Awareness Is The Key (Essay Sample)

Knowledge is one of the most vital resources for both an individual and the society at large. In contemporary society, knowledge has been crucial not only for enlightenment purposes but also in solving social issues. Some of the social issues being faced in contemporary society include oppression and social control. Knowledge has enabled individuals to understand these issues as well as device ways of controlling or preventing such issues from happening. Without knowledge, people would not even recognize social issues in the society let alone try and solve them. Knowledge people the power to know what is right and wrong, good or bad hence they can be able to make sound decisions. When one has knowledge about their rights, they can protest when these rights are being violated. In a utopian society, knowledge can be used to facilitate resistance to and liberation from oppression and social control.
Oppression and social control are among the social issues being faced in most societies today. However, to a greater extent these issues are not prevalent in contemporary society because of the knowledge that the society has acquired all along. Knowledge has enabled members of the society to fight against and seek to be liberated from the chains of oppression and social control. Traditionally, social issues such as oppression of people and social control were as a result of the fact that the society was not enlightened or had no knowledge about their rights. Therefore, when civilization began taking shape and people became civilized, social issues such as oppression and social control were challenge. When people began realizing that they were being oppressed or controlled by those in power, they started revolting in protest of the infringement of their rights. Some of the forms of resistance to social issues that are common include revolution and protesting. This explains why there were so many revolutions after the era of civilization.[Elsner, Jaś. "Exhibitions and the Formation of Knowledge. (2017), 21.] [Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward (Scotts Valley: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018), 9.]
Education can be understood from various perspectives and the decision on what it means to be educated. Some of this perspectives vary according to ones understanding on education. Education it the process of acquiring new knowledge or enlightenment. It is the act of facilitating learning or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competences. It involves both imparting and acquiring knowledge meaning it has to have a teacher who gives instruction and a learner who receives these instructions. It is the process by which a teacher teaches new concepts, skills and competencies to learners who are expected to learn what they are being taught. It also involves a teacher assessing the learning progress of learners over a specific period to measure their educational achievement.[Adam J. Greteman, Sexualities and Genders in Education: Towards Queer Thriving (Basingstoke: Springer, 2018), 11.]
One of the main purposes of education is to enlighten people on the things they do not know and to preserve values, skills, knowledge and competencies needed to solve societal problems. In this case, a learner who comes out of an education system is expected to be a whole-rounded person who can make informed decisions and solve issues facing the society. Education is aimed at equipping a learner with the necessary, knowledge and skills that can be applied in coming up with solutions to challenges and living better lives. It is meant to make people realize that what they deemed impossible can be made possible is they learn how to these things possible.[Gurukkal, Rajan. "Social Theory of Knowledge Production. 2019, 13.]
Power can be simply defined as the ability or capacity to do something. However, in sociology power can be defined as the ability of an individual to influence other’s behavior or conduct or exercise authority over them. Philosophers argue that power provides an avenue for the revelation of the truth, he associates power and knowledge. They believe that power is a result of knowledge and that power produces reality. Therefore, privacy is not an option for the powerful as power exposes the truth about them and unmasks the realities hidden beneath the underlying social issues in the society. Education is one of the most essential basics in life. Its main purpose is to enlighten people to things they did not know and help them learn how to preserve values, norms, skills and competencies learned. Therefore, education is the source of the power of enlightenment and knowledge as it liberates an individual or community from ignorance and gives them the opportunity to have a say in decisions affecting their quality of life.[Charlotte P. Gilman, Herland (Irvine: Xist Publishing, 2015), 7.] [Greteman, Sexualities and Genders in Education, 12.]
One of the manifestations of oppression in the society is sexism. In contemporary society, one of the sexualities that has been experiencing this form of oppression are members of the LQBTQ community. Greteman suggests that members of the LGBTQ are some of the most oppressed members of the society. However, the author suggests that through education and knowledge gained from it, members of the society have been able to advocate for their rights in contemporary society. As a result of education and creation of awareness homosexuality has widely been accepted as the new norm of gender identity. Members of the LGBTQ community are increasingly growing in number. LGBTQ people are either a product of homosexual parents or are members of the LGBTQ community themselves.[Anderson, B. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. (2016), 5.] [Grozelle, R. S. "Cultural heterosexism and silencing sexual diversity: Anoka-Hennepin school district." Journal of LGBT Youth, vol. 14, 2017, 23.] [Rubenstein, K., & Young, K. G. The Public Law of Gender. Cambridge, England: Cambridge UP. (2016), 12.]
Greteman explores how oppression against members of the LGBTQ community is common in African and Asian countries where their cultures are intolerant to homosexuality. Besides the political oppression of the opposition, most of the countries in these regions are hostile to members of the LGBTQI community. For example, in around 70 countries across the world in, homosexuality is considered illegal. These countries are very intolerant to homosexuals, and members of the community are often arrested, harassed and even evicted from their homes. The situation is bad to the extent that members of the gay community often seek asylum in other countries where homosexuality has been legalized. However, in recent days, homosexuality and members of the LGBTQ community are increasingly being accepted in the society. This situation can be attributed to knowledge gained on the rights of homosexuals both by members of the LGBTQ community and the society at large.[Gates, Henry L., and Valerie Smith. (The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. W. W. Norton),21.] [Meneses C., and N. Grimm. "Heeding the Cry for Help: Addressing LGBT Bullying as a Public Health Issue Through Law and Policy." vol. 12, no. 1, 2012.]
Discrimination against the LGBT community negatively affects its members in almost every aspect of their lives. It affects them both psychologically, emotionally and even physically. Discrimination also routines affects LGBT people beyond the workplace, sometimes costing them their homes, access to education and even ability to engage in public life. In the workplace e, discrimination against the LGBT community denies them the chance to explore and advance their abilities. Due to discrimination, most of them are denied promotion or an increase in pay which limits the development of their living standards. According to a recent study conducted by the Center of American Progress, between 11 percent and 28 percent of LGBT workers report losing a promotion while 27 percent of the LGBT workers report being fired. This not only affects their ability to advance in life but also has detrimental effects on their overall wellbeing. Psychologists argue that due to discrimination, members of the LGBT community tend to experience low self-esteem and confidence. In turn, this affects the quality of their lives as it negatively impacts their overall well-being and health. Other negative effects could include depression or any other mental condition, emotional distress and anxiety.[Rhodes, C. Ethical Praxis and the Business Case for LGBT Diversity: Political Insights from Judith Butler and Emmanuel Levinas. Gender, Work & Organization, (2017), 9.] [Puff, S. "Difference,