Respect my authoritah

I always seem to get into deep, controversial, debate-like conversations with my father. It could be about anything; politics, the economy, school, you name it. It usually consists of me accidentally starting the conversation-turned-debate by asking my father a question or telling him a story, him giving an opinion, me commenting on it or asking a question, and then him lecturing. They can often be long and boring, but mostly, they're good insight. 

Recently, my father and I began talking about authority. This was in response to a situation I was in at the time, involving a teacher, their opinion, and the actions they the proceeded take. My father said I had the right to question my teacher's opinion, but not their authority to take actions. While I feel he was right in a way, I also believe he was not. 

His first misconception was his belief that students can question a teacher's opinion. While that would be the ideal classroom, in which a student and teacher can get into a friendly and class-widely beneficial debate, that is not the case. Most teachers would find an attempt to debate an opinion as a direct challenge to their authority, which in many cases it is not. That student would be promptly silenced, and potentially ordered out of the classroom or to the administration's office. So while in the ideal world, students and teachers would be able to debate, that is not the world we currently live in.

My father also stated that authority is not earned. It is something that is handed to down and thus cannot be challenged. I wholeheartedly agree with him on this point. Teachers have authority over students, simply due to their position as teachers. We cannot challenge their right to discipline (as it is given to them) and their authority to teach and instruct us as they see fit. You wouldn't challenge your boss on something, right? "No sir, I don't want to write that report, and I will reject your authority." Your boss would then reject your position and you would find yourself unemployed. 

This is often confused with respect, however. While authority is handed to individuals, respect is earned. I believe that you should only show as much respect to someone as you feel they deserve. This takes a very mature and wise heart to correctly dole out the proper respect though. You can't confuse their use of their given authority as them disrespecting you. If they are polite and courteous to you, you should in return be polite and courteous to them. While you should generally give more respect to your elders, if they completely disrespect you, they have lost that privilege.

In conclusion remember this: opinions are meant to be politely questioned, authority is given, and respect is earned.