Let us all think about power. How power exists only through collective belief and how fear allows corruption to thrive. It urges citizens to reclaim dignity, resist silence, and rediscover their humanity through courage, thought, and self-belief…
Power is a strange thing. It has no body, no weight, no flesh of its own. It exists only where people believe it exists. And yet, we—citizens of this land—have handed it away, piece by piece. We convinced ourselves that rulers, officials, elites hold it over us, when in truth they hold nothing but the shadows we allow them to cast. Slowly, quietly, we have shrunk into fear. We became smaller, weaker, cowards even, not because we lacked strength, but because we forgot the source of all strength: belief.
For power is not iron or stone; it is like a shadow. A small man can cast a large shadow when the light falls just right. The government/leaders, the so-called mighty, are such small men—casting long shadows, frightening entire nations. And yet, what is a shadow but a trick of light? What is power but a trick of belief?
And then there is corruption—the most faithful companion of false power. At its heart, corruption is nothing but disbelief in oneself.
A corrupt soul whispers:
I cannot live, I cannot dream, I cannot thrive through honesty.
So they lie, they steal, they betray. They hoard wealth not because of love for their children, but because they do not trust them. They doubt that their sons and daughters can’t stand tall, can’t grow strong, can’t walk with dignity as true humans. Out of that disbelief, they bury them under mountains of stolen sinful gold.
History has sung the same song again and again: power, when corrupted, devours itself. It is the nature of corruption to be poisonous, and those who drink it, no matter how high they rise, will choke on their own venom. The elites of every age, blinded by arrogance, surround themselves with flatterers and leeches. They are worshiped by cowards, intoxicated by applause, and soon they mistake themselves for gods. Their superiority complex swells until even the purest among us might be tempted by their illusion. For corruption is not only of the money, it is of the soul, of humanity itself.
But who gave them this crown of illusion? Who raised them to such false divinity? “We did”. We, the citizens. We, in our silence, in our fear. Democracy is a mirror, and if the rulers are corrupt, it is because we allowed corruption to thrive. Our parents trembled for us, and now we tremble for our children. While we lived in fear, they feasted on it. They drained our essence, sucked the marrow of our spirit, and began to imagine themselves immortal. Their followers call them demi-gods, but in truth they are only men wrapped in delusion. Dangerous men, because they have learned to disguise weakness as might.
If we truly wish to live—not merely survive—we must confront the root of all chains: fear. Do no wrong. Fear nothing. That is the beginning of freedom.
And yet, reality pierces us daily. Our brothers, our sisters, our neighbors—humans like us—are killed before our very eyes. Not because they harmed anyone, not because they were dangerous, not because they threatened the peace of society. No, they were silenced for daring to ask questions. For demanding better. For speaking the truth that all of us feel in our bones but few of us dare to utter. They were executed for using the most basic of human rights: the right to speak, the right to live as people.
And what is worse—those in power did not even see them as human. To the state, to the machine of authority, we are no longer people. We are insects, bugs to be stepped upon whenever convenient. Their rifles and batons declare it more clearly than any law: we are nobody.
Look closer, and the corruption reveals its hierarchy. At the bottom, desperate hands scramble to please those above. Every rung of the ladder serves the one higher. Consider, the ministers, officers, and the police officer who pulls the trigger—does he not see? Does he not know that his own beloved family could one day be crushed by the same hand of power? Or perhaps those who live too long in corruption and power lose even the ability to love. They live, but they no longer Feel.
And so, the question remains, heavy and unrelenting:
Will we continue to cower under shadows, or will we remember that it is “our belief” that gives shadows shape?
If we remain silent, the corrupt will believe themselves gods. But if we stand, if we break free from fear, the illusion will shatter. For the truth is eternal: power does not belong to rulers, nor to elites, nor to corruption. Power belongs where people believe it belongs.
And the moment we believe in ourselves again—the moment we remember that we are not insects but humans, not slaves but citizens—that moment, the shadow will shrink. The small men will be small again. And we will rise.
In the end, this is only my thought. But what about you; what do you think? Think for yourself. Do not stumble into the same trap again and again. Let us not live as fools, nor allow ourselves to be made into fools. Instead, let us rise: as thinkers, as doers, and above all, as human beings. Let us rediscover what it truly means to be human.