While I doubt my blog followers were waiting with baited breath (a weird expression if there ever was one) for me to conclude my tirade on power, here it is, the final installment on the subject.
Power can be terrible or great. It all depends on who holds the power, but in the real world there are more people who believe they have the authority to wield power…when in reality they are despicable human beings.
In the spirit of full disclosure I will be the first to admit I have a serious problem with authority primarily because 99% of the people in my life who have played the authority card are…assholes.
In my vast experience authority is a synonym of bullying. But it shouldn’t be that way. A random search for the definition yielded the following:
“the power to give orders or make decisions : the power or right to direct or control someone or something. : the confident quality of someone who knows a lot about something or who is respected or obeyed by other people.”
Most people who are in positions of authority believe it is all about the power to direct or control…with the emphasis on control. Very few people in authority are people who are respected or obeyed by other people…with the emphasis not only on being respected outright but are “obeyed” because the individual is respected.
Authority is as much a gift bestowed on the few as it is a burden to be shouldered.
It literally pains me when I witness or hear about the continual misuse of authority. It angers me because people who have been victims of people who abuse their power and authority mainly because these victims have no recourse.
If there is a hell, I hope people who have abused their power and authority are used as kindling.
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