because I say so!
Anyone in a position of authority should be able to provide a reasoned explanation when giving instructions. A parent, on telling a child to do something, and the child asking ‘why?’ would be wrong to reply, ‘because I say so!’ Giving instruction is no different than teaching, and is a means to impart knowledge and understanding.
Instruction without explanation is an order, where an individual’s perspective or concerns are ignored, reducing them to an instrument used to satisfy the whims of another.
This arrangement, where the directives from the one in authority have to be obeyed without question – denying the subordinate the right to assess that order against their own natural sense of morality, or personal understanding – is not only the foundation of civil society, but also the root of abuse, and is rife in every institution from families to schools, from the workplace to politics, from religion to the military.
In secular societies, governments impose their will by enforcing the law; a set of obligations and rules which are presented as absolute, but are devised by the government to satisfy their own agenda, and which may be amended when it is in their interest to do so. The authorities of religious societies do exactly the same, only they achieve their ambitions to control us, and make us subservient by referencing ‘holy scriptures’ which they claim were received directly from god – conveniently, a god who is not only immutable, but also not to be questioned. It is worth noting that those sacred texts are open to interpretation, ensuring that they align with whatever the authority’s needs are. It is a great scam, because the religious leaders can order their duty-bound followers to do whatever they want them to, justifying it as ‘the will of god’. And this can be taken to extremes, where every facet of people’s lives is controlled by diktats allegedly from god – the authorities being the enforcers and punishers, when there are perceived infractions.
Increasingly, the role of the police is one that overtly protects the government, rather than the citizens; people who just want to ask the government to stop supporting the corporations, the real culprits of the climate crisis. The police say that they are simply following orders, but it begs the question; why would they do that when their bosses don’t care, but the people they’re attacking and arresting, really do? The reason is that the police have renounced their integrity, morality, and responsibility, in favour of upholding the law, the very mechanism that permits the corporations to destroy the planet with impunity.
The notion of patriotism is no different than religious control, where god is replaced by an unquestioned allegiance and duty to nationhood. While the ruling elites have most of the wealth, and everyone else is struggling just to get by, with some brilliant misdirection, they distract us from that inequity by giving us a flag to wave, and in doing so, we are just endorsing that overt injustice. But with that allegiance comes obedience, the point where we abandon our understanding of right and wrong, and are prepared to kill our fellow humans, because those that have power over us, profit from war. Are we really that naive?
No system of governance, nor anyone who assumes authority over another, should be able to order anyone to do something without a reasoned explanation and supporting evidence, and more significantly, the objectives should clearly demonstrate a concern for the bigger picture, i.e., the welfare of all people, and the protection of the natural world, reflecting a responsibility for safeguarding the future of life itself. If an order does not satisfy those fundamental conditions, we would be unwise to take notice of it.
Citing god is not a justification, nor is hiding behind the law. Humans are moral beings with an inherent responsibility for the community. This, above all else, should be the sole concern of anyone who thinks themselves qualified to assume a position of authority.
The main obstacle in putting an end to the destructive agenda of the egocentric, greedy megalomaniacs who supposedly represent our global community, is that we have been programmed to accept the idea that we are completely dependent on their leadership and direction. This programming is inescapable, because we are deliberately denied the opportunity to develop our remarkable intelligence and reasoning skills, and other human specific potentials.
Society is designed to use all aspects of our lives as a means to suppress our mental development, ensuring we remain stupid and biddable; the education system, the religious dogma, our entertainment, media, and politics, and the plethora of banal activities we’re encouraged to engage with, which include sport, competition, material worship, social media, technology, and an excessive emphasis on food and self indulgence. Because these distractions keep us intellectually stunted, they become a preoccupation, ensuring our compliance to the authority’s will. Just like a child is dependent on their parents, we are so inadequate as human beings, due to our suppressed intellect, that we rely on leaders to tell us what to do and what to think.
Taking our lead from fashion trends, celebrities, pop idols, brand marketing, etc., just exposes how our creativity and imagination has been repressed, and instead we project adulation onto the rich and famous – at our expense – living our only life through them. All because we have been ‘educated’ to have no mind of our own, nor the reasoning capacity to question the motives or implications of those in charge.
For example, having been made so gullible, we are happy to invest a large proportion of our disposable income on clothes and accompanying paraphernalia, all emblazoned with corporate logos, for which they charge us a premium, and then we walk around like mobile billboards advertising their products, having paid for the opportunity to expose our stupidity, while they profit from it. Those multi-million dollar companies are literally laughing at us, all the way to the bank. (Ironically, if the same companies were to suggest we advertise their logos on our cars, we would assume that we would receive some remuneration in exchange. Is that because we paid for our cars and therefore they belong to us, or is it that these ‘logo clothes’ tap into our immature need for identity, a vulnerability through which they can exploit us?)
That is what this system has reduced us to; puppets to service their greed.
We follow the leader, just like sheep, blindly believing whatever we’re told, never to experience or contribute to life in a way that is either meaningful or real, let alone sustainable.
So how do we necessarily change this tragic state of affairs? The answer is twofold: Firstly, we need to reconsider education – not as a process to make us compliant to the system, but as the mechanism for realising our naturally evolved potentials, so that we once again become the rational, intelligent, imaginative, and caring people we once were, and regain our natural sense of morality, one which understands the importance of fairness. Secondly, we should refer to the sum of our knowledge to establish which is the best course of action to take, so that the welfare of all people, the preservation of the natural world, and a sustainable future for the living planet, are assured. This would necessarily make our current system redundant, as it has, to date, failed all of humanity, and if we don’t establish an alternative soon, it will result in our needless extinction.
Sept 2024