Are Humans Constantly in Pursuit of Power?

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Every person you see, every person you know of, including yourself, is constantly after something: power. Power over your life decisions, over your relationships, over your life; but sometimes, this desire for power extends beyond oneself. The average person, when is unable to control what’s happening around them, begins to feel insecure and frustrated. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by a heart-wrenching event, for instance a loved one’s death or a catastrophic event around the world, you’ve experienced this- sometimes situations arise in which one feels utterly helpless and believes they don’t have the power to do anything except cry and pray, and perhaps donate. We feel sorrow because of the event… but a greater sorrow if we, individually, feel powerless in the face of it.

The belief in heaven itself, is a yearn for power: “I can do anything I desire in heaven, without fear!” Taking a look at the other side of the spectrum, the craving of power has put our world under the guillotine a gazillion times.

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Is this yearn for power inherit in humans?

There’s some people that don’t want much power over their decisions, because they’re not confident enough to handle the responsibility. I have a friend who’s mother shops clothes for her, because she is so indecisive that she’d rather her mother take on all that business.

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Nobody wants to be on that level of insecurity. If someone compliments your outfit, you would want to proudly say “yes, I bought it with my money!” instead of expressing that it might have been donated to you or that your mother bought it for you. Agreed? Humans naturally want to feel independent and thus, in a way, powerful, because it diminishes the feeling of insecurity.

 

This was a simple example. Where it gets all wacky is when we look at it from a political aspect: you’re probably independent, rich, and self-assured if you’re part of a government, but emotions are funny because you can never have enough of them; you can never have enough.

For the rest of your life, it is very likely that you will be in constant pursuit of power- over your life, decisions, career, etc-, even though you’re not realizing it. How far does this pursuit go? Do you think if you are settled with an excellent career, family, and well-being, that your pursuit for power would come to an end? Why didn’t it come to an end for dictators, for instance Hitler? Why weren’t they happy with the power they already had?

 

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Hafsah Syed
Your ordinary cat lover, biology enthusiast, and advocate for social issues. The type of person to stress, yet procrastinate, make goals and schedules but forget, and the type to sleep late at night for no reason at all. Regardless of a few bad habits, I put 105% effort in everything I do. I tend to get excited over little things, like color-coded outfits and stationary, and I find pleasure in serving my parents and others. I often find myself wanting to make a difference in the world, however I realize that by striving to understand myself and others and by expressing my voice, I already am. And you are too. "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." Hafsah Syed • Muslim • Grade 11 Student, Crescent Heights High School