Introduction
Parents all over the world expect their child to do exactly what their told to do, and this is practically hammered into every child’s head from the time they are able to understand what it means. However, there have come times where children have questioned their obedience to their parent’s authority and most parents will make it known that defiance of their authority is a big no-no; consequences awaited those who disobeyed. Most parents would argue that a child should be seen and not heard, meaning that a child should only be told to speak when spoken to and that alone. There are some children that feel that doing what they want to do including defying their parent’s authority will not have any unerring consequences. Conversely, there are some parents that let the child get away with it because they are “out of control” and afraid to take any disciplinary action. In light of this, a new question has been asked, should a child ever question their obedience to authority? The answer, a big emphatic no and there are several reasons why a child should never do this. Argumentatively, a child does not have to do anything an authority figure outside of their parents tell them to do because that other authority figure does not know what is good for that child. It can be asked if there are any sort of legal issues, cultural conflicts and power struggles between individuals and groups; the answer is that there can be at times when the child and authority figure do not see eye to eye. Overall, a child’s obedience to authority is absolute and it should always be. Here is why I argue that it is.
Obedience to Authority Does Not Save Lives
Obedience to authority can and have done things for people such as save their life. When people go into the armed forces/military, they may have different ideas about what it means to be their own man/woman and feel that they know better than those around them including the drill sergeants. Clearly, this obedience to authority is mandatory in order to save lives including their own. For example, a young woman who hates her captain goes against orders about not setting up the mortars before the general shows lest she sets off a premature explosion that can endanger the lives on the base. The young woman disobeys her authority figure i.e. her captain and she fires off a mortar shot that nearly kills the general, the mortar shot did some critical damage to 3 other men on the base; the men had to be immediately hospitalized because of her disobedience. The girl was later dismissed from the Army with a dishonorable discharge. Arguably, people who tell other people what to do are in good shape to do so because they have been around for a long time and their authority should never be questioned. Bubar (2011) reports that obedience to authority can have motivating rewards for those who obey and do as they are told. Also, obedience to parental authority is one that should be respected and obeyed (Bubar, 2011, pg.1). Some kids will say things like, “my parents only tell me that to be annoying” or “they are just being jerks for telling me to not play in the junkyard” and “they can do what they want, why can’t I?” When an authority figure tells a child what to do, they are doing it to save their life or to keep them from getting hurt. Most children do not seem to understand that obedience to authority is what keeps them alive and well, it is not because parents have a day or two where they are being jerks. It can be argued that a child can do whatever they want as long as they are out of their parent’s presence, this is also wrong because the child can get hurt or even killed not obeying their authority figure. Button line: Obedience to authority saves lives!
Obedience to Authority Has No Apparent Value
The truth is that it does, the value of obedience to authority not only teaches children about right and wrong but it also teaches a lot of people how to compromise in future relationships; there is the value. Case in point, a 26-year-old man tells his 30-year-old wife that he is not going to pick up the house or clean the kitchen or remove the nails from the porch until he feels like it. The reason for the man child’s behavior is because his lack of obedience to authority as a child, this has had detrimental effects on his relationships where the woman in his life cannot get him to do a simple thing because he wants to do what he wants to do. The value of obedience to authority allows children to grow up into respectable adults who respect their authority figures even if that secondhand authority figure is their spouse. One person could ask, how does this issue relate to me, how am I influenced or impacted by power, authority and resistance? The answer is simple, obedience to authority benefits everyone whether it keeps them or someone else alive or if it is something else; obedience to authority is in place for specific reasons and the most obvious of all is to not be questioned. Ackerly (2013) noted that obedience to authority is the one thing that should never be questioned because as everyone well knows, consequences are severe for those who cross those in power (Ackerly, 2013, pg.1). Argumentatively, most kids who turn 18 feel that they no longer have to listen to authority of any kind even if that authority is their parents. The real truth is, kids who are 18 and still living under their parents’ roof are still obligated to listen to their parents. Ironically, people are still obedient to authority because it is mandatory for them be in order to keep their jobs which allows them to keep everything else they own including their car. Most people treat this like it is a joke, but given the value of obedience to authority, it is far from one. Listening to an authority figure in order to keep your apartment, car and future pension is no laughing matter.
