"Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts...perhaps the fear of a loss of power."
I begin this article with these wise words once written by John Steinbeck, an award-winning American author. The premise of this article surrounds those fascinating, yet perplexing words for a reason: I would like to highlight a message I so fortunately learned this past summer — as an observer, as a student, as a worker — for those of you reading this to maybe see what I see.
Those who paid attention to the news this summer more than likely realized these past three months were not as blissful as your own.
Let's recap a bit: inconclusive turmoil burdened Libya when rebel armies resisted the Qaddafi government and his loyalists. The shocking verdict behind Casey Anthony's trial enraged many across the country. For the longest time, the United States Congress could not reach an agreement on a debt-ceiling proposal. Somalia suffers a nightmare full of famine and drought. Israeli forces are working to restore a cease-fire agreement with Hamas, yet again. The stock market is not only reflecting economic fear, but also creating it. Norway suffered a devastating shooting and bombing, killing 76 people. Preparing for the 2012 Presidential Election has had the U.S. government parties fighting tooth and nail for the silliest of outcomes. London riots spurred panic and desolation. And the list unfortunately goes on and on.
You hear the term, "the world's gone mad" over and over from those people who read the news, but take no time to actually understand it. It is so easy to put the blame on one side, one party, one person — but people fail to see that there are always two sides to every story, and worse, they don't even make the effort to rationalize or reason anymore. People rest on the idea that the world is black and white, when there is a possibility of many shades of gray. If there was only meant to be one answer for every question, then why ask the question to begin with?
What sets humanity apart from the rest of the world is that we were given the wonderful gift of reason. It is true everyone has a different moral compass, but where we stand today doesn't even reflect that. What we've succumbed to is the blame game. Why? Reflect back to Steinbeck's quote: "Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts...perhaps the fear of a loss of power."
It seems the domino effect of world chaos has come full circle. Those who want power will stop at nothing to get it. They instill fear into those who are already playing the blame game. The intelligent are full of doubt, and the foolish are arrogant.
We fear what we do not understand. Problem is, we've already stopped understanding what is happening, what course of action should be taken, and even each other. Ignorance only breeds more ignorance, and we've taken the easy way out with pointing fingers.
The era of pointing fingers is over. Instead of dwelling on why it all happened and who's to blame, we should seek righteousness that only comes from moving forward and analyzing where we could go from here in unison. If we contribute nothing, then what do we have left to say for ourselves?
Try to understand one another. The easiest way to cause harm begins with your own fear, prompted by a racial slur, a jab at a religious belief, etc. History doesn't necessarily repeat itself, but it does echo from time to time — learn from the past and enhance your future. Maybe then the domino effect of positivity and contribution will come full circle.
After all, if Nelson Mandela learned, "The most powerful weapon is not violence but it is talking to people," why can't the rest of us?
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