Many people assume that their parents, authorities, and those older than them automatically possess some special knowledge or alignment with objective truth simply by virtue of being a parent, authority, or older. Usually, of course, people assume this at the urging of the very same class of individuals they are supposed to look up to. I have realized that I never have a reason to submit to someone--whether a general adult, a teacher, a prominent figure, a leader--simply because of their age or social influence.
You know one thing that infuriates me about older adults? They likely reached their current age without any true epistemological reflection and just inherited beliefs from society, their family, or their preferences, and they likely apply their beliefs inconsistently, usually without even knowing what logically follows from holding a particular position. Do young people succumb to this also? Of course, but I have noticed that adults and the elderly frequently avoid the process of challenging beliefs to find the truth. If an ordinary adult believes in nationalism, he or she will likely not change no matter how thorough a refutation is supplied to them. An older person with incorrect positions who has been a Christian for decades will likely credit himself or herself with the benefit of the doubt since he or she has been in the church for so long or because he or she has studied the Bible for so many years. Older people are likely to either cling to an idea because their traditions and emotions are attached to it or to adopt a new philosophy because the next generation has, yet they teach children and younger adults to grant them some special respect as if they deserve some immunity to criticism or confrontation for their irrationality and nonsense because they have lived for a longer number of years. They are usually the ones who insist that the younger generation respect their feelings and opinions when neither carries any objective weight or meaning. Reason, not social respect or personal feelings or untested opinions or a long life, reveals the truth.
As I have implored before, assume nothing. Do not respect someone intellectually simply because they are older, but instead demand consistent, verifiable, knowable reasons for a belief from your teachers and elders [1]. Never treat adults, teachers, authority figures, elderly people, or anyone else as if they are knowledgable until they prove it. Yes, there are many adults that I intellectually respect, yet I'm frustrated with the assumption that age equals wisdom or enlightenment. Obviously, one must avoid the logical fallacy of appeal to authority, and truth is just as binding and rational when found and promoted by a 12 year old as it is when a 38 year old public leader discovers it. Do not ever allow someone's youth to interfere with your ability to recognize any truths they acknowledge or to set high standards for their expected knowledge, and do not give an older person the benefit of the doubt. Follow reason, not people.
[1]. I clearly did not say to disrespect anyone, I merely said not to intellectually respect someone just because of their age or influence. There is a distinct difference between the two and I do not want anyone to straw man me here.
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