© Elliot Essman 2005. All rights reserved.

These pages contain the complete text of Human Action, public speaking trainer Elliot Essman's philosophy of human achievement.

Elliot Essman Public Speaking Training
Human Action Table of Contents
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Questioning authority is a positive act; it's not rebellion. It's not even non‑conformism. Both these reactions to authority are wasteful. They're damaging side roads that take you away from the real issues in life. A truly successful person avoids the trap of rebellion, but still questions authority.

Authority in all its manifestations has to be dealt with as a reality. Rebellion doesn't make it go away. The rebel, by refusing to play the game at all, doesn't get very far. Better to question authority, stand up to it on equal terms, and learn the hard reality of playing the game to win. Too often, rebellion is reaction, not well-thought-out action.

Non‑conformism for the sake of non‑conformism is not only useless, it's silly. A person with a high self‑regard needs neither to conform nor to refuse to conform. He or she maintains a well‑evolved sense of independence regardless of the outward trappings of conformity: the clothes you wear, the furnishing in your home, the car you drive, the profession you follow, the people with whom you associate.

We've already learned to question the authority of purveyors of information, the media and the press. We profit by doing the same with parents, teachers, influential peers, superiors at work, government at all levels. Ultimately, it is our Kinetic Human Core that has the authority over our lives. Anything else is just a suggestion.

Exercise: Questioning Authority

• Look over your past. When you were a child, were there instances where you believed what an authority told you and it turned out not to be true?

• Have you ever held a belief for a significant period of time just because someone said something once using an authoritative tone? Analyze both important and insignificant items.

• Have you ever mouthed off about something in an authoritative tone and had people believe you?

• Take an authority or source of information you do trust, then question it and apply the principles of critical thinking and reflection. Do you find you now have a greater appreciation for the source?