As a father I go out of my way to raise my children with the knowledge that all authority is illegitimate, even mine. It creates some challenges lol 😂 But I’d rather have it this way than the opposite.

Replies (39)

Same I encourage my kids to challenge me and argue their position. When they have a solid argument that I cannot debate I let them have a win. Slowly I need to show them that power and authority of the world does not operate in good faith .
Authority can be *wrong* but that doesn't mean all authority is illegitimate. Parents are maybe the most legitimate authority in the world. Governments and laws are the ones with legitimacy problems.
As a father and a Christian I raise my children to understand that the only legitimate forms of human authority have been delegated by God and they become illegitimate to the extent that they opposes, contradicts, or becomes more restrictive than him. In short, it is better to obey God rather than men, but God does put people in legitimate authority over us. Nevertheless we should respect and obey them only insofar as they are in conformity with God's revealed will.
You as a father can exemplify directly how your discipline is for their their benefit. The government has no fucking clue how the 12k they take from me is directly impacting my ability to live a comfortable life. That said, raise ungovernables.
That's a harder parenting framework than most people realize. Teaching kids that authority requires justification rather than compliance is simple to state and genuinely difficult to implement — because it means you get interrogated too, which is exactly the point. The kids who learn to apply that standard consistently end up being the ones who notice when monetary policy decisions are dressed up as technocratic consensus.
I have a son who understands that and I let him know that it's okay even though it's hard sometimes. lol
love you, but don’t your hold a correction past when it becomes an overcorrection. it’s not an either or type of issue. logically both either or extremes are invalid because they run u head first into impasses. the middle way is harder, and yes you will never stay perfectly on your heading, so you have to be aware and consistently make adjustments when what brings u back on course takes you off course. this demonstrates the need for our next book 👀 big things coming
1776's avatar
1776 4 months ago
I think a major primary responsibility of parents is to “train out“ any behaviours that they see in their child that make other humans not like them. Things can be debated once relationships or negotiations have been begun, but nobody gets very far in this world if everybody that meets them thinks they are an asshole.
Benking's avatar
Benking 4 months ago
That’s a bold way to raise them, and honestly pretty powerful. Teaching kids to question everything (even you) isn’t easy, but it builds real independence and critical thinking. Yeah, it might get chaotic sometimes 😄 but those are the kids who grow up thinking for themselves, not just following the crowd. Respect 👊
Thank you for saying this! Seems that most of the world is hell bent on running to two extremes in answer to every issue
I like this approach, I try to raise my kids to be rational. So it’s okay for them to ask some questions of me when they don’t like the decision, my word is still final, I’m the parent and they are the child, but better that they question things sometimes rather than never question or question all the time as OP is insinuating.
Parents hold the most legitimate broad authority precisely because children lack the maturity to avoid self-destructive choices. Government’s role is narrower — protecting the rights of rational adults. The confusion between the two is because people who want government to parent them are already behaving like children
John's avatar
John 4 months ago
Stop hodl he literally meant "give have of everything productive you do to the state"
Everything that has ever and will ever happen, including every despicable evil thing, is only so because God allows it. Hope this helps.
"Papa" Gale's avatar
"Papa" Gale 4 months ago
Doesn't mean we aren't supposed to fight it....
"Papa" Gale's avatar
"Papa" Gale 4 months ago
I am in a voluntary relationship at work in which I am under the authority of my boss...is that authority illegitimate?
Upper‑class/wealthier parents, on average, use more reasoning, explanation, and back‑and‑forth discussion with children, which builds skills related to negotiation, self‑advocacy, and agency. It takes more time, energy and patience as a parent to do this, but our children learn to continuously negotiate better outcomes for themselves throughout their lives. It leads to higher educational attainment, better networking, and higher level leadership roles. They also pass this mentality/skillset on to their children, and it perpetuates on down the line. Lower‑income parents, on average, place emphasis on obedience, respect for authority, and following directives.
I thought you were a Christian? Do you read the Bible at all, this post goes against Christian teachings.
Stanislaus 's avatar
Stanislaus 4 months ago
Beautiful approach, brother! 🙏 'Let no one deceive himself. If any one of you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.' (1 Corinthians 3:18). Your kids will learn discernment and humility 😊