Law of power: Contradictions

The cover picture accompanying this law of power is a screenshot of a mobile app that helps users block adverts when using other apps. Meanwhile, same supposed protective app against adverts in itself contains ads.

Contradictions at its highest point, isn't it?

Niccolo Macciavili said: "people free themselves from oppressors to oppress others".

It is so in life, if you play ostrich to that law of power, you're either a hypocrite or naïveté.

People always scheme for power at the expense of others. It could be soft power, as the Chinese do lately by crippling African countries they give loans to, to perpetually render them indebted to they the Asian Economic Tigers. Or the Americans' hawkish power, touting armoury to police the world to order.

Power, they say; is sweet.

On Joy News this morning (May 15, 2023), Uncle Ebo Whyte - the motivational speaker who is also behind Roverman productions, the drama group that stages plays at the National Theatre, said something that has informed this write-up.

On his Food For Thought segment, Uncle Ebo spoke about some young pastors who rose to celebrity status in the 1980s.

He categorically mentioned Pastor Duncan Williams. Adding that “those vibrant and fundamentalists pastors were so radical that they criticised everything about the old doctrines and those who preached it.

“They discouraged their adherents from taking Holy Communion, branding such religious rituals as satanic and unchristian”.

"The latter-day 'powerful evangelists' won many followers from the Orthodox churches to join their charismatic movement.

“Years later, he Duncan Williams has turned back to apologise for his unthoughtful actions then and admitting that he was 'not intelligent then'. Hindsight knowledge compels him to render an unqualified apology to those he offended so 'foolishly in his youthful days' (sic).

Why is there the need for the preacher to apologise now? Perhaps, like every one of us, when we are not in the shoes of others, especially our superiors, we seem to exhibit a sacrosanct knowledge and in possession of a magic wand that can whitewash all dark evils overnight.

When we rise to the top after seducing people to our fold, then we fear that those below us will rise one day to force down our throats the bitter dose we administered to our predecessors.

Moral Lesson

Do not take what people tell you today so serious and tie your life to it. Mankind is full of contradictions.

When they are lions, be a cunning tiger. When they're tigers, you're the farsighted, tireless preying eagle.