Are You Able to Resist Authority?

Submitted by Imane Khaddouch 



The picture shows a huge number of civil egyptians who manifest
against the police who try to arrest them. The civilians are without
weapons and not fear from authority. It is a real illustration about
 the rebellion against the unfair regimen.



     A human being is a sociable individual who is created to interact inside a complex socio-cultural environment. Since the early centuries, humankind tended to live in group of individuals and shared with them the taste of cooperative life.  In the absence of law, only power, called authority today, can be a substitute of rules; therefore, minorities and weak individuals cannot survive in these societies. As today, many nations, especially in the third world, are struggling to maintain a basic standard of living because they cannot manage their destinies. These nations are living in dramatic circumstances; however, their leaders enjoy a luxurious life and own huge accounts in foreign countries such as Switzerland. The manifestations that are seen in the media in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt are a normal rebellion against unfair authority. Indeed, most people find resisting authority as assort of madness, even if it is hurtful for them; in contrast, others are brave enough to disobey it whatever the circumstances are.

As Martin Luther King said in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Otherwise, the justice and the injustice never can be present together. Martin Luther is a good example of an honest man who resisted a powerful regimen that segregates African American people during a sensitive period of the history of the United States, and today his dream becomes a truth. His rebellion against slavery contributes to change an important part of the American constitution “All men are created equal;” however, he couldn’t survive longer to live the glory of his dream.  Martin Luther King was taken prisoner because of his believes and his claimants that frustrated the leaders at that time. As a result, he is assassinated on April 4, 1968, and today all Americans remember him and celebrate Martin Luther King Day on the third Monday of each January.

Resisting authority is not a simple process, but it can realize good achievements in long term. Some people consider authority a powerful regimen that they cannot disobey because they don’t have the capability to cope its hardship. Personally, I consider authority as a kind of slavery that stoles our dignity, our willingness and our right to decide our destinies. Thus it is shameful to allow to these unlawful regimens to decide instead of us and to ignore our desires as free individuals. But, the question here is, are you able to resist authority? Many people may say: “No, we cannot.” However, the failure of the previous unfair regimen (like the Nazi regimen) proves that it may be possible to say ‘no” for authority. But, what is the cost of this ‘no”? We all know that it may cost our lives, but isn’t it our freedom and dignity are so precious? Of course they are. All nations and minorities deserve to live their lives without following outsider orders. As we say “yes” for authority, we make it more powerful, so we don’t want to give its leaders this honor. Thus the history is full of bright names that defeated injustice regimens and realize good achievements even if they too very long time, such as Martin Luther King dream.

The video below shows the famous speech of Martin Luther King “I Have a Dream.”

People who disobey authority should be proud of themselves because they are good paradigm for the future generations. Many individuals who refuse to obey the abusive organizations realized important achievements which serve the following generations and give them the push to protect their rights later. Even if it is hard for some people to challenge their abusive leaders, others believe that they couldn’t survive without freedom and dignity. As the famous proverb say: “What is taken by force can be restored  only by force,” so let be one voice and say: “No” to unfair authority.

The Whole World is Watching

Submitted by: Jackie Butorsky

     When one thinks about what Utopia is, what kind of images appear? A place where there is equality amongst humanity; an unachievable piece of Heaven. When I sat down to write this piece, my strong feelings about the subject overwhelmed me. On one hand, we have people who are obedient to authority. They blindly follow, without question. The term "sheep" comes to mind. Then, there are those like me, who question authority and their actions. I (and those like me) tend to view authority as an evil force, with evil intentions.



     Respecting rational and reasonable laws is one thing. If a country did not have law and justice, we'd eventually become like cave men. But, to blindly follow those with more authority than you, to never question, to never ask "Why?" is insanity in my opinion. Take for example the women who fought hard to have equal rights as men and Black Americans who fought to have equal rights as Whites. They had the balls to ask "Why is it that I do not have the same rights as my fellow men?" They dared to get arrested, dared to question authority, and dared to challenge. If they blindly obeyed authority and the status quo, god forbid where they might be today.
     My point is this... I would love it if police and politicins respected the law and didn't abuse it; teaching people that they are indeed allowed to question and to never back down when not answered; to have equality amongst everyone. Perhaps my way of thinking can be compared to communism. Every one has an equal share, no one is richer or poorer than the next person. Share and share alike. But communism is great in theory, never in practice. My little piece of Utopia is where everyone never has the desire to make others submit to them just because they hold a badge and a gun.



     In conclusion my dear readers, respecting the law and respecting humankind is okay with me. Submission to authority without question is entirely different. It may be because they do not wish to be confrontational, or simply they don't know any better. The point is, things will never change if we continue following the status quo. The fat cats will get fatter, as the poor get poorer. It's about damn time "we the people" rise up.

On Wednesdays, We Wear Pink.........

Submitted by: Alyssa Feudo

When we think of obedience, we generally imagine images of animals obeying their masters, or children complying with the requests of their parents, but we rarely wish to picture ourselves, as adults, obeying the commands of someone who makes us feel inferior. However, as human beings, we are inclined to conform to certain social groups and obey the rules of those who possess the most power in that group. We see this not only in everyday experiences, but also through the use of shocking scholarly experiments.

Take, for example, the first video above. A clip from the popular movie, "Mean Girls," portrays many different high school students all doting over the very popular, very attractive, very rich, Regina George. Each one of them seems as though they would love to be associated with this girl because she possesses a certain status of adoration and acceptance within the school. In the second clip, we can see that this girl even has power over the people who are already in her social group. Her "friends" must consult her when they want to invite someone new to lunch and they also must follow her rules of fashion, such as only wearing pink on Wednesdays. While this is only a movie, and is somewhat over-dramatized, we have all had a Regina George at our own high school who has made us feel inferior, whether it be because of looks, money, etc. Whether or not we admit it, at some point we all probably wanted to be a part of that popular clique, because all humans want to be acknowledged, accepted and part of the "in-group," even if that means doing things we wouldn't necessarily do on our own.
       Experiments like the Asch Experiment demonstrate just how far people will go in order to be accepted by their peers. It is here that we can actually see normative conformity taking place, that is, a man is publicly agreeing with a group while facing internal disagreement of his actions. In the Standford Prison Experiment we see how the Lucifer Effect makes the "guards" demean any rebellious "prisoners" and treat them very harshly. As a result, the "prisoners" comply with all the demands of these power hungry "guards." It is human nature to fear embarrassment, so we agree to follow even some of the most ridiculous rules in order to avoid humiliation and refrain from being treated like an outcast.
        When seeing this happen as an outsider, many of us, including myself, tend to make judgments regarding the intelligence of those who continue to follow some of the ridiculous rules of certain social groups. Comments like, "Why do they care what others think?" or "Who would want to be like her?" are common thoughts that come to mind. However, once we are placed in the situation ourselves, we tend to think entirely different than how we did as outsiders. Think about it, if the opportunity presented itself, how many of us would like to be a part of that popular group? How many of us would follow the unspoken status quos?
 How many of us would wear pink on Wednesdays?