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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger


Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
Last seen: 1 year, 12 days
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Question Authority
#5975786 - 08/18/06 12:32 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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You've heard the phrase, "Question Authority".
What does the phrase mean to you, and why would one question authority? 
I'll share later. 
 Peace.
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If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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USMCamputee
Stranger

Registered: 08/11/06
Posts: 157
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"Authority" is generally considered big brother, AKA the gubmint. Why question them? Simple, because they want to control everything about you for our own so called "safety". They are really just trying to secure their power and minimize the possibility for another revolution. I wish things were different. Capitolism, consumerism, and mass media have softened the American heart. 200 years ago our great nation's people would not have stood for a gubmint like this. We would have cleaned house......
We have a country full of shitbags who drive 55 in a 40, they don't use their signal when changing lanes, they don't want to raise their children right becuase they are too wrapped up in self, and wondering whether dinner is going to have chicken or beef, lifestyles and opinions conflict with other fellow humans, gotta compete with the other humans, gotta hurt the other humans for self gain, gotta chase the all might dollar, I need this new CD, and that new car........
Then you wake up, realize you don't have to worry about your house, you live in a domicile provided by your gov't and or employer. Your food, clothing, water, its all provided for you. Daily inspections of your living quarters by "the man", and then it hits you. You gave up your freedom without question, because Authority told you to.
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Clean
the lense


Registered: 05/11/03
Posts: 2,374
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excellet points USMCamputee...
Questioning authority, to me, means people waking up to the dynamic of submission between themselves and an authority figure.
Realizing that one is supressing themselves because some voice told them that it was for their own good.
Who is this authority? Why do they want me to obey them? Why do we allow so much external authority and then sit and wonder why we feel so depressed? It's because we're constantly stifling ourselves to please some authority or another.
Authority can be disguised as a teacher, friend, lover.. anyone who's influece propmts you to edit your personality because you're convinced that such editing will benefit you, or at least please the authority.
Authority is based on trust. For whatever reason, we trust the authority knows what it's talking about is the truth.
To question authority is to question where you are putting your trust.
Often the words 'Question Authority' are preceded by the words 'Think for Yourself' - imo this is very important. Do you trust your self or are you just going to allow some external voice to direct your life?
The SELF is the only true authority, for who is but YOUR SELF that allows an external psuedo-authority to have such influence over you!
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leery11
I Tell You What!

Registered: 06/24/05
Posts: 5,998
Last seen: 8 years, 9 months
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the much often parroted phrase is "Think for yourself, question authority" made popular by Leary, and adopted by Tool.
Well, according to Leary if you do not challenge beliefs which you hold to be true, you cannot possibly think for yourself because you simply absorb beliefs throughout life like a sponge.
There are many truisms, which are anything but. And in order to be a free thinking individual, you must learn how to "put yourself into a state of chaotic, confused, vulnerability, to inform yourself"
While this can serve as a sort of dogma too, it would also mean to question those who tell you to question authority.
But quite simply, if we look at government, if a policeman were to harass and arrest a woman because she had some pills, you might just stand idly by and feel proud for America, and feel good to see her crying. But if you were to actually question, HEY MAN, what did she do that is wrong? Then you would begin to realize that things are not as we are told.
Big brother and government agencies have massive agendas, and by NOT questioning them, we let them control our lives in ways inconcievable to most of the masses, but easily understood by the "free" head.
So for instance, questioning authority would drastically eliminate totalitarianism, as well as prejudice, discrimination, hate crimes, inequality, and many of the ills this world has.
Further from that, if you are clinically depressed and a doctor hands you pills, and you don't question that, you are probably still going to be depressed.... and that is because you failed to question whether or not your problem is so simple that a regimen of life long pill taking could fix it.
So you can get in tune with who YOU want to be by listening to your biology and instinct and intuition, rather than conforming to social norms.
For instance, I may be in a doctor's office, feeling great, and I want to start stretching my body out because there are some kinks in it. Well it would be UNHEALTHY for me not to, but I would think oh well what will people see when they look at me? But if I don't care because I've questioned the "authority" of social norms, then I can start rolling my head around and stretching my arms out and be who I want to be.
This is why countecultures often make themselves look grotesque deliberatley. However, countercultures need to be questioned too.
Ultimately in a society so large as this, individualism is quelled (is that a word? smashed? ) by MARKETING individualism TO us..... in such a way all "things" appear socially acceptable, when in fact they aren't and you are still part of the rat race.
And in this kind of society, it just isn't possible for freedom, liberty, happiness, individuality, personality, to flourish...... so to think for yourself and question everything which you hold true, ultimately leads to you only believing the barest necessity of things that you need to believe in order to be free... and all the extra baggage which seems like your friend, but is actually draining your spirit, is cast aside.
also as incubus said if i let them make me they'd make me paper mache
no authority cares about you, becaue authority by very nature seeks to diminish your voice. on the one hand, it is good to learn and INTERACT with those in higher positions, such as doctors, etc..... any "authority" that exists simply to force guidelines upon you, because it thinks them to be true, cannot possibly care about you? or can it?
you may force antiobiotics on a primitive tribe because they are getting way too sick, and then you might be right?
-------------------- I am the MacDaddy of Heimlich County, I play it Straight Up Yo! ....I embrace my desire to feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow, to feel inspired, to fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human...... Om Namah Shivaya, I tell you What!
Edited by leery11 (08/18/06 01:42 PM)
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trendal
J♠


Registered: 04/17/01
Posts: 20,815
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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Quote:
fireworks_god said: You've heard the phrase, "Question Authority".
What does the phrase mean to you, and why would one question authority? 
"Question authority" means exactly what it says - question the figures and ideas that are "in authority".
Why would one question authority? Well I think you should question everything...not just authority. Who made authority so special, anyway?
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Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.
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Fractalated
There's no onehome up there...

