“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” (Aung San Suu Kyi). Power is the possession of control over others; it is desired above all. In some circumstances, power could be good, but when there is a force that threatens to eradicate that power, fear takes over. Fear of losing control and wanting to maintain power, by all means, changes people and turns into corruption. Corruption, in some situations, leads to oppression. Jim Jones was known as a corrupt religious leader who led his followers to their deaths. He used cyanide laced punch to kill them; he portrayed their deaths to be a necessity that had to be done by him and …show more content…
He would hold his own services preaching to other children in his community. Jones preached about spiritual healing, wisdom, healing and brotherhood. When he first founded his church, it was named Wings of Deliverance, later known as the Peoples Temple. One of the ways he would attract followers was through his healings. He would perform healings showing his congregation he had the power to magically cure all illnesses, however, it turned out to be fake. For example, Jones healed people of cancer, where he would remove rancid-smelling objects that were supposedly cancerous tissue, when in fact, were rotten chicken liver. Not to mention, Jones influenced some of his subordinates to deceive the congregation to believe he had healing powers; "secretaries dressing up as old women, and the same woman coming out of wheelchairs on different nights" (McGehee III, Alternative Considerations of Jonestown & Peoples Temple). Jones implanted people in different locations of his assembly. When it was time for healings, these women would walk to the pulpit and he would magically heal them. By Jones using his subordinates to deceive the congregation, he was able to convince them that he had healing powers. The congregation believed he could heal all of them of their illnesses and diseases because of his healing powers. The people in the congregation would also spread the news to others, presenting them a Savior. This fantasy entices more people to join his congregation. In view of this, we see that Jones resorted to deceitful means to acquire more
Power is authority and strength, which is any form of motive force or energy, ability to act, or control. When too much power is given, a dictatorship government can form, in which all decisions are made by one authority. In the book Animal Farm, by George Orwell the author portrays how “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Lord Acton).
Power has always been seen as the killer of morality. Powerlessness, however, allows and almost encourages a leader to use his strength to his advantage. The ascent to despotism may begin by instituting slightly stricter laws that give
Friedrich Nietzsche once provided one of the truest opinions on power that the world has ever heard when he said, “All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth”. The promises and truths that those who gain power spread to their people are not always for the greater good. The worst leaders of people are the ones that put more effort and thought into jerking off their own ego rather than putting any real heartfelt effort into helping their people. These sociopathic evil dictators use their power to try and brainwash the minds of people who have to live under them with their own beliefs and hidden agendas, foolishly believing that they are a “savior”. There has yet to be a situation with a leader of a community who has this type of unchecked power and influence with a happy ending. Perhaps the greatest story ever written about good vs. evil, madness, abuse of power along with influence, and nature just might be Heart of Darkness. Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad tells the story of an agent named Marlow, who experiences hellish conditions and behaviors whilst trying to rescue a man named Kurtz, who turns out to be quite a handful. Throughout this journey the moral ramifications of both Kurtz and Marlow’s actions are left to be interpreted by the audience after Kurtz goes mad and becomes the catalyst of the events that transpire throughout the plot. Conrad uses his real life events along with themes of greed, power, and obsession to show what causes Kurtz who acts a symbol for the leaders of the real world to go mad and abuse power.
When people are given or think that they have power it can easily be abused and be used to do only bad and to control or dominate people. In the same way Creon used his power to control someone people like the Las Vegas Shooter used the power he thought he had by owning a gun to control a scene and make a very violent place. Power can have a negative effect on people by causing fear and violence throughout a society.
Dittmann states that Jones used techniques such as compliance, conformity, and obedience training to brainwash his followers (2013). Jones would force his followers to tell him their biggest fears; in return, he would use that information against them if they ever disobeyed him. In Jonestown, Jones would require his followers to give him thanks daily, brainwashing them into believing he was their savior (Dittmann, 2013). Because Jones was a mastermind at manipulation, it is understandable why so many people would follow him and his orders in Peoples
As shown in literature, corruption and the abuse of power is an ongoing discussion. When it comes down to the point where people are being used and abused physically and psychologically, it creates a hostile environment for both the subjects and the abuser. As represented in the two similar texts Lord Of the Flies and “I Only Came to use the Phone”, corrupted authority and abuse of power usually end up leading to the collapse of a society or a world of chaos and violence.
"Anderson Crispim « “Power Tends to Corrupt, and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”." Anderson Crispim « ::: Dispatches from My World :::. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. .
Power is apparent in every society all across the world whether it be the teacher in your classroom or the head of your country. Many political figureheads abuse their power by through their authority and social status. A fictional example of an abuser with high political authority would be King Creon from “Antigone”, a play written by Sophocles. A modern example would be the dictator Kim Jong Un of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Power is not generally bad, but each individual contains an evil desire to posses it, and with this
Power is both a good and evil thing. With power, a person has the potential to change the world. With power, a person’s words would be so influential, that anything would be possible. But when a person uses power for evil, it could possibly provoke the most horrible events imaginable. One person who used power for evil was a character from the movie Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith created by George Lucas. The characters name was Chancellor Palpatine. In a span of about fifteen years, he was able to manipulate the political system of the Galactic Republic so that he would come to power. With various events such as the Clone Wars, he gained more and more power as Chancellor, so much so that the only thing that the Chancellor feared was to lose his power.
The corruption of power is one of the world’s undeniable truths, throughout history power has corrupted many famous leaders such as Hitler and Henry VIII. Power corruption can happen in many ways, but there are three main sources. The sources would be character, how you use power, and the outlook on power. However other leaders did very well with power, so the real question would be what type of power corrupts and why? To answer what type of power corrupts I’ll have to go back to a quote from John Dalberg-Acton, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Power is essential to maintaining order and instilling rules within society, relationships and almost all aspects of life. With the appropriate control of power, individuals are able to attain anything that they desire. Once power is obtained, maintaining power and control is also important. Often once power is obtained, individuals believe that they don’t need to focus on the upkeep of maintaining power, this is what often leads to one’s downfall. Although power often comes with success, there are also downfalls to having power. Power can be dangerous and can lead to greed. Power can ruin relationships and often causes conflict as individuals tend to struggle with the shift in power or the new imbalance of power. Power has the ability to demonstrate one’s true morality and ethics. The pursuit of power has its costs.
I am going to change you mind about this In her book,Freedom from Fear, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi said, "It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it."(Freedom From Fear) this is a great quote because it expresses that everyone is afraid of someone else with that Power doesn't corrupt the minds of the people, fear is the emotion that causes corruption. “I believe there is a correlation between fear and the amount of power people seek. An individual's motivation for power is to acquire control over
Can power be used for good? Unfortunately, there are many events in the past three years that overshadow the good that has been occurring in the world. People use different types of power to achieve the task at hand. The Quran burning, a recent controversial event that was supposed to occur on September 11, 2010, to honor all victims who passed away in the terrorist attacks. However, a small town church pastor named Terry Jones utilizes many powers to attempt to burn a holy book that was significant to a certain race, the Muslims. The question was how can one man who leads a small church of 50 people in Florida have the power to create uproar around the world? Through the United States Constitution, Terry Jones gained an immense amount of power which he abused in order to make an unethical statement about Islamic religion.
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men,” quoting historian Lord Acton. Before reading the quote, I never noticed the relationship between power and corruption in the real world. I thought of power as a form of recognition for hard work, that in turn is a positive outcome. After putting some thought into it, I realized my mistake