Blowing my whistle as loud as I could, I stood up from the lifeguard stand and pointed my finger at the disobedient swimmer who was testing me all day.
“You have jumped into the pool three times now and every single time I have told you to stop or else I will kick you out! Is that correct?”
Taken off guard, the swimmer shook his head out of fear.
“Exactly! So, grab your things and do not come back to this pool for the rest of the day!”
Leaving his group of friends, the swimmer got out of the pool, grabbed his belongings and left the swim area. Sitting back down into my seat, I continued my work as a lifeguard and watched over the other swimmers.
This experience, although common among lifeguards, confused me. Why did I do that? Or I guess the better question is how did I do that? I asked myself these questions because yelling at disobedient kids was one of the last things I thought I would find myself doing.
I, like many people, am filled with insecurities. These insecurities are affiliated with what others think of me, how I present myself and who I am as a person. And typically, these insecurities would stop me from ever making a scene even close to as dramatic as the one I just made. In different circumstances, like giving a presentation, I would normally be scared shitless of even speaking, let alone yelling.
Also, even if I wasn’t normally insecure in that type of situation I usually would still refrain from saying anything. These kids, although annoying as hell sometimes, are for most past amazing little humans. They can be loud and rebellious, but that is part of growing up and I believe it is a crucial part of human development.
Yet there I was, standing, pointing, and yelling my demands. How I was at that moment was not how I define myself. I do not see myself as a confident, rule-abiding person. So, I asked myself again, why did I do that?
I believe the answer to this question expands far greater than my personal experience. I feel that this same mindset goes into anyone filling a role of authority and/or power. And more accurately, rather than filling the role of power, we are instead filled by the role of power.
As a lifeguard I have the duty to watch over and make sure all swimmers are safe and secure throughout their day of fun. I have this responsibility and therefore must think within this mindset. And as someone with so much responsibility, also comes a significant amount of power. I have the authority to kick anyone out of the swim area as long as I feel it will contribute to the overall safety of the swim zone. Therefore, with this mix of abnormal responsibility and increased authority over others, a new version of myself emerges.
I believe this phenomenon occurs in all positions of power. A similar idea was quoted by Adam Smith as he described the transformation of the original capitalists: “Pleasant or unpleasant, their characteristics faded beside the overriding quality: they were interested in expansion in growth and investment”. This quote is essentially saying that no matter who these first capitalists were, they all eventually dropped their reasons and goals for starting their business and replaced it with the sole goal of gaining profits.
I feel that these positions of power change who we are. If not in the long run, then at least when we are in the position of authority. With this philosophy, I wonder how this affects our society? I wonder if real change can happen when people are molded into their position? And whether change is more possible with new representatives or if it can only be done with new positions for people to gain authority and power from?
I do not have an answer to these questions, but I encourage you to try to find your own. Only through your own thoughts and wisdom can one really believe something. Therefore, I hope you find the time to formulate your own opinion on the matter and then comment below so that we can have a healthy, constructive debate on the topic. I believe authority can change how we act and define ourselves, but what I wonder is how that affects each and every one of us.