Power ..that creates a distance

How frequently in your opinion it occurs that people cant make their disagreement or displeasure clear to the authorities because they are afraid of the authorities,infact their power???
Quite often,in my opinion.
There is an study by Hofstede that suggests that such kind of behaviour is not only individualistic but the community to which individual belongs also play a major role to instill such kind of timid behaviour in an individual.
he terms it as the Power Distance Index.
It measures the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. So they feel inappropriate to question the authority even if they feel certain things or situations to be improper,unsafe or not upto standard .
The lowest PDI is that of Austalia at 11.That suggests Australia does not have a large gap between the wealthy and the poor, but have a strong belief in equality for each citizen. They have the opportunity to rise in society.Malaysia stands highest in PDI at 104,that suggests there is a huge gap of power proportion.
And we in India are at 77,still high.as it is a hindrance to rise as a society if there is such inequalities.
So its time to bridge the gap caused by power.If we are leader we should encourage people to speak up and also consider their opinions .and if we are followers we should learn to be assertive without being offensive.