Alright, so the other day, I was thinking about this whole thing of disobedience. You know, when should we follow the rules, and when is it okay to break them? It’s a pretty wild ride when you start digging into it.
I decided to start with a bit of reading. I came across this essay, “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem,” by this guy Erich Fromm. The title sounded heavy, but I was curious. I dove into it, and let me tell you, it got me thinking.
So, first off, I grabbed a notebook and jotted down some initial thoughts. I mean, we all learn about obedience from when we’re kids, right? Parents, teachers, they all want us to follow the rules. But sometimes, those rules feel wrong or just don’t make sense.
- First attempt: I tried to list out times when I’ve been disobedient. Some were small things, like sneaking extra screen time as a kid. Others were bigger, like standing up to a boss who was being unfair.
- Stuck in the middle: I realized that it’s not just about following or breaking rules. There’s this whole gray area. Like, what if a rule is technically right but morally wrong? What then?
I spent a few days on this, just thinking and writing. I even talked to a couple of friends about it. One of them, Sarah, she’s always been a bit of a rebel. She had some interesting stories about challenging authority in school and at work. It was cool to hear her perspective.
Then it hit me
It’s not just about individual acts of disobedience. It’s about the whole system, you know? Like, who makes these rules? And why? Are they really for our own good, or are they just about keeping people in line? And there is always a reason why I should keep the rules.
- Digging deeper: I started reading up on history, looking at examples of civil disobedience. Think about people like Martin Luther King Jr. or Gandhi. They broke the law, but they did it for a greater good.
- The big question: How do we decide when disobedience is justified? Is it about the intention? The outcome? It’s a tough one.
I’m still wrestling with all of this, to be honest. There are no easy answers. But I think it’s important to keep asking these questions, to keep challenging the status quo, and to keep figuring out what’s right, even if it means breaking a few rules along the way. It’s a journey, and I’m still figuring it out, one disobedient act at a time.
I think I’m going to keep exploring this topic. Maybe I’ll even write something more formal about it, who knows. But for now, I just wanted to share my thoughts and see what you guys think. Have you ever struggled with this whole obedience versus disobedience thing? Let me know in the comments!
