One of our neighbors was still using one several years ago. I’m sure there were very few in the whole community, unless they were stored away in an antique store. When we do our yard work, power helps, and most people who are younger than “boomers” won’t even know what a push mower looks like, let alone have ever used one. I can mow our corner lot in half the time with our self propelled mower and with half the effort, than with a push mower.
We like power! It extends our range. It heightens our capability, our capacity for difficult tasks. It lengthens our reach. It magnifies our size. It also invites arrogance and intolerance. It helps us dominate the landscape, and sometimes, dominate other people and the natural world. Power over others and our environment is an engine for empire, and in our age is fueled by wealth and militarism, ultimately by the threat of nuclear weapons.
The key phrase is “power over,” in short, domination! That is quite different from “power with.”
I happened on a rather intense conversation the other day with the chief of police of a South Dakota city. The conversation was fueled by the recent issues of racism and calls for “defunding” police forces. I know this chief as an excellent example of a public servant and a good listener. We agreed there was a significant difference between a department that shared power “with” the members of the community rather than exercising power “over” them.
It reminded me of an exercise we have used in conflict resolution workshops. You have two lines of participants facing each other. When the exercise begins, one person says “yes,” the other says “no.” Each person keeps repeating their word, using a different tone of voice, different volume, better eye contact, etc. Then you share with each other what expression was the most convincing. Did you almost agree with their “yes?” Which “no” was the most effective? Then you move to the next person in line and try it again.
For a policeman, after the exercise, perhaps you approach the stopped car with a more appropriate “power with” introduction, inviting a more reciprocal response. In national politics, I can only imagine Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz doing this exercise. Or imagine a Mitt Romney and Donald Trump! I’m guessing Donald wouldn’t survive the first word of disagreement without calling Mitt names, like RINO, or quitting the exercise in a hissy fit.
If you look at so many of our problems as a country: domestic violence; racism; gun violence; poverty; religious intolerance; environmental destruction; they all have their roots in a “power over,” a domination model. Why? What is it about our society that is moving us so rapidly and forcefully toward such a self destructive way of interacting?
Two possibilities come to mind. In our society, there are the economically powerless. As some few get richer, many get poorer. As corporate giants have gotten larger and wealthier, unions of their workers have almost disappeared. There is an enormous economic power imbalance. (As an example, there were more fossil fuel representatives at COP26 than from our government or any other country). It’s hard to share power when economic systems and powerful economic entities prevent it. And in the U.S., we seem prone to criticize our adversaries for their economic systems but seem immune to the problems of our own.
Another issue is our education system. How effectively does it educate for mutual problem solving, as distinct from individual development and competitiveness? Especially in a time of pandemic, of crisis, how effectively do parents, school boards, administrators, teachers and students work together? Is the system constructed for power sharing? Where are the educational models of “power with?”
We can do better! We are not fated to a dystopian future. I’m thinking about going back to a push mower, as it’s more environmentally friendly. Our larger success as a nation might be assured, were we to give up the love of power for the power of love.
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November 16, 2021 at 01:08AM
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Brookings Register | Love of power vs. power of love - Brookings Register
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