You are writing an essay about your opinion on a scandal. The scandal involved a school principal who was spying on his students over the Internet. You want to say that it was wrong for this principal to spy on the students because of his position. You also want to say that it's wrong for other people to do similar things. You write:
People in a position of authority have a responsibility not to abuse that authority.
(someone) is in a position of authority
A "position of authority" is a job or title that puts a person in control of other people. Some common positions of authority are:
- a boss or manager
- a teacher
- a polical leader
- a military leader
- a doctor
- a police officer
have a responsibilty to (do something)
This means that you must do something because it is your job or your moral duty. You have to do this because people are relying on you.
The example above uses the negative form: "a responsibility not to do something"
abuse (one's) authority
To "abuse" a power or a privilege means to use it badly. In this case, it means to use your authority in ways that benefit you unfairly, or in ways that hurt other people.
that
In the example above, "that" is used to make it clear that the first "authority" and the second "authority" are the same thing.
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