Authority

 

              

           How does one classify authority? For this post I actually sat down and did a brief questionnaire with some people on my specific topic. Now one of the questions that I asked was what was the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word authority? Some answers that I received were; power, teacher, God etc. I thought those answers were very interesting.  I proceeded with the next question which was how do you classify authority? Some answer were someone with control, an entity above others, and again God. Last but not least I asked do you have respect for all authority. Answers were yes, no, and depending on who is in authority.  

                      This study really made me think of what thought process individuals went about to come up with the answers they felt were the best.  Other people that I did not account for gave me answers like. I do not believe in authority, they felt as if your over a certain age then you were capable of making your own decisions. I was very intrigued by all of the responses I received. So with being so intrigued I went on a hunt to see how other people actually classified authority. In my searching I stumbled upon a famous Poet and dramatist named Oscar Wilde who was born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin, Ireland to an eminent surgeon. Wilde was also widely known for his wit and flamboyance. Wilde being the vastly educated man that he was still did not agree with authority. Stating there is no necessity to separate the monarch from the mob; all authority is equally bad. When I read that I wanted to dig deeper into the web to find as to why he felt so strongly defensive about authority.

                 So I found out that Wilde was arrested for sodomy and convicted in a trial that became internationally notorious for his actions. He wrote a recriminatory letter to his lover that was edited and published as De Profundis (1905) that was later turned into a ballad. After being released Wilde moved to Paris and worked on his ballad which was about inhumane prison conditions. So I finally began to understand why he made such strong statements of that magnitude about that particular subject.  On the other hand I wanted to find someone who actually agreed with authority and accepted it as well.

                       On this excursion I found a man that in mind was much respected and had a lot of followers in journey for civil rights. Mahatma Gandhi born October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India at a young age Gandhi was a much respected young man. At the infantile age of thirteen he was to a girl his same age. This union was an arranged marriage. Gandhi started young on building his empire of prosperity and unity in the Indian community, by him being such an outstanding young man I totally understood why he made the statement Moral authority is never retained by any attempt to hold on to it. It comes without seeking and is retained without effort.

         After all of this research I have come up with one question, HOW DO YOU CLASSIFY AUTHORITY ?