There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.
― Henry David Thoreau
I've come to accept the reality that I'm not very good at making friends or at least being likable. It has been a deep-seated problem with all forms of authority from my grade school teachers and corporate bosses to cops. I'm not good at pretending either. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not criminally insane and trouble is not my middle name. A friend once told me that I give this first impression that threatens or that I-won't-bend-to-your-will aura. And perhaps that is just my defensive mechanism. I have always been the ruler of my own life.
This is what I have learned these past few days, people in authority will do anything to defend their power or demand respect. I do respect them. I respect people, but most of the time, I cannot give them what they cannot give me. I've come to know by now a sweet portion of my dark self.
The authority prefers the cowardly conformists and dogmatic believers. They will do everything in their power to bring down the black sheep that tries to stay away from the good obedient flock. What those in great power need are people who will continuously fall for the magical thinking they preach.
Power tends to corrupt. The oppression of power gives you the illusion of comfort and security at the expense of others. People obey even if what they are doing is morally wrong. People can do the evilest things under pressure. There are so many hideous things happening around that you don't even know. And what you don't know can be a scary thing.
Authority is a myth. A story that culturally conditioned you to believe in, something we take at gunpoint. Obey or die. The people who resigned to 'it's the way things are' is just another coward excuse. Nothing is going to change if you don't be the first to strike the root of evil.
Fear is what's holding people back. Refusing to bow to authority has its consequences. Upsetting them might even cost your life. It is better to mindlessly follow than be hated, mocked or oppressed for being different. It is better to blindly believe and succumb to the tyrannical powermongers than to fight a losing battle with them.
I can now fearlessly and freely express my mind. I can strategically disobey. But it is also hard for me to trust the authority that is supposed to protect me. It is now hard for me to differentiate the good from bad people. It is now hard for me to keep an open mind. I have become hostile and in constant disappointment alert. My idealist younger self is slowly dissolving and turning into something I am not. But what am I and what am I not really?
Rather than cowardice and intellectual laziness, you should challenge the authority. Overcome the myth of it. Because nothing will be changed if you don't. The world does not need another obedient sheep, what it needs are more rebels. Reasonable and courageous human beings who will not fall easily for magical thinking. Nonconformists who can strategically disobey and nonviolently revolt for change. The ruling few should not forget that it's the collective power of people they should fear.
Acknowledge your own power or you will be controlled. The balance of power within human condition is important in order to have a progressive evolution of the human species. And without those who are willing to disobey, we are lost.
