Power is a kind of poison. People often say this.
But what kind of poison is power exactly? Is it a neurotoxin that kills instantly, or a drug that leads to addiction?
Anyone with a little experience should know that the toxicity of power lies sowhere between the two. Although it can make people utterly miserable at any mont, countless people still chase after it and beco addicted to it.
So how does power make people addicted?
So might think that status itself brings material enjoynt, which is enough to make people happy; others believe that the spiritual satisfaction brought by being respected is key.
But unfortunately, at least in human society, the pleasure brought by power is more often realized by satisfying one's desire for control.
And the desire for control is mostly not associated with a very healthy ntal state. An excessive desire for control can lead to various ntal issues.
But the human mind itself is like a program that runs on many errors. Satisfying any need seems like committing evil, inevitably linking to morbidity.
So is it power that breeds a stronger desire for control, or is it people with a strong inherent desire for control who desperately chase after power?
At least in the context of the Justice League, the discussion is about the latter.
To pick out a representative with a strong desire for control, everyone would undoubtedly first choose Batman. He holds command over the Justice League and has an irreplaceable position within it, thus naturally having power.
However, this also implies that the other mbers of the Justice League do not have as strong a desire for control. If their desire for control were as strong as Batman's, they would certainly contest his power.
Because power is exclusive, or rather, the process of establishing power itself is exclusive. To establish sole authority, one must strike and control others. This is the so-called "two tigers cannot coexist on one mountain."
Now that Batman has beco the tiger on the mountain of the Justice League, the remaining mbers can only be other animals, mostly herbivores or smaller animals that cannot threaten the tiger.
However, the power ga is prepared for large carnivorous beasts: either kill or be killed. Everyone has fangs, never satisfied.
Can a flock of sheep be expected to compete for power in the cosmos?
This is precisely the dilemma faced by most of the Justice League.
Batman has beco the absolute core of the team, and the others have more or less chosen to retreat, to cooperate with him, to accept his plans, and to act according to his ideas.
This ans that, to so extent, Batman has dosticated them, making them develop a habitual thought: "Even if I don't take control, things will still develop in the best direction." This is actually quite terrifying.
Everyone can think about when they first developed a desire for power?
Or in another way: when did you first want to control sothing? When did you first develop a desire for control?
The answer is in tis of losing control.
Everyone's enlightennt of power must co from an unsatisfactory event, from "unwillingness."
When you choose to go with the flow, the developnt of events goes beyond your control, bringing bad results, and you want to change this outco.
So when the next matter cos, you prepare yourself, deciding that this ti you must take full control, and no one should interfere with your decision. This ti, you will ensure that things develop as you want.
This seemingly ordinary thought is actually the most direct and straightforward manifestation of the desire for control.
The desire for control itself is neither right nor wrong. Everyone wants to control their own life, to live independently, to make independent choices. Learning to utilize the motivation brought by this desire can help better control one's life.
But out-of-control desire for control leads to morbidity: making people want to control not only their own life but also the lives of others and even the entire world. This is when it needs to be controlled and corrected.
Once a person is around soone with a strong desire for control, even if it's not at a morbid level, just within a reasonable range of controlling event developnts, being drawn into the events they control puts you back into a state of going with the flow.
So back to the point, if the result this ti is unsatisfactory to you, you will find a way to escape their control and try to control this matter yourself next ti.
But what if the result satisfies you?
Most people will think: "This is good. I didn't have to exert effort and got a satisfactory result. Isn't that a good thing?"
Again, humans can be dosticated, and dosticating humans leverages their desires.
Not only stimulating desires but also restricting and smoothing them out.
When you are always under soone's control, and their control consistently brings you desired good results, your desire for control and power will be greatly eroded.
Without the "unwillingness" to reverse event developnts, there will be no urgent desire to control events. Going with the flow will beco a habit.
So people may think, "If soone always brings good results, then there doesn't seem to be a need to control things myself, right?"
But in reality, whether a result is good or bad is a subjective judgnt, and any subjective judgnt can be manipulated and interfered with.
You may think he brings you good results, but what you consider good might only be restricted within a narrow vision, a goodness based on lack of knowledge and not considering the long-term future.
There may even be tis when the result isn't good, you just find it acceptable because you've been under control for so long and that sense of affirmation brings a vague sense of spiritual satisfaction.
