Suppose you see John beat and kick Bill when the latter is on the ground. Both may be strangers to you, but if you are not afraid of John, you'll tell him to stop kicking a fellow who is down.
But when you see the policeman do the same thing to some citizen you will think twice before interfering, because he might beat you up too and arrest you to boot. He has the authority.
John, who has no authority and who knows that some one might interfere when he is acting unjustly, will - as a rule - be careful what he is about.
The policeman, who is vested with some authority and who knows there is little chance of any one interfering with him, will be more likely to act unjustly.
Even in this simple instance you can observe the effect of authority: its effect on the one who possesses it and on those over whom it is exercised. Authority tends to make its possessor unjust and arbitrary; it also makes those subject to it acquiesce in wrong, subservient, and servile. Authority corrupts its holder and debases its victims.
Alexander Berkman 1929
2 comments:
This is why it is important not to let them take our guns away. If everyone were to carry a gun there would be less crime AND less abuse of authority.
San Francisco is thinking of banning all gun ownership...but some town in Georgia made a law that insisted that ALL citizens own a gun. In that town, crime went down...down...and more down...take the guns away from the Friscans...and that will leave only illegal guns. Who carries illegal guns? Criminals. People that look to exploit the weaknesses of citizens for their own benefit.
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