The desire for power

March 1, 2019

Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires. Shakespeare, MacBeth.

There’s a part of me that craves power, status, and glory. And being aware of my own egocentric nature, my soul has wisely deprived me of the aphrodisiacs of power, status, and glory in this incarnation. But my ego is not happy about that deprivation. So it fantasizes about being an all powerful ruler.

Sometimes when I read or watch the news I’m so appalled by the state of the world that I imagine how I would fix everything if only I were Benevolent World Dictator. The job of President of the United States isn’t good enough for me, because I wouldn’t want to put up with a pesky Congress or the constraints of the judicial system. I want absolute power.

And that is why I feel that to some extent I understand the motivations of dictators like Kim Jong Un of North Korea, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, Nicholas Maduro of Venezuela, and authoritarian leaders such as Xi Jinping of China, Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. Blinded by ambition and the need to control others, they probably believe that they know what’s best for their countries. Just like my ego believes that it would do a better job than those clowns in Washington. Not unlike some of the political rants I see on Facebook.

In other words, political leaders are not much different than you and me. That’s probably why some people including myself enjoy the TV series Game of Thrones or Shakespeare’s play MacBeth – we recognize that the fear, greed, treachery, and amoral behavior that we see on stage or screen is a reflection, consciously or unconsciously, of our own benighted condition. Or as New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote yesterday, “Trump, personifying the worst elements in our culture, is like a providentially sent gong meant to wake us up and direct us toward a better path.”

So yes, I intend to wake up, acquire more empathy and compassion, and continue on the path of oneness with the Christ/Buddha consciousness. But in the next election, just remember: Dave for Dictator! I think that has a nice ring to it, don’t you?