Mai Week 9: Power vs The People
Power vs The People
Parents and children. Teachers and students. Citizens and our government. Who has power?
I was plagued by this question the more I considered our upcoming blog submission. At first, I was lost. Power? What could I write about power? What do I know about power?
Well, power between parents and children can seem one-sided. A heavily leaning scale. Who has power in that relationship? Of course, the first thing you would think is the parents. They have control over the children’s education and meals and are responsible for making all major decisions prior to the child turning 18. Initially, it seems clear that the parents have more power over their children. But the more I considered it, in a healthy relationship, children also have a considerable amount of power over their parents. Children can have major impacts on a parent’s mental state and how they are perceived by society. There is also the factor of legal obligation where parents must properly care for their children and if the kid gets in trouble, the parent is liable for that crime.
This is similar for teachers and students. Teachers have a lot of control and power over a child’s education. But in the same way, the child’s strengths and weaknesses dictate how the teacher needs to educate the student as the teacher's main goal should be to assist the child in learning.
This push and pull of power is especially in the relationship between the government and citizens. This concept is best seen in the social contract introduced by Thomas Hobbes which states that the people give the state power by relinquishing some of their freedoms in exchange for liberty and order. Much like the current day, we can see this applied to American democracy. The people give power to the government through elections, petitions, and impeachments, yet it still seems like the government has more power. Almost a disproportionate amount.
This led me to the next part of my pondering. All of the situations previously described outline ideal relationships where people do as they should and that is intended by their position. In reality, these ideal balances of power are not easy to achieve because they require both parties to relinquish some of their own authority. There are still abusive relationships, toxic parents, bad teachers, and unjust governments. But why? Why when it is much better to have an equal symbiotic relationship with mutual benefit? The answer: Competition. Humans are a naturally competitive species, which puts us at the top of the food chain but now that we are already at the top, there is no one to fight other than each other. This is why struggles for power continue. Why bombs get sent. Why innocent people get hurt while the ones making the decisions lie safe and unaffected.
But, maybe, just maybe, in that ideal world, it is the people who truly hold the power.
Hi Mai! I love how you compared how everyone has power especially in relationships. Logically, in relationships, nobody has more power over the other since both powers' are influenced by the other. Sadly, I do agree on your point that people are very competitive especially when it comes to power. In my blog, I focused on how money influences power and how people can change because of it. So similar to your point that people just want to have more power because they are very competitive. It is sad to see people fighting each other in order to be able to have that power. Possibly it is because they do not want to feel helpless without it. Like with money, people want to have more of it instead of living a life without it. Power is something that influences people to make these decisions even if they are harmful. Lastly, I quite like how you added questions into your blog since it allowed me to question them myself too! I felt that it added more depth and personality to your blog! Nice job on your blog!
ReplyDeleteHello Mai! First off, I would like to comment that you have made a compelling choice by speaking of the power that everyone holds, especially in American society that revolves so heavily around the government. I also would like to mention that you are extremely well spoken! I also appreciate the fact that you used the social contract theory by Thomas Hobbes as your reference, that was a very nice choice in my opinion. I agree that human competitive nature is just what happens to overtake us at the end of the day. Additionally, I like how you used common examples of every day power relationships that we see, like teachers and students, and parents and children, give us a better understanding of how you perceive power. The hook of your blog was enticing with the short listing of relations because it immediately prompts the reader to consider these in terms of power. I have to disagree with you when you mention that children tend to hold a power over parents. I don't disagree with the notion that the parenting is a responsibility. But I do not agree with the idea that there is a power imbalance with the children having power over the parents in that scenario. Rather, I think it's the responsibility of parenting that creates that power imbalance that you're discussing. I really like the way you've structured your blog and I would love to know more about your thoughts about the power imbalance in the government and how you think the largely disproportionate power imbalance came to be. All in all, nicely written!
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