276 Personal Authority

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It's true, the world does revolve around you, but that doesn't make you special because that's what everybody thinks. You are the paramount authority in your own mind, which is why you desire & deserve respect from others. You also expect your personal authority to remain sacrosanct as part of The Deal, that no one is going to be telling you what to do or how to think other than the guidance you consciously agreed to accept when you joined society. Personal awareness is the recognition of the fact that all people are their own sovereign; the very foundation of liberty.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Most people live their insular lives in the satisfying knowledge that they wield sufficient personal authority because of what they do, their education, or their experience. People assume that others around them acknowledge this superior authority, but conflict arises when perceived spheres of authority overlap. Negotiating who is best to be in authority is a combination of personality and credibility, but in a liberty-based society, it usually works out to everyone's benefit. Problems occur when the people not chosen into authority positions reject their rejection, and vie for control anyway, or more often, refuse to abide by the dictates of the selected leaders, causing an eventual breakdown of society itself.</p>