Respecting Authority

by William Wright

Perceived authority

When I was growing up our family had a German Shepherd named Rex. The day we got him he was so small he was able to curl up under the dash of our car by my Mom's feet.

About a year after Rex's last car ride as a puppy, my mom opened the passenger door to get something from the car. Rex was nearby, and as though he'd last ridden in it yesterday, he tried to climb in and get into his little corner under the dash.  Rex still saw himself as being the same size as when we got him.  He wasn't aware that somewhere along the way he had outgrown not only his little corner, but the entire space in front of the seat.

Anyone can be surprised by change. We learn to accept things a certain way and from a certain perspective; often without question. When change is seamless, we may not immediately be aware that we fit into the world differently.

One of the things we learn as children, either through experience or by being told, is that authority must be respected. The understanding throughout childhood is that authority always belongs to someone else. If you've spent the first 18 or so years of your life experiencing authority as belonging to someone else, what are you likely to believe about authority as you transition into adulthood?

What is authority

Does the transition from childhood to adulthood alter the way that authority impacts your life? If so, how? To answer these questions with any degree of accuracy, we must first confirm our understanding of the term "authority".  A dictionary is often a good place to start:

authority 1a the power or right to enforce obedience.
- The Concise Oxford Dictionary 9th Ed., s.v. "authority"

What is clear from this definition is that in order to have authority, one must first have a right or power (a power is a form of right) to enforce obedience. What is not clear from this definition is over whom the right to enforce obedience exists. Since authority arises from a right, then to better understand authority, it may be helpful to first confirm the meaning of the term "right":

Right (noun) 2 : something to which one has a just claim: as a: the power or privilege to which one is justly entitled <voting rights> <his right to decide>
-Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, s.v. "right"

Because authority is based on a right and a right is something to which one has a just claim, it then follows that authority can exist only over that to which one has a just claim.

Claiming your authority

Who ordinarily had a just claim over you and your affairs as a child? The answer depends on who was responsible for your life; usually your parents and anyone authorized by your parents. As an adult, a just claim over you and your affairs seamlessly transfers to you. In effect, you become your own authority. No one has a just claim to interfere with your authority over you without your consent.

Your authority is your responsibility. By being aware of the boundaries of your authority, you will know when you have agreed to allow someone else to have or share it, and when you have not. By being unaware of the boundaries of your authority, others can encroach upon it at will because you won't know that you have the authority to say 'no'.  When this happens and you don't say 'no', you have in effect said 'yes'.

As a child you were taught to respect the authority of others because you had little or no authority of your own. But you're all grown up now. Respect authority all that much more now that it has transferred over to you.

 

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