Week#4b: Weekly

The Corruption of Power

Power is one thing every leader wants and needs.  Leaders want power because they need to prove to the people who is in charge.  They need power to maintain control and do what is best for their people.  They create laws to keep their citizens safe and out of harm’s way.  Some rulers can be “power hungry” and take the freedom away from their people.  There are four different types of rulers: presidents, tyrants, dictators, and kings.  They all have one thing, power.  They can use it in positive ways to make the world a better place and successfully help his/her people.  Some leaders also abuse their power and use it for evil.  There have been some terrible dictators that changed world history forever.  There were some great U.S. presidents that had to deal with multiple crises and had to make the best choices for the country.  Power can be corrupted or influenced by past rulers or current situations in the world.

Power is corrupted by the rulers who want all the power and think they are doing god when their acts are truly evil.  A past leader or event could motivate them to change the way their country or empire functions.  For example, Alexander the Great was motivated to expand his empire by defeating the Persians and taking back the Greek honor that was lost for 150 years.  He wanted to prove to the known world that he was “The Great.”  He was a leader who wanted the best for his people but if others didn’t follow his rules, you would probably be dead.  Alexander wanted to make his world bigger and better than the former Persian empire.  He thought he was immune to anything that came in his way.  Alexander was told by an oracle that he was the son of a god and that ignited his story to create a “mythos” for himself.  Alexander was a fearless fighter and intelligent man, but had a bit of an ego.  He liked things done his way and wanted his empire to be prosperous and the people praising him for his heroic duties.  Alexander loved having enemies and the Persian ruler, Darius, was his perfect match.  He wanted to be better than Darius in every way possible.  After Darius died, Alexander had no to battle or match up to.  This filled him with rage and turned him into a ruler that wanted every bit of power he could get his hands on.

Alexander became a corrupted leader after the death of Darius.  Darius was the man Alexander loathed because he was very powerful and led a well-trained army of fighters.  After the death of the great Persian ruler, Alexander needed to find a new enemy to battle with.  He was filled with rage when he found out Darius was dead because he wanted to be the one to kill him.  He still had a very powerful army and empire that needed organization.  Instead of starting and building up his empire, Alexander wanted to find the man who killed Darius.  Bessus was a formal general of Darius and he thought he could rule the Persian Empire better than Darius.  Alexander wanted to hunt Bessus down and give him a rightful punishment.  Alexander had so much power and skill to beat Bessus to the punch and gave him what he deserved.  Alexander was very intelligent and made his attacks unexpected.  He went into battle always thinking he could win and expand his empire bigger and better.

After Alexander defeated the Persians, he freed the places that were under their rule and took them under his arm into his new empire.  Soon after his great victory, he many of the Persian soldiers and added them to his own army.  There are some accounts that Alexander started dressing in Persian robes.  His Greek army was confused by his actions.  In a way, it could have been his way of honoring Darius.  The Persian woman were forced (by Alexander) to marry the Greek soldiers.  If they did not comply with his plan, then they were sold into slavery.  In a way, both the Greek world and the Persian world merged together.  The only thing that stood in Alexander’s way was Bessus and his rebel army.  Alexander followed Bessus and wiped out his army and cut off Bessus’s nose and ears.  Alexander thought that he could finally organize his kingdom but sickness cause him to suffer for a few days and then pass away.

A good ruler would want the best for his people.  They would give their people the freedom to express their opinion and be what they want to be.  Some leaders want all the power and glory so they treat their people unjustly.  Alexander the Great wanted the best for his people and give them back the Greek honor they deserved.  He was a natural born leader that was born to fight for what he wanted.  Overall, he was trying to be a good leader but the dream of full, complete power hung over his head.  Leaders have a chance to change the world.  They have changed the world for good and for bad, but that’s how they go down in history.