What happens next?

The recent events in the Middle East continue to interest me, especially as they relate to this class. Egypt has recently overthrown its president of 30 years and the army has assumed temporary control of the country. My question is, after the excitement of activism and revolution, what happens next? How important is it, in the process of questioning authority, to have a plan in action after you have successfully questioned authority? How much responsibility, if any, does the questioning party have in reestablishing order after breaking down the previous authority? How does a society prevent another corrupt authority figure from taking over? What about anarchism?

Also,what can we learn from how past revolutions turned out (like the aftermath of the Russian Revolution vs. the aftermath of the American revolution for example). I look forward to seeing all of your responses.

Rebellion At It's Finest (Sort Of)

My senior year of high school, my school got a new principal who was a lot more strict than our old principal had been. She had security patrolling the halls to herd students into classes before the bell even rang, started cracking down on the slightest dress code infraction, and talked to students as if they were elementary school children. Most of the time, seniors put up with the new rules because we only had to deal with it for one year, but when she announced that she would have chaperones patrolling the dance floor at prom and that she would personally choose the playlist, we decided it was time to take action (Seriously, who wants to dance to the Chicken Dance at prom?). So a group of seniors started planning an Anti-Prom by setting up a location, DJ, and security for a dance to be hosted on the same night as our school-sponsored prom. Eventually, concerned parents heard about the Anti-Prom and called the school telling the principal that she could not allow this to happen. In response, she met up with us and agreed that we could choose our own playlist as long as the sponsor teacher of the senior class approved it; which was fine by us since we got along well with our sponsor.

Looking back on the situation, I think we made a bigger deal of it than we needed to, and we could probably have handled it in a way that caused less chaos. After all, it was only a high school prom. However, we did get our point across and came up with a compromise that worked for both sides.

So, since I love stories, my question is: What have YOU done in the past to question authority? How did you justify your actions at the time? Do you still believe they were justified, or was there a better way to handle the situation?

I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say!

The Power of Uniforms

I apologize in advance for taking too long to post this..

Anyways, my girlfriend was watching Dr. Phil and told me about a segment called "Are we really that vulnerable to uniforms?," which caught my interest for this class. They had a man in a military uniform stand in the streets and tell people to do certain things like walk around a tile or stop and walk with their left foot in front. Suprisingly people would make a face but do as they were told. When this same man was dressed in civillian clothes and requested that they do the same thing, people would look at him questioningly but walk right through the tile or not stop at all. It is not only clear here, but in everday life that the power of a uniform is significant. People personifying a doctor or police can face incredible criminal charges. Is the power of a uniform really that significant that it even has to be regulated? Why do we so easily follow what someone in uniform tells us to do? Why is it so hard for us to question the authority of someone in uniform?

Peer Pressure

So after the movie we spoke a bit about peer pressure and how much of an influence it is in our daily lives. I want to know if you believe it is a type of authority in itself and if so how much influence does it carry? If you were to rank all the types of authority we have covered so far (parental, religious, governmental, societal, etc.) which would be most influential all the way down to least influential and why? Are there examples to show the power of each kind of authority?

So I'm Thinking About Piercing My...

Hello All! I know what you all are thinking, what could this title possibly mean? Well, after reading two books that deal with questioning authority in the wayyy past, back when the wheel was created, I decided to try and think of something more modern, and I got to thinking about the modern generation. In our generation, give or take 5/10 years in either direction, people are modifying their body in new and 'improved' ways everyday. So the question I thought of was, what is it that makes us do this? I know a lot of my friends who, once they turned 18 decided to get a tattoo or a piercing that their parents otherwise wouldn't have allowed if they had been underage. Is the reason people our age feel compelled to do this have to do with 'sticking it to the man', whether that be our parents, employers, or just older generations in general, or is it for some other reason? Is is some coming of age thing people today feel they must participate in? I want to see what you all have to say about this and what it means in terms of questioning authority, and of what it means to you. I look forward to reading your replys :).

Social Networking

Hello everyone! I hope your Wednesday has been to your liking and that the rest of this week flies by smoothly. I recently watched the Oscar Nominated film "Social Network" that tells the real-life stories of the people behind the creation of the multimillion dollar corporation, Facebook. I have to say that in my opinion, it is a really great movie. I am not a film major and the closest I have ever been to that industry are the locations. What I liked about the movie was the story it told (a real one by the way) of one of the most revolutionary inventions of the 21st Century. After the film was over I had discussion with the people around me about the whole idea and discovered that what started as a simple "drunken/heartbroken prank" became one of the most prominent vessel to question authority. Based on what Jane wrote last week, we can obviously see the impact that these simple tools for entertainment have evolved into a completely different thing. Tweeting where to meet for a protest, making a Facebook invite to boycott a piece of legislature, making a Facebook group to fundraise for a relief fund to Haiti are just some of the many calls for action through this media.

This is the future. Do you guys think that this adds or takes away from the ability to question authority? What are some of the risks of using this type of media to do so? (i.e. Internet being censored) How well does "cyber-activism" impact the real world?

We are blogging about questioning authority... Is that going to make a difference?

Egyptian Unrest

So current events in the Middle East have taken a sharp departure from the norm latelyand Egypt in particular has had a crazy couple of days. President Hosni Mubarak has been in power for the last 30 years and been the leader of 10 different governments in Egypt. Now, the young people of Egypt have started a revolution to oust him, using the internet as a driving and organizing force. Last Tuesday, a march in Tahrir Square drew over a million people, and many groups have also chosen to question authority, siding with the young people.

To me, one of the most significant aspects of this revolution-in-progress is the fact that the Egyptian government, under the orders of President Mubarak, has shut down cell phone and internet services to the entire country. Egyptians have had to create new ways to spread information and communicate with each other in order to stay organized. Personally, the thought of a government-mandated crackdown on the internet seems impossible, especially in the United States. So what I want to know, is if the United States could ever undergo something like what has happened in Egypt, or if the US is too big (geographically or otherwise) for a shut-down to be effective.

If any of you are interested, here are some more articles on the revolution, including a timeline that’s constantly updated.

Why Should We Question Authority?

Okay so when I was thinking about what to write for the blog this week, the thing that came to mind is "why?" Why should we question authority? Are there times when we should not question authority and obey the government or other authority?

After reading Dr. Faustus, I couldn't help but think about his motives in questioning authority. He began to seek higher power by questioning the authority of God and making a pact with Lucifer. I feel like Faustus' civil disobedience was unnecessary and the power he gained became a corrupting influence. When Faustus actually gains the limitless power that he desires, his plans and ambitions are lowered. By gaining absolute power Faustus ends up performing meaningless tricks instead of the"great" things he planned before. Do you all think that Faustus questioning authority of God was for selfish reasons as well? When I think of Thoreau or MLK questioning authority, I feel like they had legitimate reasoning that would benefit more than just themselves. Are there any examples of individuals that have questioned authority for personal or selfish reasons?