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List of Chapters | Main Menu | Contact | About Futurepower ® True power is not adversarial. Those who are really powerful can have a strong influence just by voicing disapproval. Those who have strong influence merely by expressing what they want are more powerful than those who have to pay money to fight enemies. The Catholic nun who was called "Mother Teresa" is an example of someone who had true power. The following story may be difficult to believe. However, I am aware of no informed people who disagree with these facts, or any of the facts in this book. In the U.S. there is a video rental company called "Blockbuster". (The company is named after a type of bomb used in the second world war, called a blockbuster. This is a case of being insensitive to issues surrounding violence. The name "blockbuster" now means "popular film".) The Blockbuster company has for rent a video documentary about Mother Teresa. In one of the incidents on the video, two Islamic groups stopped fighting because Mother Teresa was in the area. This incident is a remarkable example of true power. Catholics are often disliked by Arabs because of violence during the middle ages. In a destructive campaign called the Crusades, a huge group of Catholics and their leaders traveled to the region where the Arabs lived, and tried to kill as many as possible. I find it understandable that Arabs still feel a sense of distrust and even dislike of Catholics because of these incidents, even though they happened a long time ago. So, there is every reason to believe that a Catholic nun, someone who represents the Catholic religion, would not have power in a region inhabited by Arabs. The religion called Islam was founded by Mohammad. After his death in 630 AD, his followers separated into two groups, the Sunni and the Shia. These groups often dislike each other, and have often sought to kill each other. One particular incident of fighting between the Sunni and Shia happened in Beirut, Lebanon, in the early 1980s. Mother Teresa visited Beirut during the fighting to care for the sick. Her presence in the area was extremely uncomfortable to those involved in the conflict. They were afraid she would be killed. So, they decided to stop their war while she was there. Mother Teresa did not have the items that many people mistakenly think signify power. She did not have weapons. She had only the money that people had voluntarily donated to her. When you are very weak, there are people who don't respect you, and you must spend huge amounts of money protecting yourself. There is a constant threat that you will be killed in adversarial activity. If you are strong like Mother Teresa, you don't pay money. You receive it. If people are engaging in adversarial behavior, they stop it when you are around. Obviously, this second situation is one of more true power. By that measure, the U.S. budget of $343.2 billion dollars a year for the defense department alone is evidence of weakness, not strength. List of Chapters | Main Menu | Contact | About Futurepower ® | Go to top Futurepower
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