A couple weeks ago I had a chance to have a conversation with students from Canada over a moodle site. We had talked about “power” and how it can affect relationships. We had also had a skype call that also went well. On that skype call we had presented what our answers for those questions were. All the different groups had various answers for those questions. My thoughts and opinions on those questions and the answers that were received have interested me in a way that makes me want to ask more questions about why my peers thought that way.
Define Power: My group had said that power was when you have control and you are dominant over something. Now that I have heard other people’s perspectives on the questions, my thoughts on how power is defined have slightly changed. I now agree with how power is a force and a feeling that we have that we can use foolishly or wisely. Power isn’t something that you can see or touch, it’s not concrete. Power can also be considered knowledge, and it is very commonly used especially in interactions with others. Since I agree with my peers about the answer, I’m interested in why they thought of that and how come our views aren’t different even though some of us live in different societies. One member from my group had said that it is an emotion that revolves around you. I would probably try to get more information on what he’s trying to say and ask him why those are his thoughts.
How does power affect personal relationships?: We had said that power can affect relationships because when you have a lot of power you get engulfed in it and you start to get more and more away from the people you really care about. My group had also said that you can lose all of your friends, and also that you can become a whole different person if you choose to use your powers negatively. Our views were the pretty much the same and that’s maybe because some of us have experienced things similar to what we’re talking about and maybe some of us know how to relate. And even if we have the same opinions, I still wonder why we do. Probably personal experiences have contributed to these thoughts, but I’m not sure. Anyways, by hearing other people’s perspectives, my opinions about how it can affect relationships is still the same. My peers said that power can make relationships better or worse. I agree with this and I think that it all depends on how the power is used.
What role does power play in a person’s decision making process?: Again, my group and the rest of the groups said that it all depends on how the power is used. My thoughts about this still haven’t changed; I still think that power can be used foolishly or wisely. I also think that if power is used correctly, it can be advantageous and your decisions can be ones that benefit you. Power can also affect other people and what they think of you based on the way it’s used. Power gives you the force that you use to make your decisions.
Why is having power important to a person?: Some groups had said that power is important because you use it to make decisions, and some said that it lets you do what you want to do. My group had said that power is important because you can use it to control and without power, people will step all over you. I still personally think that power is important because it lets you make order of things and you are able to make decisions that can be positive or negative. I now also think that power is important to a person because it gives you the ability to achieve something, to succeed in what you do. It gives us the potential to do whatever we want. Again, everyone in my group had said the same thing and I STILL wonder why. Could it be that maybe we think the same way? I don’t know, but I would also like to know if any experiences or anything have affected their thinking and maybe why. I want to know this because then I could have a better understanding of my peers so communication can be more productive.
So many of my opinions to these questions haven’t changed, but some of them have. And this pretty much sums up my impressions and opinions on what power is.
