Power Within
With the vacuum to be abhorred, the tussle for power will determine those to be shuffled into the basement while others take their places in the clouds.
Power isn’t about ability or doing the right thing. Power is all about how I see myself, in relation to myself and to others. Those who have a healthy sense of self – and, therefore, don’t see others as mere pieces to be maneuvered around at a whim – will, when faced with an opponent who sees only their own glorification as a goal – and, thus, give little thought to others – willingly ascend the elevator to the basement.
Common sense may dictate that those who sit perched on the seat of authority are elevated above the masses, whom they manipulate and dispose of at their leisure. Unfortunately, climbing so high necessitates the shedding of one’s humanity, as a snake sheds its skin, for the person who wields the lives of others to their own ends is not necessarily the same person who first put his/her foot on the bottom rung of the ladder. It is those who refuse to sacrifice their own sense of self and humanity, those who end up in the basement, who can more properly claim to be in possession of the authority which is bestowed by authenticity.
Power is not a necessity of life – life can be lived authentically and successfully without what is commonly understood as power. To feel the need to seek power, to be willing to play with the lives of others for one’s own personal gratification, is a choice made by those who otherwise would live empty lives, for they lack the authenticity to feel human.
Walter Skinner was once a person who sought worldly success, climbing the ladder to the height of Assistant Director of the F.B.I. It is his encounter with the more truly human Mulder that eventually shows Skinner that his view of what is really meaningful might not be what he’d sought out for himself. By ‘Requiem’, the Season 7 finalé, Skinner’s perception of what it means to be human has changed radically. Having once being aggressively authoritarian towards Mulder and the X Files, Skinner is now a full convert to the cause. He has come to realise that the strata of authority – or power – in which he once functioned successfully, is little more than a cabal of self-serving, mean-spirited, petty-minded, empty shells of dysfunctional humanity.
Power breeds nothing and contributes nothing to the value of human life except more power. Those who have it desire more; those who lack it, jealousy seek to maneuver themselves – at the expense of others, of course – into a position which they believe will fill the void of their life. Power, when sought in and of itself, is an evil that destroys any sense of humanity a person may once have had.
Even the Cigarette Smoking Man, if we can believe his musings, didn’t begin life as a bloodless parasite, finding his meaning in his wanton destruction of others.
Mulder and Scully, down in their basement office, are not perfect human beings – for no such creature really exists. They are, however, sincere seekers after truth, even to the extent of putting their very lives on the line. Despite all the machinations of the Syndicate to stall and undermine the duo’s credibility, they continue to pursue that which is the only thing worth the efforts of the authentically human – ever more authenticity. As Skinner grows as a person throughout the series, so too do Scully (cf. ‘all things’) and Mulder (cf. ‘Closure’).
Those in power cannot multiply. They can come and go and be replaced but power is not fertile ground upon which to sow the seeds of new growth. Like Icarus, they can fly high and enjoy basking in the sun before their power of flight melts away and they plunge to their destruction – another victim of the self-delusion of invincibility.
Contrast the downfall of Division Chief Scott Blevins with Mulder’s eventual outcome. Having risen to a position of power, Blevins falls suddenly, discovering on his precipitous way down that there is no one there to catch him. Mulder, the wounded Fisher King, accrues support over time. From a solitary seeking after answers to his sister’s disappearance, he is initially joined by Scully. The Lone Gunmen, who have a love so great they lay down their lives for a friend. Skinner, who is willing to endanger his position of high office in his support for Mulder. Doggett, who never gives up looking for a man who is no natural ally, yet with whom he develops a mutual respect. Reyes, who was just looking for a direction in life and found it through the X Files. And, unbelievably, Alvin Kersh, who for so long appeared everything Mulder fought against.
Soaring high may be spectacular and exhilarating and it may attract the gaze of the ogling-classes – while it lasts. Never moaned are those whose fall reminds us that the spectacular is little more than a side-show – magic mirrors reflecting back nothing but a glimpse of how distorted those who seek power for its own sake really are.
