Questionable Authority

The great Louis C.K. does this outrageous and thought-provoking routine where he presents authoritative (or settled) propositions and then he contrasts them with “but maybe” scenarios that question their validity. The ones he uses are mostly absurd (and borderline offensive), but the overall point is a good one.

We should question authority….

Following along the lines of Louis, I will submit some other seemingly settled propositions that could be questioned…

1. Of course citizens should pledge allegiance to a flag…BUT MAYBE doing so means saying it’s OK for one nation on earth to be responsible for the most mayhem (in terms of death and destruction) of any nation that ever existed (be it Russia, Germany or even the U.S.A.)?

2. Of course we should “support the military” (as every aspiring politician will quickly remind us)…BUT MAYBE doing so means giving approval to an institution whose primary goal is to teach young mean and women how to kill and blow things up?

3. Of course capitalism is the best economic and social system, BUT MAYBE it is also the one that is most responsible for the growing income gap between the richest and poorest that threatens social order throughout the globe?

4. Of course the “American Dream” is something every young adult should aspire to, BUT MAYBE it means that doing so equates to spending the majority of your time on earth in pursuit of a higher level of consumption…one that the planet simply can no longer sustain?

There are some posts that are easy for me to hit the “publish” key.

This ain’t one of them.

I have watched with rapt amazement as the Arab Spring begins to unravel and unfold into the Arab Winter of Discontent in Egypt. But one thing that all the upheavals in the Middle East have taught us is that authority can and will be questioned. Because every human has the right to do so. It might mean torture or even death to do so, but you still can. And sometimes, should.

Here’s a tweetable for ya…

All authority elevated by man above men is questionable and should be questioned, and to the extent it deems itself not, then all the more.