17 Quotes About Insubordination

Insubordination is the ultimate disrespect to a manager. Having a defiance of authority and refusal to obey orders results in misbehavior and misconduct. The best way to handle this type of behavior is to address it in the very early stages. Here is a look at some of the most notable quotes about insubordination that are encouraging.

“And so it happened, that when others bent their knee, he refused and added loudly that his ancestors in their time bowed no knee to any stinking mayor.”

“Boldness, without the rules of propriety, becomes insubordination.”

“Curiosity is insubordination in its purest form.”

“Every fairy tale offers the potential to surpass present limits, so in a sense the fairy tale offers you freedoms that reality denies.”

“Every great work of art … is a celebration, an act of insubordination against the betrayals, horrors and infidelities of life.”

“Human life, distinct from juridical existence, existing as it does on a globe isolated in celestial space, from night to day and from one country to another—human life cannot in any way be limited to the closed systems assigned to it by reasonable conceptions.”

“In all great works of fiction, regardless of the grim reality they present, there is an affirmation of life against the transience of that life, an essential defiance.”

“Insubordination may only be the evidence of a strong mind.”

“Love of goodness without love of learning degenerates into simple-mindedness. Love of knowledge without love of learning degenerates into utter lack of principle.”

“Now an army is exposed to six several calamities, not arising from natural causes, 1 but from faults for which the general is responsible. These are: (1) Flight; (2) insubordination; (3) collapse; (4) ruin; (5) disorganization; (6) rout.”

“One can understand why Surrealism was not afraid to make for itself a tenet of total revolt, complete insubordination, of sabotage according to rule, and why it still expects nothing save from violence.”

“People try to persuade us that the objections against Christianity spring from doubt. That is a complete misunderstanding. The objections against Christianity spring from insubordination, the dislike of obedience, rebellion against all authority.”

“Play! Invent the world! Invent reality!”

“The way in which modern German poetry follows theories reminds me of pupils who, scolded by their teacher for their insubordination, justify themselves by saying that they invented new rules of propriety according to which they are quite well- behaved.”

“Too much rigidity on the part of teachers should be followed by a brisk spirit of insubordination on the part of the taught.”

“When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is insubordination.”

“You seem to fit the part all right. Your technical record is first-class. Your disciplinary record stinks to high heaven.”

Committing acts of insubordination can have dire consequences. From getting fired to having criminal charges pressed against you based on your actions, it is important to understand your position and the rules and regulations that you are made accountable to.