A river flowed into my path yesterday and her waters uncovered something buried beneath the sand that I think needed to be spoken about.
A distinction that needs to be addressed that follows with what I have been writing on in the previous post.
This post will just expand further on those points while acknowledging the beautiful curves of the river.
There’s a difference between guidance, coordination, and mutual respect versus the assumption that someone possesses a legitimate moral right to rule over another person simply because of position or institution.
What I want to explore is this:
How do people begin confusing competence and compassion with rightful authority?
I ask this because often enough I witness this occur in the relationship people have with each other as a client in an institution. This could be from the DMV, to schools, to religious institutions, etc. Because of the humble and kindness of human nature has, being nice and forming relationships, people sometimes quickly slip into believing they have the right to rule even though it may not be so obvious at first.
In other words, Good people working within institutions oftentimes dilute perception of power dynamics. The kindness that they show masks the coercive nature of the institute. Thus, through compassion, the "client" is duped into believing their authority as legitimate. And this is why, in my opinion, institutions rely on good people to be at the forefront in their offices, such as in customer service or public relations jobs. Because they know people often comply more willingly with systems when the representatives are humane and compassionate.
So,
Why does wisdom and care so often become associated with rulership? When does earned respect become institutional authority?
The human mind is fascinating and it boggles my own when I think of these distinctive transfers in the psych. That doesn’t necessarily prove the system itself possesses moral legitimacy, but only that humans naturally respond to care, wisdom, and relationship.
As you read this I have one final question you could ask yourself dear reader.
Have you ever mistaken guidance and compassion for a moral right to rule?