So it's not that Batman isn't doing well, but rather that he does too well.
He's always prepared, always solves every problem, and always brings about good results.
This puts other mbers of the Justice League in a state of apathetic complacency, rather than ambitiously trying to control things.
This is evident from the various "death of Batman" scenarios in the comics.
The so-called "death of Batman" doesn't an Batman truly dies, but rather that, for so reason, he can no longer lead the team and temporarily disappears from the public eye, and the team's other mbers' reactions.
When Batman is around, the Robins discussing "who is Batman's favorite Robin" has a playful nature, rather than a determination to step over each other to prove who is the boss.
But after Batman's death, things take a dramatic turn. The seemingly united Batman Family suddenly starts to act independently, each wanting to claim Batman's mantle and beco his successor.
Did they suddenly lose their sanity?
Of course not. It's because they know that if another Robin controls things, it won't bring about the results they want, so they try to take control themselves.
As long as Batman is around, they believe Batman will bring the best results, follow his lead, and appear united.
Unquestionably, there are feelings among the Batman Family mbers. But their positions vary greatly. Even the matter of whether or not to kill has significant conflicts.
In such a situation, competition is normal; unity is abnormal. Because humans cannot predict the future, they never know where the car will head, and each believes their chosen direction is the right one. Everyone should try to grab the steering wheel and turn it towards their own side; that is human nature.
And Batman acts like an anchor to the future: "As long as you all listen to , the car will definitely head towards the best result."
This to so extent deprives mbers of the right to exert their desire for control.
With the desire to control weakened, it ans they won't actively seize power, won't desperately strive to climb higher, won't sharply grasp every opportunity and try every possibility to gain more power.
So might think, "Is such an ambitious mindset really good? Isn't it more enjoyable to live freely?"
One could say, if soone tells you, when you still lack the ability to control your own life, "There's no need to work hard, no need to seize power, just enjoy life freely every day," that person definitely wants to harm you.
The so-called "carefree life" is a choice made by those who have tasted the peak of power and experienced the splendor of the world,
not a form of self-consolation when being manipulated by others, with no right to make decisions, being driven around like a dog, exposed to the elents, and barely clothed.
Superheroes are indeed working voluntarily. But when the threats are no longer street fights or minor thefts, but disasters threatening the entire Earth or even the whole cosmos, as part of the Earth or cosmos, everyone must do their utmost to save their ho.
In other universes, doing their best ans making plans to defeat enemies and protect Earth and the cosmos when disaster strikes.
But in this universe, doing their best ans trying every possible way to gain power within all collectives before disaster strikes, using power to mobilize resources, and using resources to sustain power.
When the power you can obtain reaches a certain extent, when your status reaches a certain level, everything will beco a resource to consolidate your power.
Friends are resources for gaining more benefits after cooperation; enemies are resources for enhancing your prestige after defeating them; the friends of friends are more benefits; the enemies of friends are more prestige.
Everything operating in the cosmos will be drawn into this imnse whirlpool and start to cycle. This colossal power machine will crush everything, producing a deafening roar, in which you will hear no one speaking loudly to you.
Hal obtained his power within the Green Lantern Corps, so he can channel resources to Earth and then use Earth to gain more power.
Lex obtained his power within Arica, so he can shift resources to tropolis and then use tropolis to gain greater autonomy.
Diana represents the human race in negotiations with Hera, having her own power within Mount Olympus, and she can use this to benefit the Amazons and humans, then use the humans to consolidate her position.
Even Bruce, having obtained power akin to a High Priest with Barbados and the status of an Archangel in Heaven, can maneuver this to benefit his cosmos and then use the developnt of his cosmos to consolidate his identity.
Throughout history, any individual, collective, or nation has had its own whirlpool of power; everything keeps spinning within it until the order collapses and dynasties fall.
The best way to resist external enemies is to drag yourself and Earth into this enormous whirlpool together. Whether it's a natural disaster or human misfortune, as long as you dare to co, I dare to pull you in.
When everyone spins endlessly together, no matter how fierce the collisions, they are just small waves at the edge of the mad exchange of interests dance. The endless red in the eyes of greed within the cosmos is nothing compared to the wildfires easily seen on the power fields.
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