On “The Implication”

In Season 6, Episode 3 of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, Dennis unknowingly explains the source of government authority. Mac and Dennis just bought a boat and are purchasing supplies. Dennis mentions the need for a mattress, which causes Mac to wonder why. It was Dennis’s intention in buying the boat to use it to attract and bed women. The advantage in taking women out on the boat alone to the middle of the ocean is “the implication” of what could happen to them if they refused Dennis’s sexual advances. Of course, he would never actually hurt any woman, but “the implication” would almost guarantee that any woman with him would think twice before refusing him. Mac is confused at first, but eventually understands and is obviously turned off by Dennis’s plan. And why shouldn’t he be? It’s a dastardly plan. Any plan to secure consent on the basis of “the implication” is a plan to use your leverage in power to get others to “consent” to things they might not otherwise consent to. Is this valid consent? Or is it merely submission in self-defense? Government authority was created and is maintained in exactly this way. People who call themselves “government” and claim authority have the might and are willing to use it. Is “consent of the governed” ever possible in light of “the implication”? Methinks not. And that’s today’s two cents.