Hamid Mir
Any addiction is not good for a person. The worst is the addiction of power and authority. A person addicted to power becomes a problem not only for others but also for himself. This addiction often completely changes people. You must know many people who were very humble before gaining power and authority and used to say that I am your servant, but as soon as they gained power and authority, they became victims of Pharaonism. The addiction of power and authority first attacks the vision. The powerful neither sees nor understands anything except themselves. They also see the interests of the country and the nation according to their personal interests. Some powerful people even start declaring themselves to be chosen by Allah. They say that Allah has given them power for a specific purpose and they will achieve this goal at any cost. They consider every personal goal of theirs as a national goal and start considering it permissible to cross all the boundaries of morality and civilization in the national interest to achieve this goal. Those who are intoxicated with power forget that the power and authority they have received is not a blessing from Allah, but a trust. Trust puts people to the test, but a person who is intoxicated with power is often surrounded by flattery. This flattery is said to every powerful person that the Holy Prophet has something great to do with him, you should not care at all about those who criticise. A person who is intoxicated with power and authority also finds criticism very unpleasant. It becomes difficult to tolerate differences of opinion.
Then dissent starts to be considered treason and new laws are made to suppress dissenting voices. A good democracy turns into a personal dictatorship. In response to this authoritarian style of governance, extremism is born and divisions begin to grow in society. This style of governance also promotes hypocrisy. People praise a ruler who is intoxicated with power in front of him, but in closed rooms they speak ill of him. Then this intoxication of power becomes a threat to the entire society and the state. Even a peon sitting outside the door of a small gentleman in a government office starts using the authority to take a bribe according to his personal interests. A traffic police constable, a police station in-charge, a judge sitting in a court and his staff also start using their own authority according to their personal interests. All powerful people forget that the authority they receive is a temporary responsibility, but this temporary responsibility is often used to prolong their power. Men and women suffering from this addiction only see the faults of others and not their own, their subordinates tell them only what they like. The entire state machinery makes the protection of their boss’s personal interests and power the government’s policy, which results in injustice and oppression. Now you must be thinking that I am describing the faults of the addiction to power, but why am I not taking the name of any person in power who is addicted to this addiction? You must also be thinking that today’s journalism has become a slave to those in power, what name will this columnist take? Due to these weaknesses of journalism, many people are turning to social media instead of newspapers and TV. It is quite easy to name anyone on social media. That is why many journalists are fulfilling their passion for truth-telling on YouTube, Facebook and other digital platforms, leaving newspapers and TV. But the powerful person I am talking about is also preparing to control social media. What will happen if social media is also controlled? This person has a great hatred for free media. This person takes the names of newspapers and TV channels and speaks ill of them. This person, who is addicted to power, has become a threat not only to free media but also to world peace. This powerful person wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize, but his every action creates threats to peace. If you still do not understand, then I will take all the risks and write down the name of this person. My point is towards US President Donald Trump, who is not only flattering but also selfish, like every powerful person addicted to power, Trump’s anger is also very intelligent. You must be thinking that anger is anger and how can anger be intelligent? The anger of powerful people is really very intelligent. This anger only falls on the weak. US President Donald Trump’s anger falls on Iran and Venezuela, but he does not dare to fall on China and Russia. The anger of every powerful person immersed in power and authority usually falls only on the weak. When a weak person shouts and cries out against the injustice born of this anger and starts resisting, then he is called a terrorist. Today, Trump’s behaviour in the matter of Iran is in front of everyone. In Trump’s opinion, Israel is the most oppressed country in the world and Iran is the most oppressive country in the world. Trump had attacked Iran together with Israel before and now he is preparing to attack Iran once again. Trump attacked Venezuela only to seize oil reserves. The purpose of attacking Iran is also to seize oil reserves. People like Trump create a narrative of war on terrorism to seize natural resources and ultimately become a threat to world peace. Due to the growing threats to peace, an important country like Saudi Arabia has refused to be part of any American conspiracy against Iran. The situation in the world is changing rapidly and there is a fear that Trump will soon start threatening ‘friendly countries’ that oppose the attack on Iran. These threats could also deprive America of its old friends. I had stated at the beginning of this column that a person addicted to power becomes a problem not only for others but also for himself. Trump has become a problem for his own country because Trump’s agenda is not to protect American interests but to protect his own personal interests. History shows that every small and big Trump always declares his personal interests as national interests and ultimately causes irreparable harm to his nation. Pray that Allah Almighty protects this world from the evil of all small and big Trumps who are addicted to the deadly intoxication of power.
