AUTHORITY MAN: KNOW THEM WHEN YOU SEE THEM, HEAR THEM

Authority man comes in all different shapes and sizes, but the flavor never changes.

Even when they favor you and I, empathy leaves a slightly bitter taste.

We cheer when authority man rules our way, but forget that we’re one misstep from being ruled against.

Then what happens?

Successful people live in an elite atmosphere; they breath special air. Just ask one of them.

It feels less than elite when the tide turns against them.

Authority Man Education

Who expected the fallout when big earners and celebrities were found helping their kids get into college?

If the goal of higher education is learning to adapt to a changing world, going forward with parents in jail is a big change.

What if the parents had been more diligent in their academic career? Then they would be in the pool of legacy admissions.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, 56% of the nation’s top 250 institutions consider legacy in the admissions process, down from 63% in 2004. At Harvard, whose admissions deliberations are unusually transparent thanks to the legal saga, children of alumni are six times more likely to receive an acceptance letter than ordinary applicants.

Authority man says it’s okay to buy their way into a kid’s college since they’ve got the scratch. However, the legal system has a different opinion.

Real money, or Harvard legacy admissions level dough, invests in the legal system, which is easier when classmates of yesteryear grow up to be lawyers and judges. It’s easier to call old Bob from the frat house to grease the wheels for junior’s future, than place it in the hands of a scammer.

Scammers roll over faster than those legally empowered.

Blue Collar Authority King

When a man comes home from work, takes a shower, and changes into normal clothes, what’s he been doing all day?

They’ve been in the mine, in the woods, on the boat; they’ve been on the oil platform, in the fields, on the roof.

These are men who have busted their ass all day, got cleaned up, and settled in for a nice evening before getting up early and doing it all over again year after year.

They are rocked and clocked and have certain expectations based on experience: I’m good at my job, so you’d better be as good at yours.

Problems occur when one or the other isn’t as good as they claim.

It’s stolen valor when a poser acts like a roughneck or a faller and tries to claim their attitude. Like armchair quarterbacks who know the right thing to do right up until they’re proven wrong, their poser anger swells at the least provocation.

An Army Authority Man

Consider the self-proclaimed military historian who wears gear from past wars. They have the great coats, the vests, the spit shined shoes; they blouse their dungarees above their jump boots; they Christmas shop at Andy and Bax.

Add a crooked black cheroot like Clint chewed in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, a practiced voice delivered in a low whisper, and a permanent AIT haircut for the entire picture.

Most important of all, don’t ask about Vietnam, Canada, and President Carter. At first they call Carter weak, a failed President.

But they have a secret.

On January 21, 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter grants an unconditional pardon to hundreds of thousands of men who evaded the draft during the Vietnam War.

In total, some 100,000 young Americans went abroad in the late 1960s and early 70s to avoid serving in the war. Ninety percent went to Canada, where after some initial controversy they were eventually welcomed as immigrants. Still others hid inside the United States. In addition to those who avoided the draft, a relatively small number–about 1,000–of deserters from the U.S. armed forces also headed to Canada. While the Canadian government technically reserved the right to prosecute deserters, in practice they left them alone, even instructing border guards not to ask too many questions.

The military authority man knows everything there is to know about every service, except how to serve.

Authority Man In Office

What happens when some vainglorious popinjay takes office and installs his sons, daughters, and a host of suck-ups in big jobs?

Their bitter fragility takes a beating because they aren’t used to fielding hard questions. The best they can do is attack the questioner until they give up.

Any mention of their appearance comes with a sharp rebuke.

“You’re a terrible reporter.”

“You are a nasty person.”

“I would be ashamed of myself if I were you.”

Then they send their appointed hacks to speak for them.

 “If he didn’t think—it was my opinion, that if he didn’t think that information was going to get out into the public, in this information age that we live in, then he was A, too naive or too stupid to be the commanding officer of a ship like this. The alternative is that he did this on purpose.“

How does a man from the Naval Academy, a man with two advanced degrees, including a Harvard MBA, a man with seven years as a Navy officer and helicopter pilot, turn himself inside out?

He followed orders from the authority man, then kicked himself to the curb.

Army people, maybe Navy, know all too well how to address superiors: You don’t have to like the man, but you must respect the uniform.

In the election year 2020, we don’t have to like Mr. Trump, but we must respect the office he holds. Does he know how to do the job? Does he respect anyone?

Think about those questions in November while you vote, and cast your ballot accordingly.