The Undefined

There aren’t always precise words for everything we feel. Apparently there is no word for the “fear of authority.” However, this is something we have all felt in our lives. We can experience an “authority crisis,” yet what it means to have the fear of authority hasn’t been clearly defined. If we were to assign authority a direction it would likely be “above.” Above is defined as “in extended space over and not touching.” That seems to nicely sum up popular opinion about how we perceive authority.

Our perception colors our reality. Knowing the subtle, or sometimes vast, differences in the words we choose to define our realities is the difference between meaning what you say and saying what you mean. For example: Observation means “the action or process of observing something or someone carefully or in order to gain information.” Surveillance means “close observation, especially of a suspected spy or criminal.” So, if we view authority as something that is constantly surveilling us, we must first ask ourselves: “Are we are criminals or spies?”