Topic: Power
Yesterday, I wrote about how leaders of the Hesperian Foundation courageously voted to exercise power in order to remove themselves from the one with greatest power in the entire Foundation. (ie. the Founder himself!) Let's look at the power dynamics and see if we can connect the dots to something that, at first glance, looks far afield.
This is election year for the United States. The world is watching to see how we, as citizens, are going to exercise our power over our elected leaders through our vote. For countries that do not give citizens a chance to do this on a regular basis, this power seems enormous. They watch us like poverty-stricken kids at the window of a candy store!!
How ridiculous, people living under dicatotships must think it is, that almost half of Americans also choose to watch the "circus," but never put forth the small effort required to exercise this wonderful power! It's hard for any of us to believe the truth--that, in a country this size, one vote can make a difference.
Well, in the Iowa Republican primary a few days ago, only eight (yes 8!) made the difference for who came in first!!! Back in 2004, the percentage of votes making a difference for a national election was much smaller and had far more disastrous results, in my opinion, than if that percentage had gone the other way.
Elections aren't the only way we exercise our power.
In governments, corporations, places of business we frequent, how we choose to spend our time, non-profits we support--in all of these we are micro-managing OUR power! And the decisions we make can be just as important, and difficult, as they are for a CEO--if we really take them seriously.