Obedience to Authority Has No Rewards
Argumentatively, it does. Most children have trouble believing that obedience to authority has no positive rewards and that the rewards system goes out the window. Some kids will say things like “being obedient does not get you jack!”, “authority blows” or “only wimps are obedient to authority” Obedience to authority is its own reward and for those who become future believers in karma, obedience to authority has huge karmic rewards. Make no mistake, when a child obeys authority, there is a lot of rewards to be had. Case in point, a mother of 3 asks her 15-year-old daughter to clean the bathroom. Now, the mom keep practically badgering her 15-year-old to clean the bathroom as a favor to her, but the girl keeps saying that she is going to do it and does not get around to it. What the mother does is ask her 13-year-old daughter to clean the bathroom including the toilet, the second oldest daughter does it and does it immediately when her mother asks her to. Allowance day is the next day, the second oldest get her allowance of $20.00. However, her mother gives her an additional $30.00 for cleaning the bathroom; her oldest daughter only got her $20.00. This clearly proves that obedience to authority is not only good for a child to learn early, but obedience to authority is rewarding. Dunlap (2014) reports that children who obey authority are rewarded, sometimes a reward is not always required but doing it because it is right, is (Dunlap, 2014, pg.1). Some parents feel that the only way they can get their children to obey them is through bribery and sometimes it works, but no parent should ever bribe their child to do right; it is something that should be expected of them. The real reward in obedience to authority is notice, some people cannot help but to expect praise for doing the right thing. Coincidentally, there are some children who only feel motivated to do the right thing when they are being noticed. Make no mistake, there are eyes watching people even if that they do not think there are.
Obedience to Authority is an example of Reverse of the Reverse
Most children are scarcely unaware of the fact that obedience to authority works both ways, when they disobey an authority figure i.e. their parents then they get it back later on. Case in point, Michaela hates authority and does everything in her power to go against obedience to authority when the opportunity rises, little does she know that this is going to have detrimental consequences on her babysitting job. Michaela babysits two different neighbors’ kids, the respective ages are 12, 9, 10 and 6. Michaela is the authority figure that none of the kids listen to and when she tries to bring the hammer down, she is laughed at or not taken seriously. Children respect authority figures who respect authority, here is a classic example of reverse of the reverse. Michaela could ask the question, is there a system of authority in place, who is in charge and why? The answer, she is the one in charge and the system of authority in place is supposed to be her just like her parents are the authority she is supposed obey but does not. McLeod (2007) reports that obedience to authority is a necessary evil in order to get many of the things that people would not be able to get on their own. Obedience to authority is not just a law, it is a way of life (McLeod, 2007, pg.1). The issue here is motive, it can be said that a child cannot have the motive to obey authority no matter what the cost is and without bribery of any kind. Argumentatively, that is completely false and what makes it so is that a child can be taught to obey authority as long as they are also taught to weigh the risks and benefits of doing so. A child may clean up their room just through motivation alone, it can be argued that a parent has to grease the wheel so to speak in order to get the child to do what they need them to do. A parent can just as easily warn the child about the consequences of disobedience, and the road less traveled for not doing what they are told. As in a previous example, money is not going to always get a child to do right, a stern reminder of their disobedience always will.
References
McLeod, Saul. "Obedience to Authority." Simply Psychology. 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. <http://www.simplypsychology.org/obedience.html>.
Ackerly, Rick. "Disobedience and Authority: A Teenager Tells It like It Is." The Genius in Children. 24 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. <http://geniusinchildren.org/2013/03/24/disobedience-and-authority-a-teenager-tells-it-like-it-is/>.
Dunlap, Don. "Teaching Children the Rewards of Obeying Authority." East Christian Reformed Church. 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. <http://www.starwire.com/CC/article/0,,PTID248638_CHID532146_CIID186582,00.html>.
Bubar, Sarah. "How Adult Children Can Honor and Obey." Girls Gone Wise. 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. <http://www.girlsgonewise.com/honor-obey-the-dividing-line-for-adult-children/>.
