Today is December 7th, 2022, otherwise known as Pearl Harbor Day. It is the day that Japan projected its military power onto the United States to launch a surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Hawaii. My father was on the ground during that attack, so this has always been a day I remember.
Power is the ability to do something without asking permission, or to do something in a particular way. War is not polite, and no one expects it to be. It is an exercise in power, used to accomplish a particular outcome. Oftentimes that outcome is not obvious at the time. Even in wartime, the exercise of power is judged by fairness. What was unfair about that military attack was its surprise. Even in the context of all-out warfare, we don’t abandon our sense of fairness, as evidenced by the existence of the Geneva Convention and its rules for the treatment of prisoners.
But in the end, power is power. In the moment of action, it cannot be stopped. But it can be judged. And it always creates a response. In this case, the United States responded with an all-out, worldwide war on two fronts, first Japan, and almost immediately thereafter, Germany. We know how that ended. In the conclusion, after untold death and destruction, the objectives of that initial surprise attack were defeated and Japan and Germany felt the power of the combined allied forces, resulting in unconditional surrender and control by foreign nations. The outsiders who were attacked eventually prevailed over the insiders who applied their power to try to get what they wanted. Fairness has a way of finding victory.
At the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, few understood what was happening, or why. Only those at the highest levels of both countries knew the real score. It was years before the historical context behind the words spoken by the President would be fully comprehended.
“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
This act by Japan, and this speech calling it out for what it was, transformed a population that insisted on staying out of the war raging in Europe, into one of the greatest military powers ever assembled on earth. That is one way to understand the result of Japan’s exercise of power on December 7. Those exercising power at the moment cannot see the ultimate consequences of their actions. They might expect one thing but get something entirely different in the longer term. That is why power is dangerous and wisdom dictates that it only be used as a last resort when no other choices exist.
The kind of dynamics described above is not limited to wartime. We can see it play out even in societies of chimpanzees. This is a story I heard from Jordan Peterson.
Chimps are structured around an alpha male who serves as a ruler. He usually attains this status by way of physical competition with other males. Once in the position of power, however, not every alpha lives a long and happy life. An alpha that rules through the exercise of tyrannical power becomes unpopular, and eventually gets ambushed by a gang of underlings and torn to shreds. No single chimpanzee is a match for 3-4 acting as a group. That is how Chimpanzee elections work.
An alpha male that lasts a while is cautious with power, takes care to form loyal relationships, engages in grooming behavior of others, reciprocates kindness, and is generous with others with what he could keep for himself. In short, he treats his less-powerful community members with generosity and respect. That kind of alpha usually dies of old age.
Somewhere between Pearl Harbor and chimpanzees are the rest of us, living out our lives in a less dramatic fashion. But the dynamics of power are no less prevalent or visible if we notice. All you need to remember is the TV show “Survivor” to understand how power centers work when objectives are purely selfish.
Last night the winners of the recent election were seated on the City Council. Among the most significant acts in that meeting was the selection of the next Mayor and Vice Mayor. Here is the way the local paper described that event:
“Councilor Deepika Tandon nominated Reynolds for the mayor seat after which Morgan nominated Coolidge to take a second term as mayor.
Reynolds only received votes from herself, Tandon, and Winslow while the remaining four, Bennet, Coolidge, Morgan, and van Overbeek voted no.
Coolidge on the other hand received support from Bennett, himself, Morgan, Tandon, van Overbeek and Winslow, with the sole no coming from Reynolds, solidifying Coolidge’s second term.
The same process was used to select the vice mayor once the mayor was selected.
In this case, Coolidge nominated newcomer van Overbeek for the position, which was backed only by Coolidge, Morgan, and van Overbeek.
Bennett nominated Reynolds to be vice mayor again which got unanimous support from the council.”
There is more to the story than that, I can assure you. Much more. This was the first exercise of power by the newest council, and some might be surprised. I was not. I first learned of this move on election night, because if you watch and listen, people tell you what they are going to do.
The lingering question, the one I will leave you with, is why? What were the motives behind this action? I guarantee you won’t get an explanation from the actors involved. Some people believe in fairness and reciprocation, and some only believe in power. We usually don’t understand motivations until long after the fact. In this case, I don’t think we will have to wait that long. But at the moment, the “why” is not important. We have the “what, when, where, and who.”
I’ll close this with one of my favorite sayings:
Don’t tell me what you believe. Show me what you do, and I’ll tell you what you believe.”
Here's one of my favorite sayings - Trouble ahead, trouble behind - Casey Jones you better watch your speed!
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Thanks for the information about how they were chosen. I was hoping Kasey would be mayor.