Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4485 - 3569: The Study of Cats and Dogs (80)

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 somewhere between the two. Although it can make people utterly miserable at any moment, countless people still chase after it and become addicted to it.

So how does power make people addicted?

Some might think that status itself brings material enjoyment, 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 mental state. An excessive desire for control can lead to various mental 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 members 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 become the tiger on the mountain of the Justice League, the remaining members can only be other animals, mostly herbivores or smaller animals that cannot threaten the tiger.

However, the power game 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 become 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 means that, to some extent, Batman has domesticated 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 something? When did you first develop a desire for control?

The answer is in times of losing control.

Everyone's enlightenment of power must come from an unsatisfactory event, from "unwillingness."

When you choose to go with the flow, the development of events goes beyond your control, bringing bad results, and you want to change this outcome.

So when the next matter comes, you prepare yourself, deciding that this time you must take full control, and no one should interfere with your decision. This time, 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 someone with a strong desire for control, even if it's not at a morbid level, just within a reasonable range of controlling event developments, 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 time is unsatisfactory to you, you will find a way to escape their control and try to control this matter yourself next time.

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 domesticated, and domesticating humans leverages their desires.

Not only stimulating desires but also restricting and smoothing them out.

When you are always under someone'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 developments, there will be no urgent desire to control events. Going with the flow will become a habit.

Some people may think, "If someone always brings me 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 judgment, and any subjective judgment 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 times 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 members 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 mean Batman truly dies, but rather that, for some reason, he can no longer lead the team and temporarily disappears from the public eye, and the team's other members' 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.

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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 become 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 members. 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 me, the car will definitely head towards the best result."

This to some extent deprives members of the right to exert their desire for control.

With the desire to control weakened, it means 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.

Some might think, "Is such an ambitious mindset really good? Isn't it more enjoyable to live freely?"

One could say, if someone 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 elements, 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 home.

In other universes, doing their best means making plans to defeat enemies and protect Earth and the cosmos when disaster strikes.

But in this universe, doing their best means 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 become 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 immense 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 America, so he can shift resources to Metropolis and then use Metropolis 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 development 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 come, 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.