Power is a fascinating thing. Everyone wants it, yet so few have it. But there's the thing, really..... do so few really have it? Break it down to the smallest common denominator, and there's no one, man or woman, that has power unless someone else gives it to them. Easiest example? Saddam. Evil, horrible, yada yada yada..... the fact of the matter is that he wouldn't be the problem he is unless there were thousands of people willing to carry out his orders, and more thousands that were willing to accept it. He himself has no power. It's the fact that those under his command continue to carry out his wishes that results in the appearance of power. So he orders death...... logically speaking, if no one responded to that order, he's just be one little pathetic man wasting is breath. But then he gets people that want what he wants, or want to be covered in the glory that he offers, even at the expense of lives and freedom, and then is when he seems to have this power that everyone notices. So, if the people that follow him are the ones actually doing what he orders done, aren't they the ones with the power? Not to mention the fact that they're the ones that actually are doing the deeds that he dreams up. So why does this man come to symbolize all we hate? HE CAN DO NOTHING ALONE! Any power he holds is held by the tacit agreement of everyone that *lets* him issue orders, and everyone that decides to take his orders to heart and see them implemented. And this is the way it is throughout life. Neighborhood bullies..... slum lords..... your boss that harasses you... any of these are only as big as people allow them to be. If no one turned a blind eye, if no one was driven by greed, if no one was more worried about the money they can gain than the welfare of a human being, if no one had to fear retribution for demanding justice, then these people, whoever they may be, would have... no.... power... at all.
Don't misunderstand me. Some will attempt to seize power with violence, on the smallest of scales, and they appear to succeed. A man that beats his wife. A child humiliating another child. Whatever the circumstances, it happens. But succeeding at physical violence IS NOT POWER. Power, as most perceive it or communicate it through life today, is about control, violence, fear, or intimidation. These things are not power. These things are horribly twisted rip offs of power. It is not taught to people, to children, to *anyone* what real power is now. It's only passed on that he who has the most responsive force, the greatest abiity to make others cower before him, is the one who has true power. This is depressing. Why is no one teaching where true power lies? Has everyone forgotten that true power comes not from getting others to follow from fear, but to follow from desire? Not from exploiting the wants and needs of others, but from taking the wants and needs of others into your heart, your life. True power is knowing that your mind is sharp enough, and your soul evolved enough, that your goal is a better place for ALL people, not just the person in the mirror. But we're not communicating that. Not a bit of it. We tell our children how 'powerful' Saddam is, Hitler was, Napoleon.... the list is endless. So of course they think they now understand power, but that perception of what power is scares the hell out of me. Does it scare you?
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