challenging authority?

Someone recently said to me "well he's just doing what we taught him to do, challenge authority". This sentence has been popping up in my conscious thoughts so I sat with it. Here's what I came up with... To challenge authority means (to me) when you are asked to participate in something that is illegal, immoral, or hurtful to another, then standing up and saying NO to that action. This is honorable, and it is imperative to the whole. BUT... if at work (or school for those in school since that is their work/job at this time) you are asked to do your job, do what you have been hired to do (or do work that is asked of you in school) then it is an equal exchange of energy and not doing it is NOT challenging authority. It is okay for your boss or teacher to ask of you what was agreed to upon your hire (or your enrollment in school). It is not a bad thing to understand that sometimes we may not always like what it is we are being asked to do. It may be boring, or you may have had a night of no sleep, or you may be distracted with personal challenges, etc. In most jobs (school) if you are honest about what is happening for you, you and have a conversation with your boss / teacher, often times another solution can be agreed upon, if the reason for not doing what is asked is valid... BUT just saying "no I don't want to" or "I don't feel like it" is often times not acceptable. Imagine how you would feel if you hired a contractor (or any other service person) to do a job. You agreed to what was to be done, how much it would cost, and the time frame it would take to get it done. And then when they were half way through they just decided they didn't feel like finishing. It probably wouldn't feel good, it may even cause some anger to well up inside of you. BUT if that service person came to you and explained that something was happening for them, and the time frame had changed due to circumstances beyond their immediate control, then you may actually feel empathy and would be able to sit down and work out another solution to the agreed upon exchange. So if challenging authority is about standing up for those who have no voice, or protecting the land or the water or the community then I say YES!!! BUT if challenging authority is an excuse to be whiny or lazy, and you use it to not do something you may not like doing than it can feel obnoxious to the person you are having the exchange with. And there are NATURAL CONSEQUENCES for this behavior. If its at work, you may lose your job. If its at school, you may have no weekend privledges at home. And if you don't like the natural consequences, then change the behavior that is causing them. Its all up to you. Period. Thanks for listening, my rant is done...