Jerome Arbee Week #9 Persecution of Power
Power is a thing that can have disastrous consequences when misused. Power has been used to take advantage countless times in history. One of these many catastrophes caused by power was World War 2 for example which was a direct effect on the harsh use of power by the French and British governments against the German government. This is a very big and substantial example of the misuse of power and the effects it has. It was because of the spite and the position of power France and Britain held over Germany which allowed them to oppress Germany. This effectively forced the Germans to harbor hate towards the French and British which allowed Hitler to utilize this animosity as power and started another war where he used his power to enslave and kill millions of people of Jewish descent and religion. Another example of how power can have disastrous consequences if misused is slavery. Slavery is a good example of the missuses of power because of everything about it. the definition of slavery is "condition in which one human being was owned by another" which is a very obvious misuse of power. Slavery was a big misuse of power that allowed others to oppress and mistreat others using the power they had. Power as a whole is a very good thing to hold and can help with many things in many ways and overall can help humanity progress in general. However it is this sense of humanity that dictates the ways power can be used "correctly" but power will always be used to hurt or take away from someone so is power really a good thing for people to have?
.png)
I completely agree that power has disastrous consequences when abused. The concept of Democracy would not exist if others did not share your concerns. I think power is a good thing for (some) people to have but, because of the reasons you mentioned, the person or people in charge should be carefully monitored. I feel that power is like a knife: not inherently bad but easily misused. Power can make the world a better place in the right hands so I do not completely agree that it is always exerted to hurt others.
ReplyDeleteHi Jerome. Power is a devastating weapon. However, that same power can be used for good as well. It is up to the leaders who wield the power what to do with it. we must have faith that power falls into the right hands and is used for the benefit of all. In that I think power is a tool like any other. It is not inherently good or evil. It is up to what we do with it that makes it so.
ReplyDeleteHi Jerome,
ReplyDeleteI agree that power in the wrong hands is disastrous. History has proved time and time again that some people just do not deserve to obtain it. For example, powerful leaders in the past, called demagogues, use power to do dangerous things. Once they get on the top it is very difficult to get them down. They feed off the disagreements in society to make themselves more powerful. They are able to them promise unrealistic outcomes and appeal to their audiences. From there, it only gets worse. We have seen that power consume America in many events. One of them, being slavery as you said. However, there are many others as well.
Hi Jerome, I completely agree with you with the fact that misusing power can be hazardous. If you think about it, if power was always appropriately and safely used from the start, half the problems which have erupted in the past would not have happened. Slavery, as you mentioned, is an important example of this; in addition, white supremacy is also present. White supremacists often feel as though they are "above" other races, convincing themselves that they have a great amount of power within them as a result. This leads to hate crimes and other attacks of violence; the mishandling of power therefore leads to a sad, painful ending for innocent lives.
ReplyDeleteHi Jerome, I read your blog, and I understand your opinions on the consequences power can bring if misused. Power itself is a dangerous thing; with it a person can turn a blind eye to what is morally right, and abuse it. When executed in an orderly fashion, power can be used for good, such as motivating people to partake in a charity cause. However, in many of the examples that you mentioned in your blog such as slavery and war, this power was mishandled, resulting in dire consequences. In order for history not to repeat itself, it is important for people to learn how to govern their power for the good.
ReplyDeleteHi Jerome, I agree with your opinion that you brought up that power can have disastrous consequences when used in the wrong way. The example of World War II is one where it is clear to see how the power of words and power in the literal sense were used to kill millions of innocent people. People can motivate others to do both good and bad things through the use of different types of power. It is important that everyone learns how to use power for good to avoid negative consequences.
ReplyDeleteHi Jerome, I really appreciated how you used historical examples of power to illustrate your point. Like you've pointed out already in your blog, power and abuse have seemingly gone hand in hand within our history, both recent and ancient. However, it doesn't always have to be this way; without positions, people, and inventions of power, I find it hard to believe that we would be where we are today. There is no easy solution to the management of power, but it is clearly an issue that we will continue to deal with.
ReplyDelete