Really? Do you really still want to be an obedient cog in “the system”?

Many people like obedience because it lets them off the hook. They can abdicate the responsibility to be the boss of their own actions and to be the real human they were born to be instead of a cog in some inhuman system.

A few years ago, I bought a couple of falafels in a shop in Europe and I needed a bun. So I  went into a McDonalds close by and asked for a hamburger minus the piece of meat. I declared that I would pay the full price. “Can’t be done”, “you can buy a hamburger and take out the meat yourself”, “against the rules”. I had the same robotic answer from the server in the front to the supervisor from the back. They all responded in the same way a vending machine would have responded if I had asked for a rocket instead of a can of Coke.

Can’t argue with “the system”. Or the boss. Or the owner. Or God. That’s what obedience is.

I gave up on McDonalds and walked down the street. Found a hot dog van. Approached the cheerful owner and asked the same questions. “Of course Sir”. He was going to give it to me free since the bread bun part costs very little he said. I insisted to pay a full price so he said fine, and gave me the bun but with a big box of salad as a gift.

That was initiative and generosity of spirit and kindness. What a difference between blind obedience and writing new and better rules as we go along.

Most people still prefer obedience to authority, “the rules”, the boss, the family, rich people, loud politician/presidents (we know who), because we can kick the responsibility to someone else. We can let ourselves off the hook.  We can switch off our thinking mind and switch off our human feelings.

What does not following blind obedience look like?

• Refuse to accept or believe in anything blindly. Check it out and if it’s not true or moral, reject it;
• Take the initiative to change rules that keeps us from connecting and seeing each other as human beings;  
• Take the initiative to fight to change rules that disrespect or discriminate some of us, even if it’s not us.
• Challenge the status quo to see how we can make things better;
• Be suspicious of people telling us things from “on high”, i.e God, or high up……..

Blind obedience is rampant. We must have the courage to look at it’s reality……………