So, I got to thinking about power the other day. I had even "written" down a few notes on the subject on my running notes on my laptop when I crashed the hard drive. I refuse to put it into the passive voice: "My hard drive crashed" -- because I'm sure I'm somehow at least partially responsible (no dirty jokes, please). I've been using this laptop for over 3 years, so I must've done something, right?

Being on the phone at all hours of the night with someone on the sub-continent trying to diagnose the problem and then, later, with one of his comrades re-loading something led me to a realization. That you can't really make someone do something. All you can do is attempt to influence them. Being nice, prodding, gentle shoves and torture are but a few of the ways you can attempt to influence someone. Some work better in certain situations than others.

In the end, though, you cannot really force someone to do what you want him/her to do. Padme realizes this on some sort of subconscious level when Anakin tells her that his plan is to make people be nice during those horrible "love story" scenes on Naboo in EpII. She says something like, "It doesn't work that way" more out of concern than insight. She knows there's something wrong with the statement, but she can't put her finger on it.

Anakin, though, does not really listen to anyone else. At Bespin, when he's got Luke cornered he figures Luke's only escape is to join him, but Luke leaps to almost-certain doom.

Palps also buys into this theory. He figures when Luke doesn't turn to the Dark Side, he can just zap Luke into submission and/or kill him.

Twice then, Luke makes the difficult choice. He quite literally puts his principles before his own life. Luke has the choice to violate his moral compass and chooses not to. Both times it worked.

Power, then, is the ability to influence someone to do something; it is not the power to make someone do something. As demonstrated above, the other person always has the choice not to comply.

"If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

I started to talk about this in a previous entry, but the power that Obi-Wan obtained was the power to influence. Moreover, the "power" is given to you by those that you influence. Think about that sentence for a minute or two.

The power you have is given to you by those over whom you exert the power.

How do you get there? You can use financial duress; for example, your boss pays you so you do what he says. The more he pays you, the more you do and the more power he has. There is emotional sway in the way that you assist your loved ones because they are your loved ones. Teaching is a powerful form of influence. I'm sure there are hundreds of examples.

Not only did Luke gain a pocket Jedi Master to train him, Luke gained a hero/martyr figure and a role model that led by example. Didn't Luke do for Anakin much the same thing that Obi-Wan did for Luke?

"Darth Vader shall become more powerful than either of us."

Did Palps believe that when he said it? Who knows. It's clear, though, that he equates power with the ability to use (manipulate? utilize?) the Force. Palps' arrogance had already began blinding him in EpIII. He rose to the position of Emperor due to his political dealings and use of the Force -- but I daresay his political manueverings had a great deal to do with it. Upon gaining a position of power, he forgot what got him there. He began to look at the brute strength (I'm equating a high midichlorian count to big muscles) of Anakin as power.

This is where the "Rule of 2" is symbolic of the entire problem. Go here for a discussion of the lack of freedom it creates. It is not the problem, it exemplifies and symbolizes the problem.

The acquisition of power becomes about killing the other -- the ultimate use of force in the attempt to impose one's will. What happens, though, when you're in charge? Someone else is trying to kill you. Power is like wealth in that the more you have, the more risk averse you become. So, now you've got to watch your back to keep your power and your life. Then, when you start throwing your weight around too much, rebellions spring up. By rising to this position of power, we can no longer use your power for fear of losing it.

I guess you can kill your apprentice, but that's not part of the rule and it doesn't really help you with the Alliance.

"The more you tighten your grip ... the more star systems will slip through your fingers."

That's why governments fail -- they stop listening. The guys in charge just do what they want to do without listening. When they get to their wits' end, they just stop or rebel. It's just a vicious cycle for the guy(s) in power.

After I sat down and thought about power in this manner, this finally made a ton of sense:

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the land."