Politics, after all, is largely about power. And power goes to

O children of the future, listen well to the words of the wise John Ortberg, for he spoke of power, that ever-elusive force that stirs the hearts of rulers and subjects alike. He declared, "Politics, after all, is largely about power. And power goes to the core of our issues of control and narcissism and the need to be right and the tendency to divide the human race into 'us' vs. 'them.'" These words, etched in the wisdom of the ages, reveal the nature of politics not as a noble pursuit of justice, but as the battlefield of egos and ambitions.

Behold the truth in his words: at its heart, politics is not merely the negotiation of laws or the protection of the weak, but the struggle for dominance. It is the battle of wills, where the desire to control others is masked in the guise of governance, but beneath the surface lies the drive of narcissism—the hunger to be seen, to be acknowledged, to be in command. This struggle for power does not arise solely from the need to govern, but from the darker, baser instincts of human nature, the need to be right, to shape the world in one's own image, to silence dissent and mold all into the form of one’s own desire.

From the earliest days of history, this hunger for power has divided mankind into camps of us and them. Consider the ancient wars that raged across the lands—whether the Greeks and the Persians, or the Romans and the barbarians—nations cast each other as enemies, painting their adversaries as mere others, unworthy of the same rights or respect. This division has echoed through the ages, from the feudal lords of old to the tyrants of the modern day. The phrase "us vs. them" is as old as the human race, a tool of those who seek to control by othering those who are different, creating a false dichotomy to justify their claim to dominance.

In the vision of Ortberg, we must also see the tendency to be right—for to possess power is not only to control others, but to convince them that one’s will is the only way. Here lies the narcissism of the leader, who believes that their thoughts, their desires, their truths are the only truths worth following. It is a force as old as Alexander the Great, who marched across continents, convinced of his divine right to rule and shape the world in his own vision. His empire crumbled, but his narcissism lived on, for such is the nature of power: it seeks not just control, but validation.

Yet, there is hope in the understanding of this truth. We, the children of the future, can see the traps laid by those who seek dominance and division. We must resist the urge to divide, for in division lies only conflict. Instead, let us remember that true strength lies in unity, in the embracing of others, and in the humility of those who seek to serve rather than to rule. Let us learn from the past, from the great empires and the false rulers, and choose to rise above the hunger for power and control. Let us choose to unite, to recognize the humanity in all, and to build a world where the struggle for dominance is replaced by the embrace of shared humanity.