Power is many things. It is the ability to control people in their
sayings and/or actions. It is the ability to get whatever you want. Power is a
necessary component in any society, otherwise all pandemonium would break loose;
leaders must be established. But, when taken to an extreme, power is not good,
and pandemonium will break loose.
As Lord Acton said, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts
absolutely." A good example of this is Adolph Hitler in Nazi Germany. He
believed he could not be stopped and that rules did not apply to him. By being
given absolute power, he corrupted the government. No attempt was made to stop
this by the Germans, because of the control he had. People were either scared
to stop this, or were brainwashed into believing it. Finally the U.S. had to
step in and try to stop Hitler, and World War II broke out.
But power is not all bad though. As was stated earlier, it is necessary
in any group of people, and there will be struggle to achieve it--be it a
country, a business, or a sports team. Athletics is a good example of where
there is a constant power struggle. In every league, every player wants control.
They want what they think should happen (during games), to happen. Recently,
in the NBA, Dennis Rodman took this struggle to an extreme. In disagreement with
an official's call, Rodman head-butted the official, and through a temper-
tantrum on his way off the court.