Like Varlos, it’s about the same. I’m almost 42.
I’m 69 and I have less respect for authority than ever and I never had very much. But that doesn’t apply to earned authority; earn your authority and you will have earned my respect.
I am much more conservative now then when I was younger, but I also have found the police and other forms of authority to be more corrupt now then I thought they were. They probably are no more corrupt today than they always have been, but it seems like that to me
I’ve always questioned authority. I’m just more tactful about it now…and less hopeful of effecting any change.
About the same so far. I’m not a rulebreaker in most ways but I have an inherent distrust of people who seek authority and of all systems in society, don’t assume anyone knows what they are talking about, and am always questioning the things people do and believe just because they have been told by other people that they are right. This has been true since I was about 3.
Generally, less; with exceptions. Most people that are trying to get me personally to do one thing or another by basis of their authority…way less. Power trip for them and/or the institution they represent.
Authorities on Science, History, Medicine, Technology etc; more respect. They seem to be considering the impact on the entire human race and/or the whole damn planet. I acknowledge they can be wrong, but I respect them and the work they do.
I’m 64, and I never did have much respect for authority.
Mixed.
When I was younger, I tended to want to break rules without giving much thought to both sides of the equation.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more skeptical, but also more rule abiding in areas. The rules that I break have had thought given to the reasons behind them and the consequences for my actions. Constructive alternatives are given more weight now.
missred, 47
I respect authority less as a get older and wiser.
My Dad used to say, “Always question authority, It is the only thing that will keep us from another Hitler.”
I’ve been about as anti-authority as ever as I’ve gotten older.
Bear in mind that I came of age during the armed struggle against Apartheid, where every facet of the Government was the enemy. Which should tell you all about how I view Authority today…
I respect authority - I just don’t abide wholly by it as it suits me. I grew up as a young man in the US Navy 18 - 26 years old. It was all about rank and authority. You didn’t have to respect it. There were some “uniforms” that required a salute or recognition, and to follow orders.
My Dad showed me a lot about respect. He could “walk with kings and not lose the common touch” (Rudyard Kipling’s ‘If’).I treat people decently the way I like to be respected. If they don’t, then the situation gets different - pleasant or not.
I’ve never respected “authority.” My mother used to tell me “you’ve always had a problem with authority” and I used to reply that I actually have a problem with lack of authority, that is, with people who think that respect stems from having a title rather than from showing knowledge. A couple years ago I discovered that the Romans considered “having a title” Potestas and “having knowledge” Autoritas, and felt vindicated to the bottom of my protolinguistic heart.
One of these ages I want to read some Noam Chomsky…
As I aged, I stopped automatically accepting what authorities told me, and instead I began to question their arguments. Thus when I was young, I believed in god, but now I do not.
As far as The Man (police, etc.) goes, respect never came into the equation for me. I have never found a need to either respect or to disrespect an official, any more than I would find a need to either respect or disrespect a pop machine. I act par la règle du jeu. Take for examply the custom in my jurisdiction of bowing before the judge in court. I bow. I don’t bow out of a respect for the authority of the judge as a person, or out of respect of authority of the judge as the law. I don’t avoid bowing out of any dis-respect. I bow simply because it is the custom that is expected of me. In my city each and every one of the judges are people for whom I have the greatest respect, for time and again they have shown knowledge, compassion, and critical analysis in their work, but it isn’t that respect that has me bowing – it is simply the convention.
I’ve had a pretty bad authority problem since the age of. . .oh, I don’t know, twelve? That being said, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to do the following:
1.) Empathize with people in authority as people, even if I don’t agree with what they’re trying to do.
2.) Understand that people in authority are rarely actually in authority; they usually have someone above them.
3.) Realized that immediate hostility is usually not productive.
This allows me to not be a freaking jackass. So. . .I respect authority not at all. I respect people. Half the time, when people say they don’t respect authority, they mean, “I want everyone to do what I want them to do, and let me have my way.” I also respect knowledge.
But, regardless of whether I like the person, or respect their authority and/or knowledge, I’ll be civil. That being said. . .I can’t stop questioning. Ever. I just can’t. It’s a character flaw.
Age: 42. Short answer: less.
Long answer: I have gradually grown more ambivalent about authority. This has come primarily from being in positions of authority and realizing how arbitrary the exercise of it can sometimes be. I understand that it often helps to have a hierarchical structure that puts some people in authority over others. Sometimes you just need someone to make a decision or enforce something. For example, having tried to do volunteer work with a bunch anarchist lesbians, I discovered that not having someone in charge can be a real pain in the ass and leads to confusion or efforts wasted on consensus building. People only have so much time and energy, and that kind of inefficiency can suck you dry.
However, I reserve the right to question an authority figure’s decision-making process. That being said, I save my questioning for the important stuff. For example, there are plenty of little rules and processes that matter to my bosses that I think are, frankly, a little silly and a waste of time. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the time I just do what they want and don’t bother getting worked up about it. Only when something directly and seriously impacts my ability to get my work done will I say, “Wait a minute. Why are we doing it this way?” But I’m not interested in wasting my time questioning authority just for the sake of questioning it. That’s for toddlers and teenagers.
OK, so I see a practical use for authority. Do I “respect” it? Um… not in a moral sense. I don’t respect the authority of an older person, for example, just because there’s some cultural rule about respecting your elders. I don’t respect my boss because he or she is a “senior” something-or-other. I respect people when they know their shit.