Power: The Ultimate Body Snatcher

Power corrupts. You've heard it in English class when your teacher runs out of good topics. You saw it happen to Prospero in Poe's "Masque of the Red Death." Even Thomas Jefferson wondered whether or not man could be trusted to govern others if he can't even handle governing himself.

I have come to the scholarly conclusion that power is like the little facehugger in the original Alien movie. First it gets all in your face, and you get a taste. Then it starts growing inside you, chewing up your guts until it bursts out in a full-blown alien rage birth. Or maybe it just hangs out inside and completely changes who you are so you run around messing up everyone else's lives, including your own, because the rules don't apply to you.

Consider Lance Armstrong, the now infamous US cycling extraordinaire. Cancer comeback kid, multiple Tour de France champion, and most recently: cheater. Most people wouldn't immediately equate cheating with a power corruption problem, but I argue that the power that comes with athletic success may be just as toxic as that gained by military conquest or political victory.

Richard Pound, the founding member of the World Anti Doping Agency, writes at CNN.com that Armstrong's legacy might continue strong, even though the evidence almost undoubtedly condemns him as a cheater. But notice WHY he says his legacy will live on:

The cheating involved was highly organized, well financed and well-coordinated. It was not simply a few athletes trying to get an edge by surreptitious use of banned substances. Instead it was an essential part of the USPS team strategy, and it involved participants in several countries, all working to achieve better competitive results by deliberately breaking agreed upon rules at the expense of athletes who competed clean.

Got that? An organized strategy spanning multiple countries, and it was all about winning at all costs. As victories mount, the pressure increases to keep winning. Get a little taste of that power, then help yourself to some more--even if it means trampling the hard work, discipline, and sportsmanship of those who played by the rules. Lance and Co. basically gave themselves an illegal head start; they just didn't think the world was watching them do it.

Now we all see that what these and other cheaters (hello Mr. Bonds, Mr. Sosa, Mr. Clemens) have done: line themselves up in front of all the honest competitors, doing whatever it takes to maintain their position of (fill in the blank, class)______________________. *

Would I have done any different? Maybe not. And that's the point. Power eats you up, snatches your body, and bursts out of your sorry excuse for a corpse on its way to damaging everyone else around you. I know this doesn't sound too sunny, but I don't think anyone can beat this beast. Perhaps the best solution is to avoid pursuing power, and for those of us who must occupy positions of authority, success, and fame: when you feel your body being snatched away, you may have to pull a Sigourney Weaver in Alien III (I think). Put your hands over that sucker, and jump into flaming pile of liquid metal. (Walk away from your power; don't really jump into a vat of liquid metal).



*Answers: POWER

Photo Credit