Does Power Corrupt?

Does Power Corrupt? How or How Not? Why or Why Not?

By: Jake Wade

            Power is something that everyone wants and wants this for the reason that they want to be in control. So yes, Power does corrupt. Power corrupts people in ways that they don’t even know existed. It can damage ones personality or it could change your mind into one that needs power to thrive and survive. But when you are corrupted by power then you will know what it is like to be overthrown by your own selfish demands and needs.

            When one has too much power they begin to take advantage of the fact that they can take control of the lives of others. A dictator is a ruler (e.g. absolutist or autocratic) who assumes sole and absolute power (sometimes but not always with military control) but, without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarchy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictator). Dictators rule with fear and they make everything look good when they first take power. Most of the time a dictator is a great person until power takes over their lives and they can no longer think or speak for themselves. Power has corrupted the minds of many dictators and has given them a reason to take control of everything and tear it apart. Adolf Hitler was a Dictator that is probably the most known for his mass murders of races. His administration was notable for the genocide of Jewish, Romani, and other people known as the Holocaust (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler). He was voted Time Magazines Man of the Year in 1938 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Person_of_the_Year). This Example shows how power can turn even the greatest of men into a man who will be hated forever. Many people suffered and died thanks to what Hitler did as a dictator. Everyone will remember this tragic moment in history. When the war ended Hitler had been fully compromised and many of his commanding officers were put to death as a result of what they had done at all of the concentration camps. Hitler was positioned underground so that no one would find him but if someone were to find him he would kill himself. He ended up killing His wife and child and then committed suicide. The power corrupted the way he lived his life and through this the greatest genocide of all time happened. Power is something that has to be controlled and distributed through government officials and senators like how a democracy is. Distributing power this way is the only way that it can be controlled. The people have the right to vote and make decisions for them and the nation derived around justice and freedom. This is not something that Hitler gave as a leader.

            Power is something that has to monitored and put into the right hands or else it could end up destroying what is left of the civilization. When power is put into the wrong hands, well Hitler showed us how this can be done. The distribution of Power and how someone uses it is up to them but when it comes to who is elected leader and who can make the final decision for a country, well hat is up to the people. A democracy is a political government either carried out directly by the people (direct democracy) or by means of elected representatives of the people (Representative democracy) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy). This is what the United States is and that is why we are one of the most prosperous countries in the world. When power corrupts the one who possesses it then only bad things can happen from there, but when that person is trustworthy and able to make their own decisions can power really have a good effect.