Power isn’t about ability or doing the right thing. Power is all about how I see myself, in relation to myself and to others. Those who have a healthy sense of self – and, therefore, don’t see others as mere pieces to be maneuvered around at a whim – will, when faced with an opponent who sees only their own glorification as a goal – and, thus, give little thought to others – willingly ascend the elevator to the basement.
Common sense may dictate that those who sit perched on the seat of authority are elevated above the masses, whom they manipulate and dispose of at their leisure. Unfortunately, climbing so high necessitates the shedding of one’s humanity, as a snake sheds its skin, for the person who wields the lives of others to their own ends is not necessarily the same person who first put his/her foot on the bottom rung of the ladder. It is those who refuse to sacrifice their own sense of self and humanity, those who end up in the basement, who can more properly claim to be in possession of the authority which is bestowed by authenticity.
Power is not a necessity of life – life can be lived authentically and successfully without what is commonly understood as power. To feel the need to seek power, to be willing to play with the lives of others for one’s own personal gratification, is a choice made by those who otherwise would live empty lives, for they lack the authenticity to feel human.
Walter Skinner was once a person who sought worldly success, climbing the ladder to the height of Assistant Director of the F.B.I. It is his encounter with the more truly human Mulder that eventually shows Skinner that his view of what is really meaningful might not be what he’d sought out for himself. By ‘Requiem’, the Season 7 finalé, Skinner’s perception of what it means to be human has changed radically. Having once being aggressively authoritarian towards Mulder and the X Files, Skinner is now a full convert to the cause. He has come to realise that the strata of authority – or power – in which he once functioned successfully, is little more than a cabal of self-serving, mean-spirited, petty-minded, empty shells of dysfunctional humanity.
Power breeds nothing and contributes nothing to the value of human life except more power. Those who have it desire more; those who lack it, jealousy seek to maneuver themselves – at the expense of others, of course – into a position which they believe will fill the void of their life. Power, when sought in and of itself, is an evil that destroys any sense of humanity a person may once have had.
Even the Cigarette Smoking Man, if we can believe his musings, didn’t begin life as a bloodless parasite, finding his meaning in his wanton destruction of others.
Mulder and Scully, down in their basement office, are not perfect human beings – for no such creature really exists. They are, however, sincere seekers after truth, even to the extent of putting their very lives on the line. Despite all the machinations of the Syndicate to stall and undermine the duo’s credibility, they continue to pursue that which is the only thing worth the efforts of the authentically human – ever more authenticity. As Skinner grows as a person throughout the series, so too do Scully (cf. ‘all things’) and Mulder (cf. ‘Closure’).
Those in power cannot multiply. They can come and go and be replaced but power is not fertile ground upon which to sow the seeds of new growth. Like Icarus, they can fly high and enjoy basking in the sun before their power of flight melts away and they plunge to their destruction – another victim of the self-delusion of invincibility.
Contrast the downfall of Division Chief Scott Blevins with Mulder’s eventual outcome. Having risen to a position of power, Blevins falls suddenly, discovering on his precipitous way down that there is no one there to catch him. Mulder, the wounded Fisher King, accrues support over time. From a solitary seeking after answers to his sister’s disappearance, he is initially joined by Scully. The Lone Gunmen, who have a love so great they lay down their lives for a friend. Skinner, who is willing to endanger his position of high office in his support for Mulder. Doggett, who never gives up looking for a man who is no natural ally, yet with whom he develops a mutual respect. Reyes, who was just looking for a direction in life and found it through the X Files. And, unbelievably, Alvin Kersh, who for so long appeared everything Mulder fought against.
Soaring high may be spectacular and exhilarating and it may attract the gaze of the ogling-classes – while it lasts. Never moaned are those whose fall reminds us that the spectacular is little more than a side-show – magic mirrors reflecting back nothing but a glimpse of how distorted those who seek power for its own sake really are.
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