For a wild child like me (and most of my friends) this is easy. I’m not giving a blanket pass to anyone in my life or my business and certainly not in politics. Most power is freely given by the people to the authoritarian. Obedience is considered a virtue. Obedience is acquiescence. When I was in gradual school (yes, it takes that long) we watched a social science behavior experiment. OBEDIENCE. In it, students were told by “proctors” to turn up the boost on a jolt of pain for actors who demonstrated the level of pain. Divided into “learners” and “teachers” Through the experiment 65% of “teachers” used the highest voltage and the behest of the “proctors” despite the obvious pain of the “learners”. It’s confounding. We look to those with authority to tell us what is right, but when they tell us to do what is wrong, where and how do we draw the line? Do not obey in advance and do not obey when your brain and your heart say, NO.
