Power at Christmas, wishes for the New Year

By now, all the Christmas presents have been opened. Wrapping paper in multitude of colors and ribbons delicately tied around boxes of all shapes and sizes sit in the trash bin or the recycled-items cupboard. Another Christmas has passed and we approach a New Year filled with new hopes and aspirations.

I have noticed that a favorite Christmas present to any member of the family is a book. One need not even read through all the pages of a book to appreciate it as a present. It can be displayed on one’s shelves or library or passed on to the next generation. Everyone respects the value of a book — a children’s book, a novel, a non-fiction or self-help book. Books are cherished possessions at any give age.

This Christmas I received several books, the most perplexing of all is a book from a well-meaning friend entitled: The 48 Laws of Power, a national bestseller by Robert Greene. For lack of a better description, I was perplexed as I ripped through its wrapping paper. It is not to say that I am not appreciative of my friend’s generosity. Like I said, a book, any book, is a present that is treasured by everybody, even if the receiver never gets a chance nor intends to go through its pages. This book, in particular, is striking at the onset. I could not help but skim through its pages as soon as I saw its title printed in bold, gold letters.

I am not a fast reader, so I will not pretend that I have read the entire book yet. But just reading through the table of contents gave me goose bumps. It is a bestseller, meaning thousands, if not millions, have purchased and read through its 452 pages. I am not sure that this sits too well with me. Nobody other than the author can say what he was thinking when he wrote this book. Was he serious? Deranged? Or just taking his readers for a wild ride? But I can just imagine that there are hundreds out there who have taken the book as their bible — like some "48 commandments to Power." This is a scary thought.

Here are some of the more ruthless laws in the book. You tell me if these do not bring shivers through your spine.

Law 2: Never Put Too Much Trust in Friends, Learn How to Use Enemies

"Be wary of friends—they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them."

Law 6: Court Attention At All Cost

"Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious than the bland and timid masses."

Law 7: Get others to do the Work for You, But Always Take the Credit

"Use the wisdom, knowledge and legwork of other people to further your own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you a god-like aura of efficiency and speed. In the end, your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do yourself what others can do for you."

Law 12: Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm Your Victim

"One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted gestures bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A timely gift — a Trojan horse — will serve the same purpose."

Law 14: Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy

"Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuable information that will keep you a step ahead. Better still: Play the spy yourself. In polite social encounters, learn to probe. Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions. There is no occasion that is not an opportunity for artful spying."

Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally

"All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely. If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation: The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit."

Law 20: Do Not Commit to Anyone

"It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others — playing people against one another, making them pursue you."

Law 31: Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards You Deal

"The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice: Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your puppets. Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one they choose. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a dilemma: they are gored wherever they turn."

Law 43: Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others

"Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you."

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For the New Year, I wish that less and less people would think and act like living passages that sprung out of this book. I wish that more people realize that there is no greater power than sincerity and love that emanates from our souls and that we should learn to share and receive from others.