Okay, so I had to sit here and think about this for a while after reading your post. I like it when that happens. It means there's a lot there to process and work through.

I think you bring up a topic that doesn't get talked about much, at least not so much in the way you presented it, but it's something I imagine all of us feel, and chafe against more than once throughout our lives.

We find ourselves confined or restricted by systems that we're told are meant to bring us experience, wisdom, whatever, while taking our proper place in the order of things. Yet, these rules of conduct don't seem to apply to everyone, or not everyone gets treated the same way, and so we see an abuse of these systems, or misuses.

And we resent them because we think, if left to our own devices, we could do as well or better than anyone else. We could be the next this famous person or that multi-billionaire.

To an extent, I have to agree. I think there are some ways of doing things that are much more about preserving the status quo, or the current structure's power than they actually do help to maintain order or produce quality workers, students, children, what have you.

Those systems that exist purely to maintain the power and wealth at the top need to be torn down, or even better, competed against and made obsolete, as the march of time and progress passes them by like every other form of tyranny and oppression now assigned to the dustbin of history.

However, I would not cast as quite a large of net as you seem to here with the "paying of dues". I think I would need to take a good hard look at all kinds of scenarios before I acted carte blanche. Maybe your not suggesting such a wide net, either. If not, I apologize for misinterpreting your meaning.

Personally, I think the nine-year-old should be expected to treat you with respect. Maybe not just because of your age, or your title, but because you're a person worthy of respect. Respect is something that is earned. We can give someone a chance, give them the benefit of the doubt, but he won't be our most trusted or most respected friend or colleague if there hasn't been some reason to warrant it. And likewise us to him.

I think the idea of paying dues through work has several applications. Certainly not working for work's sake. I've been fortunate to own a business where I was able to whittle down my main 'job' from over 30 hours a week to 10-12. It came through a form of dues paying though. Not to anyone else, but through gaining enough experience and obtaining the right tools and putting others in place so I could reduce the workload.

I've never been one for busy work, and I've never understood processes that don't actually do what they say they do. "It's the way we've always done it," doesn't fly automatically. There are, however, ways of doing things or traditions that are worth keeping. Some that aren't necessarily the most efficient, but they are still the best way.

At any rate, I thank you for the post and the opportunity to provide my thoughts on the matter.