Dangerous Authority

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Dangerous Authority

Since the day you were born you have been slowly taught to obey authority. Parents set forth guidelines as you mature that you are expected to uphold for your own good. With all you have learned about obeying authority, it can become difficult for some individuals to see when to say no. Psychologist Stanley Milgram once said “obedience is a deeply ingrained behavior tendency, indeed a potent impulse overriding training in ethics, sympathy, and moral conduct” (359). Individuals can sometimes be blinded by their obedience to authority, and not see how they are being infringed upon, or how they are a weapon in abusing another. There comes a point when you must learn to say no to authority, this is when authority reaches a dangerous level and your rights and other innocent people’s rights are being violated.

In society today, we as citizens give up a certain amount of rights and place them into the hands of our government. We elect these officials and bestow upon them a certain level of trust that they will do things to benefit us, and our country. They make the laws we agree to abide by and protect us. This is an example of a reasonable level of authority. Nevertheless, does that mean we should blindly sit by if our rights are being taken advantage of? A famous case of when you should evaluate the authority, and go against it is the American Revolution. “No taxation without representation”, is a phrase we as Americans are all familiar with. This slogan sparked the American Revolution, when we could no longer be taken advantage of under Great Britain’s rule. Early Americans felt their rights were being violated with the unjust taxation, and the forcing of British soldiers in their homes. These violations affec...

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... this was a mock prison ( Zimbardo 36). The lack of clear disobedience to authority needed, resulted in this being one of the most controversial experiments of our time, leaving behind an example of blind obedience and negative results.

In conclusion, we as a society need to learn the difference between blind dangerous obedience, and reasonable obedience. Your response to authority, whether to obey or disobey, should be based on how it affects your rights and the rights of those around you. Authority should be in your life to create a better environment for you, and not hinder your rights. Just keep one thing in mind, “ones who strike out on their own path tend to continue on, while the ones who choose compliance are unable to free themselves” (Asch 15). Do not be afraid to be the one who stands up against dangerous authority, I’m sure many others will thank you.

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