thank you, At. Your contributions since your return from wrestling with
yourself in the wild have been especially thoughtful and creative. I
frequently marvel at how beautifully dangerous our world is, and long to
see those places I haven't. Your words bring some of those places to
me--thanks!
As you did, I looked hard and long at the root of the modern English word
"empowerment." (A very similar word--again one that is misused
frequently--is "enable.") I also considered the historical context of
this word . . . the fact that it came into modern usage from the time and
place when some men thought that their authority (and power) were derived
directly from their god--and that the authority and power wielded by their
vassals were poured into them (empowered) from the divine king.
The story of European expansion into their colonial empires was also a
story of divine right, manifested in religious, economic and military
might. Religious conversion was never too far behind (and often far ahead
of) the trading and warring elements of this power. Empowering the darker
races (with education, religion and cultural mores) was a calling among
many of these more civilized members of the European colonials.
Decolonialization--a process just begun this last half of the
century--wallowed in empowerment from the imperial to the national.
Indeed, it was a component of almost all UN sponsored transitions. How
many parliamentarians argued over the fate of the soon-to-be-independent
colony with concerns about their lack of knowledge, skills and experience.
In this country, native people were empowered by removing them from their
lands, denying them the old religious ways, prohibiting their tongues from
the schools that the children were required to attend--in other words,
assimilation of this culture was a means of empowerment. Like most means,
it was fraught with self-righteousness, and the desire to do right. Most
of the poverty and racial equity programs in this country have been
centered around empowering and enabling.
Empowerment wasn't the sort of word used by the transcendentalists and
existentialists. Nor will you find it in the political thinking of Thomas
Paine, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison or Benjamin Franklin. These people
were classicists familiar with the writings of Plutarch and Seneca who
extolled the virtuous power that came from within; they were also familiar
with native American concepts of personal autonomy and power; and, of
course, Locke's influence was very much in evidence in words like, "We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that
among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
By the way--I appreciate you identifying "usurping" as opposite of
empowering. I believe that control (of authority and/or power) is the
condition that must exist for enabling or usurping to occur.
I find it interesting to note how quickly many people give their consent
to be governed--by political systems, unions, employers, institutions and
individuals. Some people are very willing to be dependent--it is a matter
of conditioning and training. Others are very willing to be enablers and
empowerers. They easily accept the chains of dependence (because
dependency relationships among autonomous adults is the worst sort of
slavery, for both parties). The most difficult act is to act against this
dependency relationship by insisting that each person be accountable and
responsible for their own lives, their own behavior and choices--while
staying connected through acts of active love and goodness.
thanks again!
walk in peace,
Doc
-- "The most invisible creators I know of are those artists whose medium is life itself. The ones who express the inexpressible ^W without brush, hammer, clay or guitar. They neither paint nor sculpt ^W their medium is being. Whatever their presence touches has increased life. They see and don't have to draw. They are the artists of being alive." ^W J. StoneThresholds--developing critical skills for living organizations Richard C. "Doc" Holloway Olympia, WA ICQ# 10849650 Please visit our new website, still at <http://www.thresholds.com/> <mailto:learnshops@thresholds.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>