The Capacity to Alter the State of Others

I remember being in an anti-racism workshop many years ago as the facilitator was speaking about “white flight” from urban areas and the creation of suburbs across the United States. The facilitator was reflecting on how, in general, by creating these homogenous enclaves, white people were demonstrating their belief that their lives would lose nothing by not having people of color around. 

That line was a gut punch because down deep I knew that it was true.

In the book of Jeremiah today, we hear a similar statement from those who are plotting against Jeremiah. They say that his demise will, “not mean the loss of instruction from the priests, nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets…” Translation: It doesn’t matter if he’s here or not.

Sadly there are a lot of examples of humanity believing this. We individually and collectively act as if certain groups of people did not matter or that if they disappeared (or were killed off) we would lose nothing. Decisions get made that benefit one group with no seeming regard for anyone else who is affected. The prophetic doctor/activist Paul Farmer said it succinctly when he said, “The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.”

And we have done that with nonhuman kin as well. We have valued their lives as less than ours.

Somehow we (especially in the West) have gotten away from our fundamental connectedness to each other and to the planet, and have become desensitized to the inherent value of all that exists in the created order. We too often relate to each other and the world as objects.

A lot of this relates to how we think about and use power.

In the gospel reading, Jesus speaks to this when he tells his disciples that the rulers of this world “lord” power over others and “make their authority over them felt.” He is speaking to the idea that those in power often objectify others or act as if others do not matter. And Jesus said that we need another way to think about power that gets us out of the dominator/dominated paradigm.

What do you think about when you hear the word power? Is it something you have?

In the social and psychological sciences, power is often defined as the capacity to alter the state of others (and here I mean alter humans and nonhumans alike). Let that sink in for a minute. Do you have the capacity to alter the state of others? If you said, “Yes,” then you have power (and I hope you said, “Yes.”)

Dacher Keltner, a researcher at UCal Berkeley, has spent his career studying power relationships and how power is used. Keltner has found that using empathy, collaboration and mutuality, not force, is the most effective use of power. Period. Yet Keltner has also found that when people – even people who believe in empathy, collaboration and mutuality – find themselves in positions of power (within modern systems), they tend to forget this and succumb to power by force, coercion or domination.

For me, the question is not so much if we have power to alter the state of others but how we use our power to alter the state of others.

To what degree does our use of power convey that others (human and nonhuman) are seen, valued and important?

To what degree does our use of power uplift and affirm, include and support, connect and unite?

To what degree does our use of power try to see the interconnectedness and value of others and reflect on the impacts our actions may have on them?

To what degree does our use of power try to consider who we may not have considered?

Perhaps as we go through our day today, we might more carefully reflect on how we use our power – at work, at school, at home, at the grocery story, online, in our community, etc. – and explore to what degree it sends a message of belonging and inclusion or if it tells others that their life is worth-less.