Authority

            Have you ever pondered what gives someone the right to do something? Chances are if we ask anyone this question, they will answer back with something simple along the lines of “They just have the power to do so.” Well, how did they get that power? Where did that power come from? What is this thing called power?
            Take for example, our friendly Mr. Police-Man Dan. He’s got the uniform, he’s got the nightstick, he’s got the gun, and he’s got the car with the blinking cotton candy lights – He’s got the power!
            Or wait, what? You cannot tell me that special concoction of material items gives someone power. So then, where does this elusive power come from?
            Oh yes, Mr. Police-Man Dan is affiliated with the government! How could we forget? The government gives him the power, remember? He is part of the prestigious police force; he graduated from the police academy and is now officially designated a police person by our government.
            But we cannot stop there with the government being the answer, the government being the almighty power giver/taker. If Mr. Police-Man Dan got his power from the government, then where did the government get its power from? See where this is going? Most people are too naïve to continue on any further after the government steps in, though we are going to rise above that naiveté here for reality’s sake.
            Ask yourself, who is in charge of the court rooms that decide the laws? Who is in charge of the prisons that enforce the laws? Who is sitting in the presidential chair? Just look at them, it is someone just like you and me, just another human being!
            And because of this, the government is not all powerful. Why not? Because Nature rules our Earth – people do not.
            So the real question is not where, how, or what gives someone power, but rather who gives who power. This is the question that in itself shines the searing light of truth on the illusion of authority.
            What we have is a system where power is designated by the people themselves. This is the same principle as if I were to be designated a policeman by a homeless person on the street. Granted, a government official may have an extensive educated background and the homeless person may not know the difference between twenty bucks and a fifth, but they both have the same capacity for giving someone power.
            And by now it should be clear that capacity is…Zero. Nobody has any real capacity to give anyone any kind of power, whatsoever. It is all a make pretend idea that we are all brainwashed to follow along with from the day we are born. First by our parents, then our schoolteachers, then our fellows calling themselves policemen, the military, presidents and dictators. They all want us to believe that a collective group of human beings with the same views conjures up this magic force called authority. But…it does not.

            What actually exists in this world is people who are knowledgeable and those with demonstrable ability. There are people who can help each other, and those who have to work on doing so.
            The legal system, for example, does very well in containing people and accumulating numbered paper rectangles in retribution for poor decision making, although it also leaves much room for improvement in helping people progress beyond themselves. But hey, even if authority does not set the stage for a higher caliber society, at least it helps unite two people who love each other, right?

(Continue to Marriage)