This quote can be placed into a whole lot of different scenarios, it is all about perspective. For example, people who are pro-life are currently fighting against what is now the social "norm" of abortion. It is through their determination to stop abortion that they are making a change in the world. The same could be said for many things, regardless of how you feel about the topics. Here are just a few examples; homosexuality, legalization of marijuana, or even something as extreme as sex trafficking. Basically what Oscar Wilde is saying, is that if we are too afraid to step up and make change because of the consequences, then that change will never be made at all. The only meaningful changes that have happened throughout human history, were never easy (slavery), but were ultimately the right thing. The right thing to do, is not always the easy thing to do.