People Power

One of the strongest forces known to man is that of people power. This is accomplished when several join forces in order to accomplish a common good.

Imagine the power of a rushing stream after a fierce thunderstorm. It becomes a mighty powerful force only because of the numbers of individual drops of water that join forces. Just a few drops of water are almost powerless, but when many come together they can create a force that can destroy almost anything in its path.

If people were to join forces they would have even more power than mere water because water can’t think for itself. Water just follows the path of least resistance. Because of this its power is usually unpredictable.

On the other hand people have the ability to decide exactly where they wish to exercise their power. They can intensify it upon an exact spot of concentration.

Imagine what interested people could do to eradicate world hunger if they applied the power of the people in substantial numbers. Imagine what dent could be made in bringing families, towns, or even cities out of poverty if people would unite. In fact out of most of the world’s major problems there are only a few that would be able to stand against the power of the people once they become united.

Why do nations form armies? It is because just a few soldiers cannot affectively protect a nation, but an army of solders makes a strong wall of defense or offense in order to protect a nation. If people can be assembled into just as powerful a force, but for purposes of waging war, couldn’t they be just as powerful when fighting for the common good?

If a town or city is plagued with crime it is usually because a very small percentage of the actual population creates havoc on the greater majority of the people. Why should such a minority have that much power against the majority? It is because people don’t unite and use their power.

Take any city or town where the crime rate is extremely high. My hometown of Memphis Tennessee has one of the highest crime rates in the nation. I am almost certain that there are more law-abiding citizens living in Memphis than there are law-breakers.

Criminals will band together if necessary in order to perform their crimes because they realize the power in numbers. They will frequently form a team so each member can add to the strength of the group. When people band together they become very affective, whether the reason is good or evil. It is strange that more people don’t come together for noble purposes rather than those selfish ones that are strictly for selfish profit.

War historians study past wars to find the secrets to successful war campaigns. Apparently the ones that were best united were the ones that were most successful. Great generals and warlords were able to unify their armies forming a solid wall, even when they were fighting against larger opponents. It is not always the quantity of people, but most times the quality of their unity that creates the power.

Understanding this to be factual why don’t more people join forces in order to achieve the common good? The main culprit seems to be our human nature. With it we have volition. We have the ability to go against (choose) what would appear to be the common good. We have the ability to do things that we know are harmful and do so maliciously, if we choose.

Our human nature comes with a double edge of opposite extremes. Unless we make the choice to intentionally “do good” we are vulnerable to our darker side. Just as water can be used to achieve the most incredible positive purposes, it can also become one of the most destructive forces. It is not the H2O that makes the determination, but how it is used. Likewise it is not the nature of humans that is the problem, but how they are used both mentally and physically.

Take the power of the tongue as an example. With this tiny body part one can curse people or bless them. The same tongue can do both. It is not the tongue, but how one uses it. How it is used determines the nature of its power.

It is the same about people. Their power is determined by how they chose to use it. They may form an army to conquer the world or they can form an army to defeat world hunger. The power is characterized by how it is used.

Isn’t it about time for us to realize just how much un-actualized power we have? This power is one of the strongest forces known to man. When we decide to join forces is when we will evolve to our higher potential. If we wanted to do so as soon as tomorrow we could make that happen. The power is in our hands right now. It’s the power of the people.