By Rene's other half.
They say power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Let's not allow this ego trip to get out of hand my darling. Much like glory, all power is fleeting.
Perhaps we should examime the root source of this desire for power and control.
Thomas Jefferson stated, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." It is my obligation as a member of this great society that I remain vigilant in rooting out oppression from any source.
Absolute Power! What is absolute power? Is it the ability to destroy the world with the push of a button? Or having the ultimate contro to influence the behavior of others and their emotions? Or is absolute power being able to alter the course of events with a single word or action? Assuming that all of the above answer the question, what is absolute power? We must ask ourselves what drives people to want absolute power? Is it self-satisfaction? Financial gain? Is it sheer greed? Or is it simply the individual desire to achieve total dominance over a given set of circumstances? Absolute power may be considered to be the abuse of power delegated to a person or country. A person’s desire to achieve absolute power can result in such an obsession that it can transform the individual to become ruthless, and determined to obtain the highest point of power by whatever means necessary.
It was only two hundred years ago that some very brave people, in their protest of absolute power and tyranny were forced to take up arms to remove their country from the yoke of that opression. It was a struggle they didn't believe they could win, but their belief in freedom and liberty drove them to face those impossible odds. When you travel through those quaint little towns on the Eastern seaboard that state they were the Capitol of the United States for a day, it was not some publicity tour or campaign trail that caused this. It was this fragile government running one step ahead of the British Redcoats who were to hang them if caught.
Their victory was not purchased cheaply. The price was high in blood and destruction and the struggle took years, but they persevered. Perhaps the greatest contribution of Western Society is this concept of individual liberty. It is through this value that all other societal advances have ridden upon.
It is because of this idea of liberty that our agressive and and expanding government has not seized absolute power. It is because of this individual liberty that our volunteer soldiers and sailors are willing to stand in Iraq and Afghanistan and protect people they don't know from the zealots who would take this newly imported liberty from those just released.
Posted by pkuebler at June 20, 2005 11:59 AM