Registered: 07/22/06
Posts: 640
Last seen: 17 years, 4 months
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For me, questioning authority means not accepting things simply because someone says it is so. Just because the President says this is right and that is wrong, does not make it so. Just because Bodhidharma said something, does not make it true. So we have to question what they say, reflect, study, find out for ourselves. If they are right, then wonderful! If they are wrong, then we should learn.
-------------------- "Now that the principalities and the powers stockpile weapons of mass destruction, contaminate the earth with their feverish industry, release floods of images to trigger insatiable desires, treat animals and humans as commodities and functions of a market, the devil must be grinning from ear to ear."
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MushroomTrip
Dr. Teasy Thighs


Registered: 12/02/05
Posts: 14,794
Loc: red panda village
Last seen: 2 years, 10 months
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Question authority is for me more like question everything someone, anyone tells you to do, believe or feel and it's related to common sense and being able to have a brain which functions and being aware of that. So why do something without thinking about it first with your own mind? Even if an advice or method of thinking works for somebody, it doesn't mean that it works for me too. So I think by taking to consideration how we respond to different things and how every thing's affecting our lives, the next logical step is... to use our brain lol, that's why we have it. Most things today that work as brain-washing machines appeal to the phrase "if you don't believe this, it means you're not a true believer"... which we tend to take by mistake with intuition and our good instincts, which in extends gives us the guilt trip that maybe we're not functioning right and what we should do is listen blindly to someone who knows what they're talking about. This all deformation and alienation comes since the first years of out lives, from the stupid habit which parents and teachers, the first "responsible" persons we meet in our lives try to make us do things "just because", so we lost the use to ask receive any answers, therefore to make questions. Questioning something is not a thing we should feel ashamed with, it is something that must and does shows us signs that we WANT to know, and this is not a bad thing. One of the main things that has brought us to evolution came from posing questions.
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   All this time I've loved you And never known your face All this time I've missed you And searched this human race Here is true peace Here my heart knows calm Safe in your soul Bathed in your sighs
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Basilides
Servent ofWisdom


Registered: 02/10/06
Posts: 7,059
Loc: Crown and Heart
Last seen: 12 years, 8 months
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I'm guessing it stems from historical lessons that might doesn't equal right.
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    "Have you found the beginning, then, that you are looking for the end? You see, the end will be where the beginning is. Congratulations to the one who stands at the beginning: that one will know the end and will not taste death."
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DuppyConqueror
headingsomewhere


Registered: 08/18/06
Posts: 35
Loc: My own inner Teahupoo
Last seen: 17 years, 4 months
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From a young age I questioned everything around me--my own behavior, the behavior of those around me, the nature of the culture I was raised in--because I always felt intuitively that something in my life was amiss.
We live in a world of throbbing neurosis, a world where the timeless question--what happens when we die?--has left a black hole in the collective unconscious that many are trying desperately to fill with addictions, hang-ups, and the rapid accumulation of material wealth. "Culture," as Terence McKenna put it, "is the collectivized consensus about what sort of neurotic behaviors are acceptable." Realizing this made me very depressed and upset, and I blamed the police, the government, the church, my parents, my neighbors, my friends--I was tormented by my self, by questions of my own sanity.
When I started tripping I realized that the authorities are like me--fallible human beings, human beings searching for the answer to the Question, for some meaning in their lives and a reason to carry on. The problem then became: what is the force driving the collective insecurity of the 'authorities' and their 'subjects'? Why can't we all come together as one? Well, my conclusion on this (err, that's a bad word to use--it's still kind of open-ended) is that we are being driven by a force that is beyond the grasp of the collective will towards either self-destruction or a catharsis and unity that will rise out of the abyss of chaos and paranoia. Many believe it is a sinister force, an alien force; I have been known to entertain thoughts like these, particularly on high doses of mushrooms. But I have glimpsed God's hand at work, and it was beautiful.
Why do I question authority? Because I have seen it to be even more confused than I am--and if I stop questioning myself, I die a fool.
Embrace weirdness, embrace love, smile on your brothers and sisters.
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger


Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
Last seen: 1 year, 12 days
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When I saw the phrase recently, I interpreted it in a different manner than I normally would have. Ultimately, I think this simply resulted from considering a different definition of the word "authority" than normal, something along the lines of having influence that results from knowledge or experience.
In such a case, one would question authority in order to benefit from that knowledge and experience. Questions enable understanding.
Too often, individuals will interpret being questioned in a negative manner, as a threat to oneself. I've been asked direct questions before by supervisors, pertaining to my work, and, even if it was initially uncomfortable, being asked these questions really brought into focus certain aspects of my work, and really opened my eyes, brought me to understand more.
Questioning authority is beneficial. Sometimes people consider themselves to be authority, and they will not question to understand - they assume.
If one questions authority, I think it signifies that they do not consider themselves to be authority - if they did, they wouldn't question.
Asking questions benefits oneself, as does being questioned. Inquiries are the tool that we use to know reality. A good question will transform lives. 
 Peace.
--------------------
If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Veritas

Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,089
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The Socratic method is a powerful tool for eliminating erroneous ideas.
Quote:
The practice involves asking a series of questions surrounding a central issue, and answering questions of the others involved.
While those who are insecure in their authority (or the authority of their beliefs) often view questions as a challenge or affront, any valid authority will only be reinforced through rigorous question-and-answer examination.
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery


Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 95,368
Loc: underbelly
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To question the authority of the things you tell yourself.
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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