Introduction:
Saul Alinsky formerly said, “Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.” This solidifies the fact that creating conflict which breeds mistrust, emotions, and then easy manipulation proving my point that conflict is the delivery mechanism to gaining and achieving higher levels of power in all levels of social hierarchy.
Good morning/Good afternoon, my name is Allira Herps and I’m a key speaker for the youth summit 2020 and I’m here to represent and inform you about todays topic, that being The Perception of Truth, Power, and Conflict. Power cannot exist without conflict, as it’s a symbiotic existence intrinsically linked relationship as power is the capacity or the ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events, as well as Conflict can be a civil and/or serious disagreement or a dispute. Power cannot exist without conflict, however, some may argue that conflict does not play a part in power, although it has been evident through communists and dictators that power can only exist with conflict.
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Argument 1:
We have learnt from history that communism and dictatorship rule throughout the world, impacting and creating change throughout peoples lives, they do this by ensuring conflict exist mentally and emotionally throughout the mases keep them firmly plugged into the communism reigned allowing those in power to easily manipulate and influence for the good of the party at the will of the party leader. Mases kept under emotional and mental control not only believe the propaganda they are the propaganda; this can also be seen in North Korea but by perpetually advising its citizens that America is the enemy. George Orwell states from the novel Animal Farm “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” which insinuates that there is no equals this links to modern day society, as we all are placed in a social hierarchy those being at the top having majority of the control and as well power and those at the bottom being the uneducated ones struggling to find where they belong. Power can not exist without conflict, as for the thirst and hunger of having power over something such as dominance, the control of that is already taken from someone who has a higher recognition. Power was inflicted in the novel Animal farm; this was because of Mr Jones who we can link to Karl Marx. Karl Marx invented communism, something we all see throughout the daily lives of others. Power was inflicted in the novel Animal farm, during the beginning, power and conflict was inflicted by Mr. Jones, who was often a drunk farmer who ran the Manor Farm before the animals begun their rebellion towards Mr. Jones. Throughout Animal farm trust, loyalty, and power as well as conflict was produced within the novel. This is seen with Mr. jones, Old Major, and the pigs, Napoleon and Snowball. With these animals in power had a huge impact on others they were seen as confused and unsure of what to do as they were in fear created by the pigs, that something bad would be inflicted by Napoleon and Snowball if they were to do something not right. Severe punishments were put in place if rules were not followed such as starvation, which did take place in the novel, where the pigs starved five hens, which then resulted in death.
Argument 2:
Throughout history, the world has been constructed on a platform of social status and popularity. Those who were captivated by others popularity were the ones that could not reach that level of recognition. Having a high social status implies that a person has control and dominance, which can portray their need to take over and have control. Those who were uneducated were manipulated and punished and they depended on each individuals thought and opinion of them to be seen as something in the world, those who were strong were seen as powerful yet seen as someone important, but with that power was then abused for their own purposes which links to the quote “Those who have true power share it, while those who hunger power abuse it.” By Royalton Ambrose. Nose dive links to contemporary society, as we base ourselves of what other people think, as well as try to please and be something others want us to be, although life is not about pleasing others, it can be seen as socially not acceptable to be yourself and is why peoples physical and mental wellbeing is then affected. In contemporary society there is a social hierarchy, those being famous at the top and those being poor or homeless at the bottom. A quote from an unknown states “The unhappiest people in this world are those who care the most of what other people think” This quote shone throughout this episode of nose dive as it clearly states the sort of happiness people have when caring about others opinion. Nose dive portrayed power and conflict this was seen in the social hierarchy that was upheld in the novel, which took affect to peoples mental and physical wellbeing in many ways, those who were below were seen as weak and not as important or even no existent. Those who were seen as not good enough were treated differently yet had many barriers throughout life such as getting to other places, borders would have a certain rating to be allowed to pass, as well as airports, hiring a car or even purchasing a house. This portrays the dominance people had over others.
Argument 3:
The reason people in power in a communist party enjoy conflict is because it allows them to manipulate people’s emotion to better suit the interest of the party in power. Conflict allows those in power (Popular) to divide and conquer and allows the powerful adoring followers in their wake and provides an easy emotional (word) to manipulate. This proves conflict is the foundation of power because it provides the initial steps up the ladder on the rise to the top of the social hierarchy and ensures mental and emotional instability to easily maintain a position of power. This could be done via conflict on interests such as religion and faith, example being “Do what I say, or go to hell” this is similar to the popular group of girls “do I what I do or be no one”
Conclusion:
In conclusion power cannot exist without conflict, however, some may argue that conflict does not play a part in power, although it has been evident through communists and dictators that power can only exist with conflict. We have learnt from history that communism and dictatorship rule throughout the world, impacting and creating change throughout peoples lives, they do this by ensuring conflict exist mentally and emotionally throughout the mases keep them firmly plugged in to the communism reigned allowing those in power to easily manipulate and influence for the good of the party at the will of the party leader. Saul Alinsky formerly said, “Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.” This solidifies the fact that creating conflict which breeds mistrust, emotions, and then easy manipulation proving my point that conflict is the delivery mechanism to gaining and achieving higher levels of power in all levels of social hierarchy.
Bibliography
- BrainyQuote.com. (2020, March 11). Saul Alinsky quotes. Retrieved from https://www.brainyquote.com/citation/quotes/saul_alinsky_125893
- Jones, M. S. (Director). (2016). Nose Dive - Black Mirror [Motion Picture].
- N/A. (2018, September 27). Quotes about Power . Retrieved from https://messages.365greetings.com/quotes/quotes-about-power.html
- Orwell, G. (1945). Animal Farm .
- Waters, M. (Director). (2004). Mean Girls [Motion Picture].
