What Is Power?

Power can be a very controversial issue. Many may believe there are certain people who do not deserve the power they have. What does it really mean to have power? According to the dictionary, power means authority. However, there are various types of power. For instance, the United States government has power over everything that goes on in the nation, including listening to our phone conversations, in fact, the United States government currently has power over what is going on outside of this nation as well. Another type of power is control. As we read in Lysistrata, the women used the power of sex as a way to end the war that was going on. In both of these examples, we can clearly see how the power is being used. Furthermore, is there a possibility that perhaps when someone knows they have power over someone or something they will abuse it? We will look at both examples and show whether or not abuse of power is evident. Some would agree the people who run our government definitely abuse their power. Actions are taken, orders are given, and people are being sacrificed for the gain of those in our government. They use their power to benefit themselves, and their interests. One of the methods used when abusing power is manipulation. In both, the case of the government and in Lysistrata manipulation is used, but in different ways. For instance, in Lysistrata the women used manipulation as a way of being heard, but no one got hurt. Which is the exact opposite of what is going on with how the government is manipulating not only the people that are sacrificing themselves and their families, but, also the public in general. It is clear how far people would go to get something they wanted. People are able to measure just how much power they have over different things. If we look at different situations such as, power in government and power of sex, the notion of being in control is the underlined cause behind people’s motives. In some cases, the misuse of power can be done for good, as in the case of the Lysistrata play. The women were using their power of sex to prevent their husbands from dying in the war. On the contrary, our government uses their power and people’s lives are lost everyday, just to benefit them and their well-being. Though we are all aware of how power can be misused, unfortunately, we ourselves do not have the power as individuals to stop others from misusing the power they have been given. Not even when we turn the me into we. There are many groups that are against what the government is doing, and these people go to great lengths to be heard, they write the government, they write to the newspapers, they even write to the President, all to no avail. So what will it take for people in power to listen? The answer is nothing, nothing at all. Because as long as these so called leaders in our government have vested interest in the outcome, many people will have to suffer and sacrifice. As we have seen in the last few years, the government is throwing their power all over the place. Our President is an oil tycoon, so now he has used his power and manipulated our country in thinking there is a real cause for the actions, but really what is happening is he is trying to protect his fortune, at our expense. Power can be an awful thing if it is misused, and many people get hurt as a result of someone trying to control their lives. The government is controlling us with their power, because as I learned the other day, young men do not have a choice when they turn 18, but to put their names on a list in case of a draft. That is a very solid case of the government abusing its power. The government does not even give these young men a choice. And the bottom line here is this; the government has power, and they use their power, and there is nothing you and I can do.