I'm not talking about the rebellious teenager blind rejection of authority. I am definitely in favor of learning from the knowledge of authorities and taking everything they have to offer into consideration. But I want there to come a certain point when I can let traditional authorities stay where they are while I make up my own rules.
Before I graduate and have fancy initials behind my name. Before I am fifty and considered experienced enough to make choices independent of authority opinions.
Because what if I have great ideas now, today, that could change everything, or at least something? And they don't even give me the chance to express them? For example (silly though it may be), I got a paper back recently in an English class and I had made some MLA mistakes in my haste to finish the paper in my hectic week. It was my fault, I understand this. But who is MLA to say that the heading has to be double-spaced? Don't they realize how ridiculous that is, how much precious writing space it wastes?! If my ideas are powerful and true, why should it matter if my comma came before or after the citation? Following the rules for awhile gives us a foundation, teaches us how to walk--but what if I want to dance from class to class instead?!
In class today we discussed the walled garden concept and open government. It is my personal belief that our government has a responsibility, or we've at least implanted one, to take care of it's citizens. For it is the citizens that give our government power, real power. Shouldn't we, as the source of power, be able to know what our government is doing? I don't mean the revelation of government military security at all, in fact, I'm against that. However, if we have good ideas why can't we stand before Congress ourselves instead of letting some fifty-year-old man with fancy letters behind his name present our brillance? Thomas Jefferson studies the ancient politicians and philosophers as well as John Locke in order to develop his own ideas. But then he helped create an entirely new functioning government.
We can use authority to start off and grow, but we have to take off the training wheels and soon. The sooner the better.
I mean, honestly....how ridiculous is this?
I believe that your ideas are valid - anyone can have ingenuity to change the world. However, I find guidelines like MLA useful because it standardizes the presentation of ideas. This way, people are judged more on the content of the work than on what it looks like.
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