Thou Shall Question Authority?

[teryang]

I suppose that this was a well intentioned piece but I found it misleading and shallow. Perhaps it is unfair to characterize this article when I haven't read the whole book, so I will limit my comments.

First of all, the author is critical of people who think they have a right to redress grievances in a court of law. You know the common law right to sue which goes back hundreds of years in our culture? Apparently this is some sort of less than ethical activity for people who don't accept responsibility for their own actions. It is de rigeur to mention the hot cup of coffee case. It is a low brow cliche. When people resort to the courts, something is wrong in this view. Well, something is wrong with the Reverend's perspective.

Then we have the the positing of the professional categories as the flawed "humans" that we put our misplaced trust in. Are we really idolizing authority when we seek out competent teachers, lawyers, doctors, and engineers? These people commonly represent the best in our society. They receive the best education and with experience are among our most important resources. They may not be infallible but they certainly have a high utility. And by and large they are only leaders in a social microcosm. Certainly they are better the aristocratic caste of corporate wealth that actually are the real authority in this society. When professional providers are being improperly influenced or biased, it is usually not long before it becomes apparent. Contrast this with government and the corporate world where deception is maintained indefinitely perhaps for decades to maintain some fiction, or fraud, or incredible wrongdoing.

It might be hard to believe but many doctors, lawyers and certainly teachers are ordinary people, disenfranchised and exploited like other labor categories by the powers that be. We may not know them socially, but many of these hard working people are the best friends we could have in times of hardship or personal challenge.

On the other hand, I think you might fairly lump preachers into the same category as politicians but it is unfair to stigmatize the professional classes in this manner. Many professionals, health service providers, lawyers, engineers, etc., are heavily regulated. Teachers and other academic professionals are also subjected to high standards of performance and scrutiny. Certainly they are more scrutinized and regulated than ministers. We place the welfare of our children in their hands. In addition our common law system of justice operates as a check on unethical and incompetent professionals. Yet there are those who seek to dismantle this system. It is a developing story that there is no check on other sources of authority in this culture.

I'll reserve comment on the lack of discussion of the corporate culture which is the bedrock of corrupt authority in our society and system of government, perhaps it is another chapter in Rev. Jones book.

[GCP]

1. Do you have a link, teryang?

I don't really know what you're talking about.

[Eric J in MN]

2. link

here is the sentence being discussed:
"We expect lawyers to take the responsibility for our actions off of us and put it on somebody else, preferably somebody with money."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/03/11/15_question.html

I agree with teryang that civil justice (lawsuits) is an important aspect of accountability and fighting crooked corporations. It's a way to challange authority, not instead of challenging authority.