reason is that a society needs people's question and constructive debate to achieve its well-being. Reviewing modern China's development for instance, though many foreigners are still doubt about the speaking rights in this country, the question from people toward authority did push the society forward. In recent years, following the reform on state-own enterprises, a huge amount of workers were laid off due to market competition. The emerging challenge to the reform policy representing the laid-offs' interests forces the government starting to develop better welfare system and re-employment opportunities for the laid-off workers. Though the problems have not been solved completely, I believe, with the just rights to question authority, our society would become more and more desirable for people to better enjoy their lives.

Admittedly, violence or other illegal extreme activities might jeopardize the stability of the society so that impede the continuous development of our society. However, peaceful and rational inquiries could urge the authority to ensure the interests of people. For example, in a democratic society, the government should conduct public polls to learn about the feedback from the public on some controversial issues. Proper communication channels should be provided to the people who have some opposing ideas on specific laws, regulations and even administration. By learning the existing different opinions, the government can scrutinize itself from an objective view, which increases the probability of appropriate reforms or improvements of the society.

Another compelling reason why the questioning to authority can enhance the well-being of a society is that it could cause constructive discourse and debate, even proactive exploration, which can maintain the variety of our society and advance it into a more flourishing one. Looking into the development in arts and science fields of our civilization, many examples can illustrate my viewpoint. For instance, when behavior arts generates at the first beginning, many traditional artists think it should not be entitled as an art form. Some critics considered it as a questioning toward the traditional arts forms, a Frankenstein made from painting, sculpture, dancing or theater. However, with the ongoing debate and continuous criticism, more and more people start to recognize the existence of behavior arts, even some ugly works. In turn, our world of arts became more and more prosperous with multifarious competing forms. Furthermore, almost all the naissance of momentous inventions or discoveries in science were accompanied by questioning authority. Most could recall Copernicus & Bruno’s challenges towards the earth-center theory supported by the religious community at their era, and Galileo’s questioning towards Aristotle’s principles on falling objects, and so on. Questioning authority in science field has been verified as a critical force to impulse the progress of human knowledge.

On balance, the well-being of a society is based on the realization and fulfillment of its people's interests and legal rights. Without the healthy questioning in proper format, the authority will be more likely to abuse its power so that they might harm the people's well-being, let alone the society's well-being. To achieve a better society, we ought to encourage the constructive questions, suggestions and reformations in a responsible way.

[ 本帖最后由 chengnicole 于 2006-7-8 19:04 编辑 ]

chengnicoleUID: 2216897

顶！