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Posted

“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”

Aung San Suu Kyi

 

Posted (edited)
28 minutes ago, Grey Cloud said:

“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”

Aung San Suu Kyi

That's true, but power itself also corrupts because it inflates your ego. When you feel like you can plausibly get away with doing bad stuff then you've been corrupted by the power. The fear of losing that power comes later when the walls start showing cracks and your past misdeeds start to catch up with you. You can say that fear makes the corruption worse in a moment of desperation but power itself is the root of said corruption.

 

Not to say power is inherently corrupting, but it removes the filter that keeps someone from acting on their innermost corrupted thoughts.

Edited by Mr. Otaku
Typos brudda.
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Mr. Otaku said:

That's true, but power itself also corrupts because it inflates your ego.

One could argue that it is the ego which corrupts the power, i.e. one's sense of self-importance/entitlement leads to misuses/abuses of the power/authority which one's position gives. Also fear and ego are internal and particular to the individual while the power, e.g. the office held, is external and the same for whoever holds the office.

 

Aung San Suu Kyi is a Buddhist so I would guess that her statement comes from that perspective. Eradication of the ego/self is the ultimate objective of Buddhism (and virtually all ancient philosophies).

Edited by Grey Cloud
Posted
18 minutes ago, Grey Cloud said:

One could argue that it is the ego which corrupts the power, i.e. one's sense of self-importance/entitlement leads to misuses/abuses of the power/authority which one's position gives. Also fear and ego are internal and particular to the individual while the power, e.g. the office held, is external and the same for whoever holds the office.

 

Aung San Suu Kyi is a Buddhist so I would guess that her statement comes from that perspective. Eradication of the ego/self is the ultimate objective of Buddhism (and virtually all ancient philosophies).

That's an interesting way to look at it, i'd say the process is cyclical. Being already egotistical can result in corruption when power is in hand, and that power also inflates the ego further. Sometimes even a good person can succumb to the allure of having the power to get away with things that would've otherwise stayed their feet in the absence of that power. So was this person ever good? Did power reveal their true self that even they didn't know about or did power simply make them worse?

 

Buddhism has the right idea by targeting ego first, but someone has to have power and ego seems to be part of our nature. How long till power gets the better of someone? The battle against ego never ends when you have the power to abuse it and most don't win it.

Posted

The ego can be conquered but it is not easy - hence philosophy (in its original sense) is a way of life which you live all day, every day. Even then the chance of achieving moksha is very slim. You need a visit from Hermes. :classic_ph34r:

Conquering fear is obviously easier.

Posted
16 minutes ago, Grey Cloud said:

You need a visit from Hermes.

Maybe.

Capture.PNG.0c71214a4ebf1bb4fd480326425ab2a7.PNG

 

17 minutes ago, Grey Cloud said:

Conquering fear is obviously easier

My severe arachnophobia would beg to differ but, i digress.

Posted

This one. Surprisingly difficult to find an image which had a correctly depicted caduceus.

 

Masonic Dictionary | CADUCEUS | www.masonicdictionary.com

Sushumna with Ida and Pingalu.

 

 

My old cap badge (strictly speaking this is Mercury as the RN had claimed Hermes).

Royal Signals Cap Badge | eBay

Certa Cito - Swift and Sure or as the troops said: Run like hell.

Posted

In my 55 years on this planet I've never 'called the cops'...as in EVER.  'We need the police to maintain order'... well they did an outstanding jack boot job during COVID and they love enforcing anything that violates common rights.  Basically they'll do whatever local governments tell them to, no matter how unlawful.  I'm not some 'defund the police' whack-job BUT the cops (and I mean municipal cops) are the fucking enemy.  In an eye-blink they'll become the occupying force for whatever authoritarian shit stain that happens to be in charge at that moment.  Back the Blue my ass.

 

Disclaimer: I am best friends with the county Sheriff and he feels the same way about city cops, and the military.  His words: If things get 'Mad Max' bad you don't need to worry about roving gangs stealing your food and water; you need to worry about city governments and the military flexing with their supposed authority while they have guns pointed at you.

Posted

I feel guilty turning this place into a dumpster fire.

Posted (edited)

The furore over Blizzard/Activision P2W.

 

Capitalism at its finest  - exploit the young and inexperienced so they they go through life accepting this as normal and acceptable. Get 'em while they're young.

 

Not just Blizzard/Activision of course but they are the latest and blatant.

 

Some European countries do not allow this sort of thing so these games aren't for sale there.

Edited by Grey Cloud
Posted
10 hours ago, 3G4 said:

I feel guilty turning this place into a dumpster fire.

 

Don't be!

 

It's pretty healthy that people have clashing views, what's important is getting past our differences. ?

Posted

Received an AIB reference BOM and spec for the 409X, the cooler is four slots.

 

For a visual, this is 80% the size of an Xbox.

Posted
10 hours ago, Doctor Cadaver said:

So, the Berserk manga is being continued after the death of the original creator?  Hopefully the fans won't be setup for disappointment.  I've only seen the original anime and bits of that awful CGI adaptation, myself.

FUnyHJdaAAAxVhl?format=jpg&name=900x900FUnyJ9gakAAVIB0?format=jpg&name=900x900

 

 

Posted

I think I have pride fatigue. It's not that I am against the concept or anything, it's just that lately I'm under the impression that tolerance isn't enough anymore. No, you need to actively participate, celebrate, stand your ground, wave a flag, wear a pin or what have you nowadays. Wouldn't be surprised if tolerance is considered xyz-phobic a few years down the line for now.

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