Satvika Madadi

Mrs. Gardner
English 0
27 Oct 2014

Abuse of Power: Taking a Stand

Dear fellow classmates, let me tell you about a tyranny that has been ruling our world for
quite some time.
Through the years, people have been abusing power, no matter how little or largely it
affects others around them. Everyone has seen this at one point in their lives, yet we have not
done much about it because thats simply the way our society runs. From the early times to
present day; the governments of countries to schoolchildren; from Hitlers terrible reign to
bullying, people have been power hungry for a long time, and though it is better than before, we
still have a long way to go to help others and ourselves escape from this terrible catastrophe.
Since early times, people have been victims of the misuse of power. Let me give you a
taste of the history of this terrible reign. For one, Hitler used his power to discriminate Jews, and
send them to concentration camps, where they were killed through brutal means. When they
were killed, it seemed like no other Jews or even anyone cared or were sympathetic enough to
fight for them, but in reality, they did care; they were simply afraid to do anything about it.
Another example is that of royal kings and queens who did not care for anyone but themselves,
and simply ordered their public like servents. The tyrannical use of power led to slavery and
discrimination; and eventually, the abuse of power even led to the demise of certain countries.
We see how people were affected in the past, yet we do not stop.
Another example of power abuse is bullying which has become a major issue with
children today. Most people have seen bullying in action or have been bullied, but they are

scared to report it, because that is the influence that the bully has on them, but it shouldnt affect
you because they are simply trying to be overpowering.
Another horrendous example of the abuse of power is that of the underclassmen of
China that work in shops. Trying to escape from extreme poverty, rural migrant workers find
themselves trapped in appalling working conditions. Most of these workers are women earning
extremely low wages,(Sweatshops in China) earning at most 2 dollars a day for working up to
20 hours per day. This is caused because of tyrants, also known as business owners, who are
greedy enough to keep most of the profits to themselves. This must stop immediately.
Though people might not think much of it while it is happening, as humans we have also
not been able to control our feelings about the subject, and this leads to revolts and other
catastrophic disasters that are disadvantageous for our world. Also, people who have never
actually been the victims of the abuse of power have never felt the sting of being broken down,
so that allows them not to think much of it, but even if it has never affected you personally, that
doesnt mean that people around you have not been affected, and we have to help them get
back on their feet to allow the world to go round.
As a single human, we might think that we cannot do much to help this issue, but if we
combine the effort of every individual, we will be able to rid ourselves of the cruel mindset that
has been taking over the world for generations. We must come to realize that to force the
monster that takes over others, and forces them to develop unforgivable emotions, such as
greed and selfishness, to intimidate this monster to back down, we must first eliminate this
monster within ourselves. Everyone possesses these qualities, they are of human nature, but
we must learn to force these qualities to bow down before us and let the angel within us shine.
This is not an easy task; however, every single one of us has the capabilities to pull through.
Through early history to modern times, people have been victims of power abuse. Now,
we can take a stand against this situation, and say that we are indeed powerful enough to fight
for what we truly believe in. When you have felt the heartfelt pain of a young girl, crying because

of her bullies; when you see a young boy arrive home with a black eye; when you have been
forced to do deeds you dont want to; when you have been forced to believe in ideas you do not
desire; when you know something you are doing is wrong, yet you do it anyway, then, and only
then will you understand the agony and suffering that comes with deeply desired power and the
forced influence to others.
This is why I say, fight the monster within you instead of letting it get the best of you, and
allow yourself to surrender to the kindness and happiness that can make the world a better
place.

Works Cited:
Lichtblau, Eric. "The Holocaust Just Got More Shocking." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 02 Mar. 2013. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.
"Sweatshops in China." War On Want. Unknown, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.