Once in a great while I’m amazed by the intelligence of children. Even though most are forced to attend indoctrination camps known as public schools they are often able to see through the bullshit that is being shoved down their throats:
“Stop, no, because there is no comparison,” she says. Romney, she says, is “running for president. Obama is the president.”
When the student says they’re both “just men,” the teacher continues to argue that Romney, as a candidate for president, is not to be afforded the same respect as the president.
“Listen, let me tell you something, you will not disrespect the president of the United States in this classroom,” she says.
The student replies that he’ll say what he wants.
This post serves not only to bring this awesome kid to your attention but to unveil a new award: the Christopher Burg Award for Noncompliance in the Face of False Authority. This award is bestowed by this blog to those who refuse to comply with those who hold a fasle sense of authority. One cannot win this award by mouthing off to their boss or other person whom they voluntarily agreed to work under, one can only win this award but giving a big middle finger to some prick who has decided to lord power over you without your consent.
This student stood up to his teacher and called her on her bullshit. While she demanded the student respect the president like some kind of devine king the student refused.
Along with the unveiling of this award I also want to bring up something that annoys me, the idea that you must respect somebody because of a position they hold. Many people claim you must respect the president and even if you don’t like the man you must respect the office. This isn’t true, there is no reason that I have to respect the office. Technically the president is supposed to be a civil servant, he’s suppose to respect us because we’re supposed to be his bosses. Obviously this has been turned around, the president is now saw as the one deserving of respect and we’re supposed to bow down and kiss his ring. I’m not buying that, I don’t give my respect to offices, titles, etc.; I give my respect to individuals that I feel have earned it.
I respect my father not because of the fact he’s my father but because of the fact he’s a damned good man. He managed to start his own business with basically nothing, help raise three children, and not only ensured we had food on the table but also did everything possible to make his business expand so we could all enjoy a comfortable life. He’s never once ripped a customer off or attempted to make a quick buck, he came by his money by performing honest voluntary transactions. That is deserving of my respect, merely winning a popularity contest is not. One of the few politicians I respect is Ron Paul and that’s because he advocates voluntary association, opposes war, and believes in individual liberty. Instead of using his office to gain personal wealth by dealing with cronies under the table he has opposed such political maneuvers. If he were president I would still respect him, not the office, him.