Clinging to Power, and Corruption

"POWER CORRUPTS, AND ABSOLUTE POWER corrupts absolutely", goes the famous Santayana truism. Nothing was ever truer. Witness the current mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford. A video allegedly existed showing him smoking crack, which he adamantly denied. Then, the actual video showed up, confirming the rumor, and he still denied it. Then, with great reluctance, he admitted to smoking crack, but said he only did so when he was in a drunken stupor, as if that explains and justifies everything. His willingness to admit to the drunken stupor, thus emphasizing it, is an indication of just how badly he wanted to deflect attention from the illegal drug. Now, there are allegations of prostitution visitations, illegal drug purchases; enough dirt to run anybody out of office, anybody who is thinking rationally. Power corrupts the human mind, power is a drug. Remember the former mayor of San Diego? He must have thought that he could make a pass at any woman of his choice, so great was his power, so unassailable his position within the community. Nobody has that kind of power over women, buddy. Not even Elvis. Even Hitler had to treat his mistress decently. He resisted resiging to the very last possible moment. Finally he did, and now faces criminal charges. Rob Ford will resign as mayor of Toronto, and he will do so fairly soon, even though he might well be the only person in North America who fails to realize it. There is something about human beings, when they accumulate enormous resources, wealth, fame, or power, they for some reason seem to begin thinking themselves superior, above the laws everyone else must follow, invunerable to harships, and thus perfectly free to pursue whatever hedonistic vices their hearts desire, because there will simply be no negative consequences. The Bill Clinton syndrome. People in power become so accustomed to the spotlight that they seem to think they can duck in and out of it at will, and that no one will notice. It backfires every time, someone always notices.