Many people today are very uninformed and it seems that the generations coming up, are now actually choosing to be that way. There is growing evidence that shows that people today would much rather piggy back off the views of others rather than do their own research and develop their own thoughts and opinions about things. With technology today, where we have unlimited access to everything in just seconds and where the ideas on relative issues is all but already decided for us, we no longer have to do our own research or develop our own ideas. The convenience of the internet and social media has created a lack of education and inability to develop independence in our views. This not only affects our education but it also creates an affect on obedience to authority.
Obedience occurs when you are told to do something by an individual in an authority position. It is a form of social influence where someone acts in response to a direct order from another individual. Civil disobedience is the opposite. It is the refusal to comply with the law or authority. Our nation today is not only experiencing a lack of education due to advances in society, but it is also suffering from civil disobedience.
“I don’t know if America has a leadership problem, but it certainly has a followership problem” (Brooks, 593). This is a quote from David Brooks’ article “The Follower Problem”. Do we have a follower problem in America? Let’s first take a look at what it means to be a follower:
I would define a follower by their behavior—doing what others want them to do. Conformity happens through social pressure or what is considered to be the normal for the majority. In this response, I am referring to followers according to their “place in society”. Most of the time, followers are low on the totem pole and have less power, authority, and influence than those who are in leadership positions. Many followers typically go along with anything just to get along with the rest, or the majority. This can cause great corruption in a society because everyone is being influenced by one thing or another instead of developing their own view or standpoint. Brooks also states in his article:
“To have good leaders you have to have good followers who are able to recognize just authority, admire it, be grateful for it and emulate it” (Brooks, 594). I believe that there is an evolving dynamic between leaders and followers in our society today. I believe that we are getting to a point as a nation where people no longer have respect for authority, let alone admire it or are grateful for it. People have developed a sense of empowerment and that trend continues today. More and more, we see followers who think of themselves as free, not as dependent subjects. Many of the generations that are coming up in society today have a sense of this which leads to civil disobedience. It also leads to a feeling of entitlement and lack of respect for those above them. I believe that the current changes-cultural and technological ones in particular- have had a major influence on what people want and how they behave, especially in response to authority. Take the current presidential race for example. There have been so many opinions of each candidate thrown back and forth since the race began. Many people have developed an opinion of each candidate but there are many more who have only developed their opinion based off of someone else’s. Increasing dislike and bias has built up based on those opinions. People have not only become upset with the options for the next president, but they have also developed dislike for another.
Although the mainstream media has done nothing but instigate this hatred, it is ultimately the fault and responsibility of those who follow blindly without doing their own research. I have seen many individuals get angry about things that aren't even true based off of what they just saw on television or heard from the news, or heard from someone they know. Instead of doing research and developing their own opinions, they have just taken this misguided information for face value.
Another example is the lack of respect for law enforcement. The media has done a lot to divide the country. Lately we have seen division among the people and law enforcement. Riots have broken out based solely on the fact that people don't do their research or wait for the facts to come out before jumping to conclusions. Senseless things have occurred in this country recently due to the fact people, again, just blindly follow something or someone without knowing the truth.
Brooks quotes Eisenhower in his article, “Always try to associate yourself with and learn as much as you can from those who know more than you do, who do better than you do, who see more clearly than you” (Eisenhower, 593). This quote couldn't be more true for today’s society. If we are going to be followers, we need to be respectful, educated, devoted to knowing truth, followers. When we associate ourselves with individuals who have more wisdom due to experience and opportunity, then we could gain better truth and knowledge that could change this nation completely.
