When you have a faulty assumption at the core of hierarchical system of belief then that assumption will trickle down and affect everything. If we assume obedience to authority is in itself a virtue it will and dose effect every part of our life
I went to a petrol station today to fuel up and I was confronted by the assistant because I had my phone in my hand she told me she can’t start the pump until I put my phone away..
She was friendly enough about it and so was I.
After chatting to her a bit at the counter she admitted that it was an outdated rule from when mobile phones had small airels and considering I am firing up a large battery every time I start my car (her words not mine!) and there is probably no risk of an explosion from holding a mobile phone in your hand while pumping petrol!!!
but then she said with a dismissal regardless of the truth of the matter.... “People just have to understand that rules are rules”
This attitude that rules are rules and we just have to follow them no matter what ….
Rules are supposed to be guide lines for navigating reality. What is important is how we can relate these rules to our direct experience. it seems that a lot of people have sort of reversed this to make the following of the rules the most important thing, regardless of how they relate to reality or how well they guide us. The rules themselves have been elevated to take on a greater importance than that which they are supposed to serve. It is our obedience to them which seems to be more important …. We are mistaking the map for the territory