On a power trip
Everyday, after reading horrible news, a thought sneakily jogs through your head: “Is it possible to presage a world wherein everybody is being rational and kind?” This peculiar question has stayed with you for years and won’t leave you anytime soon. The answer rests in the very place where the question emanated from: “Maybe.”
Maybe is a safe choice in turbulent times — when was it ever non-turbulent?— and resorts to a positive leaning. If the answer was a resounding “No.”, then there’d be absolutely no point in anything. You don’t go anywhere if you can’t even leave your house. The distance between Yes to Maybe is equal to the distance between Maybe and No. Endless possibilities reside in the space separating them.
Once the possibilities set in, the race for power ensues. All human endeavours, from organic farming to space exploration, have a designated chain of control. Sooner or later, somebody crawls up the rubble of labour and genius in order to claim superiority. This approach is not exactly unique to our species but is best manifested in our day-to-day lives than anybody else’s. As ill-advised as it is, we participate in this race because somewhere deep inside, we acknowledge the lack of escape. We are either in or out. Words like influence and klout fill our ether for a reason.
In the meantime, those at the peak throw crumbs to those beneath them in exchange for something intimate, something raw, and nobody seems to be object.
Unless they do.
As a result, Harvey Weinstein is in turmoil right now. Somebody once hailed as ‘the most powerful man in Hollywood’ appears to have maxed out his luck. The amount of incriminating allegations flowing his way reminds us of only one truth: He did what he did because he could get away with it. There were murmurs earlier but no, it took established names from his fraternity to flash an enormous mirror of shame at him. What’s also worrying is such misuse of status is not endemic to showbiz. It’s pretty much the case in almost every avenue where women strive to work. Tells a lot about the kind of race we’ve got ourselves in to. The world doesn’t have to be 100% corporate to notice a dripping power trip all around.
Even in a tribal society, old jaded men and/or women do their level best to hold on to power. It doesn’t matter if their scepter comes at the cost of them being shitty to others. Power is strange. Powerful folks, stranger. Our history is dark, not just because we lost our innocence somewhere down the chronological line, but also thanks to our awe of might. People, in general, need little to no inspiration to taste evil. We prefer to box the past in to categories of disdain but isn’t it a farcical shtick? American penchant for slavery can’t whitewash the fact that there were black slave owners too. An Irish, irrespective of his celebrated nationalism, won’t boast of those who subjugated fellowmen in lieu for British-blessed control. Similarly, Dalits in rural India treat Mahadalits worse than they are treated by the upper caste. In all these cases, it becomes more and more apparent that we behave the way we do to keep ourselves afloat. We can spend our entire life generalizing events and bracketing actions and consigning responsibilities to different groups but at the end of the tunnel, we bare ourselves.
Our ancestors and their insecurities haven’t really left our genes. Not yet. The difference lies in the appearance. Today’s alphas don’t carry stones or swords. They brandish influence and klout to get what they want.
