Prompt: "You can't have power without making dangerous enemies."
We all want it. We all desire it. We all thirst for it. Power. Admit it, every one of us craves for some form of power over our lives. It is a natural feeling that we human beings have, drawn from the yearning to improve and better ourselves, and for some, to stand above others. However, with everyone desiring power, you will no doubt, face many adversaries.
So, with all our need for power, what is power specifically? I am not just talking about the flashy KA-ME-HA-ME-HA finishing blows video game characters use, but there are actually many ways to interpret power.
In the past, different social standings were harshly discriminated against. Those of higher class held more power, and basically controlled the government, ruling over the area and people. Those in power were often rich aristocrats or royalty. Leaders/Commanders of armies also had a lot of power, since they had thousands of soldiers in their command. Racism was a common sight in the past as well. "White supremacy" in America allowed the slavery of millions of Africans.
Today, our public perception of power is a bit different. Political leaders and parties run our government more fairly, and royal families are still respected. Money and wealth is still a huge part of our society, as many would agree, "money is power". It is reasonably true though, with money you can get what you want and do what you want. If we accept that money equals power, then we could say that famous celebrities have power. A different technique to earn money would be using your brain. Another common idiom is "knowledge is power." I would agree to this too, since in a literal sense, being smart means you will get a great, well-paying job, earning you lots of money. On the other hand, wisdom will give you a greater insight on the world itself. You will become brighter and wittier, letting you problem solve and control the situation better. If used correctly, knowledge is powerful.
Possessing power feels great and all, but it will most definitely lure in opposition. There are over 7 billion people living on the Earth today, each with their own cognition, so there is bound to be someone who envies or disagrees with how you use your power. Jealousy is also a common emotion I am sure we all have experienced. Whether it is your money, status, influence, popularity, or knowledge, having someone envious of you is not rare. If people don't want your power, they may just be against your views/opinions. You have the power, and the more you have, the more influence you have on the world. You will become a huge threat if your ideals clash with other people's. This is how enemies are born.
Power is an overwhelming tool that can benefit you in many ways. It is something everyone seeks for their own purposes, whether for the greater good or selfish ideals. Many attempt the journey to obtain it, struggling to acquire it for themselves, in the never ending power-struggle.
I like the general format of your essay. I do agree that there are many aspects to power. However, I think you might have gone off topic a little. The essay prompt was "you can't have power without making dangerous enemies" it was good that you started off explaining the meaning of power and the different aspects of it, but I tink you forgot to move on to the essay's main focus "enemies and power". Although you did start the idea of enemies in your second last paragraph I wasn't able to make a clear picture of what your opinion on this prompt was. Aside from that the esssay was pretty good ;)
ReplyDeleteThe introduction introduce the topic well. The KA-ME-HA-ME-HA thing is pretty interesting, made me laugh. :) However, I think one sentence can't really become one paragraph, maybe you should combine it with another paragraph. I agree that "money" and "knowledge" are the two most important things to help people gain their power. Nevertheless, i would say that the power of money depends on the power of knowledge, or/and depends on the power of luck. People often ignore the power of luck, but in my opinion, its another thing that powerful people should have. In addition, everyone seeks for power"whether for the greater good or selfish ideals." is totally true for this world. Therefore, I am totally agreed with your perspectives.
ReplyDeleteLove that opening. It kept me in suspense wondering what you might have been talking about. Another thing I liked is how you used something that was well known to keep us there reading, specifically the KA-ME-HA-ME-HA part. One thing I think you could have done was to go into more detail on how you would make enemies. This essay is well based around "power" rather than on how power makes dangerous enemies. There was only one paragraph on HOW power makes dangerous enemies. Otherwise, I really enjoyed how you used many quotes and gave your opinion on it. A very well done essay.
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