RSS Feeds: Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely
It was John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton (Lord Acton) who originally wrote "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." in a letter dated April, 1887, to Bishop Mandell Creighton. Many people who quote Lord Acton's Dictum aren't aware that it refers to Papal power and was made by a questioning Catholic.
While Lord Acton's Dictum was written more than 120 years ago, the meaning of that quotation has never been truer than it is today. We already know that world governments are filled with bad men in positions of power and authority. People have a tendency to overlook, however, the misuse of power and corruption within the church. This issue isn't about the abuse of religion; it's about the abuse of POWER.
As recently as 2006, the Catholic Church in the Philippines attempted to keep a movie, "The Da Vinci Code", from being played in theaters across the country. Although it was only successfully banned in the city of Manila and played throughout the rest of the country, theaters in certain locations refused to play it, including the only decent theater that's local to me. I and my family had to wait until we received it on DVD (in the mail) in order to watch it.
While the instigator of the attempted ban of The Da Vinci Code in the Philippines was the Philippine Alliance Against Pornography (PAAP), there's no doubt in a country where 80 percent of the population are members of the Catholic Church, that the power of the Catholic Church unduly influenced the course of events.
When a movie like this is suppressed by the Catholic community as a whole (or any religion, government, organization), it tells me that those in a position of power feel threatened by anything that could put their authority and power in jeopardy. If a person's beliefs are solid, no works of fiction can have any effect on them.
The preceding is my opinion and why I agree that absolute power corrupts absolutely. If you disagree, feel free to smite me.
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On a related note, another thing I hate is the editing/censoring of old movies/television shows etc. based on today's standards of political correctness.
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Again, it's the people that hold the power that make decisions for the rest of us. We're not children.
The Catholic Church has always imposed its will on countries. In Ireland condoms were only available from doctors until the late 1980s.
Yes, power corrupts.
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Well, this was only ONE example. If I tried to list more, I could write a book.
If they'd banned it because it wasn't very good, there would have been no problems!
Yeah, why is that they never try to ban the trash that gets put out?
This reminds me of the big discussion in Canada over the movie "The Golden Compass", which is supposedly anti church.The book was even pulled off some shelves. Yet, no one complains about slasher flicks and "Saw" movies. As long as it isn't thought provoking, they have no problem with brutal movies full of bloodshed.
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Blood and gore are acceptable. Thinking is prohibited.
I am reminded of a song by "Rage against the Machine" when I think of this subject. "F%$@ you! I won't do what you tell me!"
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RT, I like the way you incorporate historical quotes in your posts. You must be very well read.
Regarding this post, "Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely"… in US politics, one doesn't even need the "absolutely". It seems to be simply "power corrupts". When I think about the waste and corruption in Washington, I start to see red, which is why I should not think about it I suppose.
BTW, I saw the Davinci Code after it first came out, and don't see what the big deal was. I also read the book before seeing the movie, and thought the book was much better. I think the ironic thing about these attemped "bans" (I'm also thinking of Mel Gibson's movie that I didn't see) is that they seem to just give the particular movie more press and result in higher ticket sales! – Steve
I want to bring forth a slight twist – "Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely" – And knowledge is power. Therefore, "Absolute KNOWLEDGE Corrupts Absolutely". This happens in the property and real estate arena too. Quite often, property agents have insider knowledge of price transactions. This puts the client in a disadvantage if they meet unethical agents. Therefore, the internet is good – because it levels the playing field by providing more information. So we need more information websites like a Singapore Property site (StreetSine) that does a good job in information transparency.