what does it mean to respect authority?
I have forever had a problem with the general assumption that somebody, some individual, is more important than me. In terms of "importance," I mean the idea that someone's will should be obeyed and unquestioned, because of their authority. I believe that all life should be given the same general chance as anyone one else. I believe we should do away with the system of capital, wealth, ownership, and oppression that characterizes human life on this planet. We have reached a point in our social evolution in which very few human beings have authority and unchallenged dominance over: the life of the planet, other human beings, and all life living on it. This is not the end, nor is it "the way it has always been." Changing these conditions is possible and absolutely necessary to resemble life, both physically and spiritually.
People used to tell me I had a "bad attitude," and I will agree that frustration combined with a sense that all of our social values are based on the authority of great spiritual falseness and absolute greed makes me angry and frustrated. My participation in this culture, has found me expressing myself in a less than positive manner from time to time. Luckily for me, and those close to me, i am able to learn and adapt. Social evolution takes place in the inherited social values, which are then varied upon to create new results. what this means to me is that we can't turn the world upside down all at once, but we can take a good look, then plan and realize our goals one by one. There is no time to just go with the flow, and think other people will take care of things. You are the "other" people!
We can be in control of our own lives, we just have to respect ourselves enough to seize control back from where ever we sold it. People have been in cocoons waiting for the prefect time to reinvent themselves. We will get along collectively, and build our lives towards a meaningful culture and a peaceful world. We will trust and respect each other as we do ourselves. The paymasters have tried to keep us fearful and divided from one another. This is obvious mind control, and it is based upon their own greatest fear. It is the power of the people working together on all life, that keeps the oppressors glorifying mayhem and projecting a distorted vision of reality.
When I was young I didn't have the knowledge to channel these frustrations. I always had the feeling something was wrong with the canons of american society: "God is a christian," and "finical success is the ultimate goal" of american culture. As I learned, I took the energy generated by those ideas and turned them into new creations. This allows me to understand and process those ideas, then free them. Whether it is writing journals, letters, music, or just acting freely with other people in the moment, those can be creative and positive outputs for processing information.
It is liberating to admit how ridiculous we have let things get, and question why we have not taken care of the problems completely. We observe movements from the past such as women's suffrage, labor rights, and the great civil rights movements, and we become assured that social evolution is both beautiful and possible. We are dreaming and acting in new ways because we are evolving, we are restless for revolutions. We a spiritually starving for an open society based upon equality respect for all life. This is how we want life to be, to let human life live up to it's potential. Those who have giving up on their inner voices, their sense of compassion, have decided to compete in the game capital economics. But they will only find a life of exploitation, injustice, waste, shame, fear, prostitution, and empty rewards. They know that the way we live is harmful, unnecessary, and in need of change now.
What is your idea of respecting authority?