And I got to thinking about why. You would think someone who reasons everything through like me would have reasons for doing things. I don’t, at least not always. I very often go by gut instinct and feel.
What I told her was that organizations, human systems, can become corrupt. Just because someone is in charge does not mean you should listen to them. It does not mean you should not resist them, in large things and small. I do not want to build habitual obedience, and a good test for flexibility on this score is precisely the ability to break rules without excess guilt, and without getting caught.
I don’t reflexively admire people who do X religiously for a long period of time. Somewhere in that period of time, an adjustment was needed, and this fact was missed because they were attached to the outward form, and not the inner purpose. Sometimes you have to cheat on yourself, and take a look around to see if you are missing anything.
And law and morality are very often quite different. Our leaders break both laws and moral codes constantly, but they remain our leaders, at least politically. I have long taught my kids that just because something is legal, that does not make it just; and just because something is illegal, that does not make it wrong.
I also teach them it is OK to break a rule, if you know why it exists; and I teach them to regularly take calculated risks. Taking risks is how you build judgement, and calculating teaches you to think.
We would not be better off if everyone were a pirate, but I also question those who reflexively follow authority. Even the so-called counter-culture has leaders who are not questioned. Obama is doing virtually all the same things they criticized Bush for, but the criticisms were propaganda, not principle-based, and so they cannot judge him for the many things he has done they would have crucified a Republican for.
Having a small black flag somewhere in you means you are alive. You are not reflexive, and you will not easily be taken for a machine.