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in, prevent this social unrest from coming to fruition, and so we have
a battle for two powers; peace and progress. What happens when an
unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Something explosive,
devastating, but ultimately unpredictable. Similarly, the ramifications
of conflict for power can be cataclysmic, yet be integral to our lives.
Bertolt Brecht explores this explosive clash between two parties’
pursuit for power in his play, Life of Galileo. Throughout the play,
life is shown to be ultimately governed by the Church’s teachings,
representing their desire for a monopoly over their population’s
views. Contrastingly, Galileo fights for the freedom to bestow power
upon the commoners through providing his studies in Italian,
becoming the lone figure in the battle for power in the form of free-
thinking and discoveries. Thus, we can see that although the Church
and Galileo are dichotomised vastly in their goals, ultimately, they
are also paralleled in that they both strive to claim power of a kind.
In today’s age, we might too easily support the battle for progress
and learning, and why wouldn’t we? We need the scientists, the
sceptics, the artists, and the free-thinkers to continuously ask, ‘Why?’
Or ‘What if?’ Lest society succumbs to an authority’s numbing
desire for power through control.
However, once an authority has achieved a dominating sense of
power, society often finds it difficult to reclaim enough strength to
protest. When we are powerless, we are afraid; afraid of the looming
threat of the authority’s control, afraid of the unforeseen
consequences that could snowball should we ever try to recover
power for ourselves. Before 2010, many Middle Eastern countries
possessed this ingrained fear of their dictatorship’s relentless control
and the consequences of rebellion. Social and political unrest rippled
under the surface of society, but never accumulated to any remarkable
protest, until one man stood up. Mohamed Bouazizi and his tragic
martyrdom became the spark needed for the rest of his country to
realise that they did not have to live under oppression, that they
deserved to live freely under their own power. The floodgates were
opened. One of the most explosive and consuming revolutions of
our time commenced, embodying how, as individuals, we should not
remain submissive to a government’s rigid control. As humans, we
are thirsty for power, whether it be knowledge, progress, or freedom.
We just need to acknowledge that often, these powers are worth
fighting for, in spite of the collateral damage we fear may arise. As
The Fight
For Power
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