This is a question i pose merely out of curiosity because i've suddenly developed a thirst for starting some more conversation in the discussion Zone. What does having power mean to you? What i mean by this is how you feel having power and whether or not you prefer it or not. Does it give you strength, or does it weaken you? Does it invigorate you or reduce you? This is the question i pose to you KHV...
Power is an individual's ability to execute an action. It's also a tool. Sometimes people add negative connotations to power, saying that its evil and what not, but in some senses you have to go with the argument "guns don't kill people, people kill people." Power corrupts people as much as McDonalds food makes you fat. Can eating too many french fries hurt you? Yes. Are french fries by themselves bad? No. Power also makes things happen. No matter how you use it, if you don't have any power, you can't do anything. Personally, power itself doesn't invigorate/reduce me. Gaining/reducing power does though.
In my opinion, power is a person's ability to control and/or influence the environment around themselves. Is power bad? No. Does power corrupt a person? On certain occasions it does but it isn't the single cause of the corruption. If you have too much power, you're able to control everything around you which is a bad in most occasions but if you have too little power, you're unable to control anything which is also bad. That's why power needs to be balanced among individuals or groups. The best example today of how we balance power is seen in the most governments. Take the US for example, you have the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch. Each branch of the government has certain powers and each checks and balances the other ones to make sure each are equal in power and aren't overextending their reach. Personally, gaining/losing power over something does make feel invigorated/weakened sometimes. Other times I could care less but in most occasions, it makes me feel like I have a sense of importance because I'm able to control and/or influence this thing that I have power over. I don't know if I got that across correctly but it's the best way I could explain myself.
To me Power can be a scary thing, I recently read Shugo Chara to volume eight and in volume seven the main character learns why a ferment wants power to save her brother so he and she won't have to do with the bad guys. Power can make people greedy and make others lives difficult also power can multaptive peoples life to a wreck....
^ This. I was going to say the same thing about what power is defined as so I won't need to repeat what has been said. I personally don't believe power does much to corrupt someone. It's fear of losing power that corrupts someone. When people get power, they tend to become afraid of losing it to anyone and go through great lengths to keep their power. Power is different than greed. You can obviously be a greedy person without having power which might make some people think power is the reason that person is "corrupt". It isn't, it's just the greed the person has.
I liek mudkips. Exactly. Power is ridiculously relative. But! The strongest, most beneficial, and most terrible power is over things that have a will, and are capable of thought and making their own decisions (i.e. people. :3). Everyone has power. It is just relative to themselves and those in their environment. If you're in love with someone, so much so that you would be willing to get out of bed at three in the morning because they suddenly have a craving for vanilla ice cream and their isn't any... they have power over you. Willing to die for them? That's power. Being a high school teacher? That's power - you are shaping young minds, influencing their choices in life. You can pass them or fail them, you can help them or hurt them. The President of the United States has power. But power to me is pretty meaningless. I'd rather just chill at the beach, with my friends around me until the end of days. Unfortunately, ignorance of power(s) around you can cause you to lose your liberties (power). That one song from Skindred, that goes Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything? Way too true.
To me, power is the ability to control someone or something around. But what measures power? Power is much like beauty; it is in the eye of the beholder. One might think that somebody has too much power, while another might think the same person doesn't have enough. Can it be said that too much power can corrupt a person? Yes, and no. If somebody has great power, does it mean they are a bad person? No. If they use their power in unorthodox ways, are they a bad person. Yes. It's not power that corrupts people; it's what they do with it. With great power comes great responsibility.
I belive that the widespread belief of power is the ability to change the way the world around you works, but I belive that true power is in fact, self control, to know you can do something, but to not do it.
Power is not the control of others, but of the self. It is not a reason or a justificaion to control others, to make others do what you want. Power is the ability to put the self behind the others. Without the power to discipline yourself, you will not achieve greatness.
Power for me is too much responsibility and I hate being in charge, so I could never be prime minister, but that's just my view
To me personally power is how much you can do, how much choice you have and it is also power to take resposibility. If you don't take the responsibility for you decisions then you're not a powerful man in my opinion.
