Naomi Lin Week 2 - With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
“With great power comes great responsibility” - Spider-Man
You can only accomplish things with power. With power, you can save people, but you can also end them. Power can come in many different forms: money, connections, speech. Once you have more power, you have more influence on the people around you, and therefore, are more accountable for the effects of your actions on them.
This is the motto that I believe all leaders should follow. With your power, you should take care of your group and do the best you can for them. You should not abuse them for your own benefit. Many wealthy businessmen take advantage of their weaker workers to strengthen their own power. Maybe it is instilled in humanity’s endless greed, but sacrificing others for their own power has been seen continuously throughout history. An example of this is when the CEO of Amazon has his drivers pee in bottles and forbids them from unionizing despite being extremely rich.
Even if the leaders are not “directly” harming their people, if they can save someone and they knowingly neglect them leading to their death, they are directly responsible. A prime example is Calvin Coolidge, also known as Silent Cal. During his presidential term, there was an anti-lynching act trying to get passed. Despite knowing that many people are affected by lynching and that he has the power to help them, he decided to ignore their pleas, focusing only on improving the economy. In addition, he believe in laissez-faire, where there are less government regulations on businesses in order to improve the economy. Many businesses took advantage of their workers and took away their rights, and Silent Cal allowed it. He believed that the government should not interfere with societal things, just the economy, and this neglect negatively affected his people.
When choosing our leaders in the future, we should try to pick one that abides by this philosophy.
Comments
I think that power is an interesting concept to think about. I feel like no one really thinks about the responsibility that comes with power. For the most part, people are in love with the idea of power. We are taught from a very young age about the wave of honor you get from getting power. Playing with toys shaped like humans or animals makes us feel like we have power over them. We get upset when our power over ourselves and others are taken away. This is why most children and teenages are on bad relationships with their parents; they feel like their parents have too much power over them.
I liked how you introduced this topic by connecting it to Spiderman. I strongly believe that people in power must be more responsible because their actions, whether intentional or accidental, can have large consequences. I believe this also applies to people who are highly visible on social media because thousands and even millions of people see what they do. These celebrities are in a position where they can influence many people’s opinions, and it is important that they use this power for good.
I appreciate you connecting your topic with Spiderman! It’s not uncommon to see a big name being bashed for abusing their power on the news. The great power they possess gets into their heads and makes them think that they have special leniency when it comes to the morality of their actions (which isn’t entirely wrong). When leaders neglect their subjects, it is no surprise that there would be some sort of uprising; a call for change and reform. I remember this happening a whole lot in American history (from my USH class) and they do say that history repeats itself. We, as people, end up choosing someone who isn’t as good of a fit for a position as we thought, and we revolt. I wonder how many times this cycle will continue and if, as a society, we can ever agree on a leader that comes closest to meeting our needs as possible.
-Angel Susantin
Big industry owners as you said generally have the greed for money striving for the efficiency and productivity of the company while earning the most possible profit. Fame is about the equivalent as of to power and they are responsible for what they say and do. One wrong word could spread like wildfire on social media targeting the rumor against them.
I loved the Spider-Man reference, it was an excellent movie that shows how someone can use their power to help or harm others. I also agree with you on how individuals who do have power, whether through speech, money, or authority tend to abuse it and use it to benefit themselves instead. In history, I have learned about so many wealthy business leaders that exploit workers. This could be through low pay for long hours, terrible working and living conditions, and the determination to make these terrible acts stay hidden just show how countless people in history have used their power for their own selfish gain. Nonetheless, there are definitely still individuals out there who hope to use their power for a better change.
Sincerely,
Faith Tong
You bring up a really interesting point about how power should be used in a good way instead of abusing people for more power. I often heard that power is a drug and after having some, you keep wanting more. It really surprises me how big CEOs are using their workers to gain more money while the workers are the ones "giving" them profits.
Sincerely,
Mrinmayee Sama
I really liked how you related Peter Parker in ties with power. He is a young boy with a lot of power, and it does come with responsibility. He does his best to help everyone and to make sure they are all safe. It really bothers me that some businesses or people with a or of power use it to manipulate people. Why can’t people just use their power for good?