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There was not one vote for them. No one picked them. They simply arrived one day with assurance in their voice, and everybody else's uncertainty made them king.
The authority requires just consistency and volume; it does not need certifications. Say something surely enough times and it becomes true. Act as if you know; people will believe you. The authority is whoever talks first, loudest, with the least hesitation.
The ultimate power in their home was her father. Not for his correctness, he was off on most things. Her mother's softness, her maybe's and I-think's and what-if's vanished against his conviction like rain on hot pavement.
Early she discovered: power is acted not earned. It's the colleague who talks over others in meetings. The friend who always knows the greatest restaurant, the right parenting approach, what you should do with your life. They're not cleverer.
Three words break down every bogus power.
Three words that might be the sole truthful ones.