Why do so many people indulge in casual mockery? Is it because we are told not to respect authority or institutions but instead to respect ideas? I see no rever

Why do so many people indulge in casual mockery? Is it because we are told not to respect authority or institutions but instead to respect ideas? I see no reverence anymore; just casual mockery everywhere one turns. I am constantly awestruck all the time by how amazingly beautiful everything is in GNU/Linux world. What would I do without FOSS!