In 1966, American Senator J. William Fulbright published The Arrogance of Power, a book in which he explored his opposition to the justification of the Vietnam War. More importantly, he also explored the relationship between power and virtue, expressing the very simple yet compelling notion that power tends to confuse itself with virtue. It's this relationship that leads great nations to exert power over one another in an attempt at virtuosity, which ultimately becomes an attempt for domination. When power confuses itself with virtue, conflict is not resolved but perpetuated. The multitude of conflicts apparent between many Middle Eastern countries and the overwhelming American presence that is attempting to harbor peace through war are examples of why this cycle must be broken.

At the Crossroads of Domination and Dominion

Humanity is at a crossroad of mindsets. One mindset is that of domination, which we have been swimming in for thousands of years. Domination is born out of insecurity and scarcity. This insecurity creates the need to control others, and when this control is threatened, then the insecurity deepens further to exercise power to rule over others. In modern civilizations, the political, economic, and religious leaders guide humanity. When their powers are questioned and challenged, they turn to the next level, which is manipulation. We see this today within our governments, corporations, and NGOs like the World Bank, which operate through political elections, corporate lobbying, and international lending.

This mind game of manipulation is based on living in the past, which creates an unfriendly world. An example of this is the war in the Middle East between Israeli and Palestine. This unfriendly world creates warfare among geopolitical nations, class warfare between the haves and have-nots, and the war on terrorism based on fanatical religious belief systems. This unfriendly world drives us to the mindset of "take or be taken" and "How much do I benefit or take something away from this proposition?" Everyone looks at each other through eyes of suspicion. Finally, the cycle of domination brings us to a place of blaming each other rather than taking responsibility. At this point, no love remains.