POWER

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 290, 28 February 1928, Page 5

POWER

A love of power is ingrained in all of us. And ice exercise this force tor good or ill accordingly as ice are strong or weak.

The wise person uses his power to further some good or useful end. To perform his daily tasks, to do a kind or helpful action, to achieve some work of art, to gain a victory in sport or pastime.

The weak person invariably exerts his power merely to gratify his vanity. It has no other object. Often it is an attempt to mask his weakness. It serves no useful purpose. It is power wasted, misused.

It is the weak person exercising authority that makes the tyrant. He imposes his will on the weak and resistless. lie bullies his children or his pets. He abuses whatever small office lie may hold by exactions and unreasonable demands. And all merely to show his power, to gratify a vain passion. To make his pigmy nature appear giant-like. We ought at all times to distinguish carefully when we exercise power between these motives. Is it to serve some good or useful end, or is to gratify an appetite for vengeful pride and vanity? If the latter, let us forego it. We caii by a little self-restraint switch our power into more desirable channels. We can expend it on acquiring some useful accomplishment. Better than using it to “do somebody down/*