Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Power

Throughout this whole month, the main thing that was discussed in my English Literature class is power struggle and what makes a person the rightful ruler. William Shakespeare has brilliantly penned a romance play (also known as Shakespeare's last play) entitled 'The Tempest' mainly discussing the reason why a person is the rightful ruler, the rightful master and even the rightful father. Although it sets somewhere on a magical Island, Shakespeare clearly shows human's greed of power to the extent that it might lead to total damage.

Whether we realise it or not, this is the reality of our world. People are fighting to gain the upper hand in every situation. Trades, politics, business, throne, marriage or even in offices.

"Power corrupt, absolute power corrupt absolutely."

One of the main questions that need an answer is what is defined by power? Is it when we have even only a subject, we are already powerful? Or does it lies on how we manage our responsibilities and duties? Or is it the way how we make others believe that we are more powerful than them, maliciously or not? These are the recurring statements that are too subjective to be answered.

Some may gain power by exploiting other's trust, some may gain power by betraying the supposed-to-be leaders and some may gain power through lineage which sometimes neglecting the person's ability to rule  a society. In our modern world, this could be seen clearly through all the wars and exploitations that somehow being blessed by the modern society.

Is this right? Do we actually have the right to exploit others? And most importantly, do we become a leader or a ruler just because of the title and the luxury or due to our own realisation that somebody needs to lead the society to their maximum potential while maintaining the culture and heritage. It is useless to create a new person that forgot about his own roots (well, that is my cultural side speaking).

Last but not least,
"Great power comes with great responsibilities."

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