Yes, I disregard them, and their power to fire me is matched by my power to fire them (IOW, walk off the job).
I don't know the nature of your work, but let me put it this way - my husband and I are self employed, and yet we still have authority over us in the form of state and federal laws. We can choose to work, or not to work, and yet if we choose to work, we are subject to laws and/or regulations of some sort. Now - those may be disregarded but that doesn't mean that the laws don't apply - and whoever can apply them can choose whether or not to do so. Hence my statement "if they think it's worth their time and effort to apply those laws/rules, they can and probably will." And I'll add one more - often they SHOULD.
Like I said, it doesn't really MATTER whether or not you disregard the authority of those who have authority over you. They still have that authority - they may choose not to use it, or choose to postpone it, or whatever - but that authority is still there.
It isn't "authority" over me for a bank to turn me down for credit, it's their money, their choice. And I don't have to do business with them.
I wasn't talking about simply extending credit. If you use a debit card, or online banking, or any sort of banking services at all, you've submitted to the bank's authority to require that you provide proof of your identity, and that your accounts comply with state and federal laws. You've submitted to their authority to require signatures on new accounts. You've submitted to their authority to charge fees for various actions. Now - they may not have EXERCISED that authority - but it's still there. Of course, if they choose to exercise it and you don't like it, you can forego their services - but if you have a bank account at the moment - of any sort - you've agreed to comply with their authority - and with state and federal laws as well. You may NOT be complying - but when you use their services, you have agreed that they have a level of authority over your accounts and how you use their services.
I think you are really reaching here. You seem to be arguing against an absolutist position I never put forward. Yes I have to keep my license valid and my car insured, but that is not even remotely related to obtaining the rules governing your sex life from church instead of your own conscience.
But you said you only comply with rules that YOU think are reasonable. What if someone else drops their vehicle insurance because they don't think it's reasonable for them to have to carry it? (For the sake of argument, let's just say that, like someone I know, they've been driving for 50 years and have never had a ticket or an accident.) Is that OK with you? Would you or anyone else have the right to mandate that to them, and to hold them accountable if they don't carry insurance? Now - I'm not talking about if they're actually in an accident and hurt someone else or damage someone else's property - I'm just saying, is it anyone's right to force them to either 1) carry insurance or 2) be penalized?
See, here's why I don't think I'm overreaching at all. I'm sorry you can't see the connection, but I'll explain it to you. You only comply with rules that you think are reasonable, you say - though I do find it pretty hard to imagine anyone reaching adulthood without being extremely frustrated by mind boggling bureaucracy that they MUST comply with, sometimes without even fully understanding why, at one time or the other. For example - just the other day, my husband needed to get the inspection sticker for his new truck, which he had just bought the day before. The dealership had forgotten to put the sticker on there. It was 4:30 and we were across town and had lots of things to do before 5. It was a Friday afternoon. My husband has to leave at 4 am Monday morning to drive across the country, so he needs his inspection sticker. The dealership told us that we had to get there before 5 because it is against state law for them to issue an inspection sticker after 5 pm, or on the weekend.
So - guess what - we had to submit to that authority if we wanted the vehicle to be in compliance by 4 am Monday morning. We had to hoof it across town and get there before 5 regardless of what our other plans were, and in spite of the fact that we think it is VERY unreasonable of both the state and the dealership to be so time sensitive and anal about it, especially since the vehicle is new, it's already passed the inspection, and all that needed to be done was a sticker filled out and affixed to the window of the truck.
So - was the law reasonable? I don't think so. Do I agree with the law? Not with the information I have on hand. Could we have chosen to disregard the law? Yes. But would that have meant that the state ceased to have authority over us? No.
I'll take it one step further though - I'm mature enough to realize that there may in fact be a very valid reason for this particular law. I clearly don't have all the information I need to determine whether this is a hill worth dying on or not. Someone smarter than me - or at least smarter about vehicle inspections - may have an EXCELLENT reason for authoring, supporting, and enforcing this law. I'm not the smartest girl around, but I'm smart enough to know that there are people out there who have more information than me and therefore more wisdom than me in many areas.
It's the same thing to me with moral values. When I was a child, I didn't know a thing about STDs, date rape, the struggles of single mothers or fathers trying to raise children on their own, the hurtfulness of infidelity, or men having to go to the ER because hamsters were lodged up their colon. I did know, though, that touching myself in certain places felt great - and it's not too big a leap of the imagination to figure out that it would feel great for other people to touch me there as well!
Left to my own innocent devices, there's no telling what havoc I could have wreaked on the realm of human sexuality! But thankfully, I had the benefit of being taught some moral principles that have served me well when I've abided by them - and I was taught some of these long before I had any idea why they might be a better option than some other available options.
Others only have the authority over you that you voluntarily allow them.
