Why There Are Times to "Defy Authority"

[Annie]

I try to teach my students this type of thinking. There are times to critically question 'authority'; whether in a case like 9/11, a book you are reading for knowledge, or what someone 'in authority' is telling you:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.06/start.html?pg=3

For more than four years - steadily, seriously, and with the unsentimental rigor for which we love them - civil engineers have been studying the destruction of the World Trade Center towers, sifting the tragedy for its lessons. And it turns out that one of the lessons is: Disobey authority. In a connected world, ordinary people often have access to better information than officials do.

Proof can be found in the 298-page draft report issued in April by the National Institute on Standards and Technology called Occupant Behavior, Egress, and Emergency Communications. (In layman's terms, that's who got out of the buildings, how they got out, and why.) It's an eloquent document, in many ways. The report confirms a chilling fact that was widely covered in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. After both buildings were burning, many calls to 911 resulted in advice to stay put and wait for rescue. Also, occupants of the towers had been trained to use the stairs, not the elevators, in case of evacuation.

Fortunately, this advice was mostly ignored. According to the engineers, use of elevators in the early phase of the evacuation, along with the decision to not stay put, saved roughly 2,500 lives. This disobedience had nothing to do with panic. The report documents how evacuees stopped to help the injured and assist the mobility-impaired, even to give emotional comfort. Not panic but what disaster experts call reasoned flight ruled the day.

In fact, the people inside the towers were better informed and far more knowledgeable than emergency operators far from the scene. While walking down the stairs, they answered their cell phones and glanced at their BlackBerries, learning from friends that there had been a terrorist attack and that the Pentagon had also been hit. News of what was happening passed by word of mouth, and fellow workers pressed hesitating colleagues to continue their exit.

We know that US borders are porous, that major targets are largely undefended, and that the multicolor threat alert scheme known affectionately as "the rainbow of doom" is a national joke. Anybody who has been paying attention probably suspects that if we rely on orders from above to protect us, we'll be in terrible shape. But in a networked era, we have increasing opportunities to help ourselves. This is the real source of homeland security: not authoritarian schemes of surveillance and punishment, but multichannel networks of advice, information, and mutual aid.

- Gary Wolf

 

[musicman]

This story addresses something unique in the American character. While we are a people who respect the law, we also possess a healthy lack of awe for authority.

Certainly, the German soldier of WWII was one of the most fit and well-trained in the history of warfare. Yet, during the worst of the Battle of the Bulge - when German and American soldiers were cut off from their respective chains of command - it was, according to captured German soldiers, the Yank who fared better. The Germans were somewhat lost - awaiting orders. The Americans, on the other hand, figured they knew as well as any brass how to fight a war using the dictates of common sense, and did.

Thirty years ago, the Canadian government ordered its citizens to convert to the metric system, so they converted to the metric system. Americans were given a similar command by our government. We ignored them.

 

[GotZoom]

The sign of a good "authority" figure is to listen to those under him/her for their thoughts and ideas; and also at times to let them act upon them.

If you treat people like robots, when it comes time for people to act on their own (Germans in Mm post), they will be lost.

Where would we be today if Einstein, Bell, Gates, the list goes on and on, listened to authority figures who told them their ideas were ridiculous?

 

[Annie]

This story addresses something unique in the American character. While we are a people who respect the law, we also possess a healthy lack of awe for authority.

Certainly, the German soldier of WWII was one of the most fit and well-trained in the history of warfare. Yet, during the worst of the Battle of the Bulge - when German and American soldiers were cut off from their respective chains of command - it was, according to captured German soldiers, the Yank who fared better. The Germans were somewhat lost - awaiting orders. The Americans, on the other hand, figured they knew as well as any brass how to fight a war using the dictates of common sense, and did.

Thirty years ago, the Canadian government ordered its citizens to convert to the metric system, so they converted to the metric system. Americans were given a similar command by our government. We ignored them.

Yep, there are a couple of 'American traits' that save us, in spite of test scores. One is our tendency to think FOR ourselves and of others. The other is our work ethic.

 

[musicman]

Great points, GZ and Kathianne. All the more reason to regard things like the creation of a recipient class and the propogation of the politics of envy as attacks on the American character itself.

 

[Mr. P]

Ya know, I don't think this is so much "Defy Authority" as it is we don't YET always "Rely on Authority".

 

[Annie]

Ya know, I don't think this is so much "Defy Authority" as it is we don't YET always "Rely on Authority".

Could go along with that. At the same time, the whole idea of 'no elevators' in a fire would normally be spot on. Seems in this case, not so. No panic, they just did what was needed, including helping others.

Few just sat at their desks or stayed where they were, unless they were trying to clear subordinates out of harm's way.