Well, reading it over, I don't want to sound as though I'm just a depressed pessimistic cynic that is spouting a generalized truism just to feel more gratified in my depression and pessimism and cynicism, so I'd like to add a caveat: that there's nothing wrong with wanting to be a manager or leader of people, the problem is what they imply, that they're the most important in the group of people with everyone below them being the inferior and less important, which is not only not true but frequently the opposite. It's that implication though that gives the mentally sick an idea of something to strive for, that having power and status over others would innately endow them with the respect and happiness they can't give themselves.
That's probably what leads to the idea that power is corrupting, when I frequently think it's the opposite, that the person was already corrupted and we just couldn't see it until they got the power. We know people that have been in positions of authority but chose to use that power judiciously, we all do, atleast I hope so. The prime difference between that mentally sick person that wants to be in that position of authority and that judicious person, is precisely that one drive, the one where the sick person wants to have power for the sake of having it, while the judicious one wants the power to use it on someone else's behalf. To wield it with a concerted effort to benefit not just the unempowered, but for posterity as well, that is, for all the humans that don't exist yet. That's the difference I was striking at in my original statement, the difference between the corrupting and ennobling pursuit of power.
Perhaps more important than the actual, enforced, systematic powers that comes with titles and positions is the visibility of these people, it's very easy to see the person that sits at the top of the pyramid of hierarchy. It's very appetizing to the person who craves attention more than anything else. The judicious leader I described earlier understands this and strives to be the person he's most happy to see in the mirror, because he understands that there's only one way to lead people, and that's by example. If you're the one that sets the good example, titles and status don't matter, you're the leader.
Though now I feel like I spent all that time writing that, just to take a step back, look at it and go "But that's all common sense."
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Topic: Things that made you sad today thread. (Read 9460096 times)