Stardust
“Do you know who you’re talking to?” — if there’s anything people desire more desperately than material possessions, it’s simply power — and the hunger for more and more of it is an affliction as ancient as humanity itself.
It all started a long time ago
It all started with him: Lucifer. An angel of high rank, so captivated by his own brilliance and status that he came to believe he could stand at God’s level.
His lust for absolute power blinded him to his true position, leading him to rebellion. In the end, that delusion of grandeur was his undoing: he fell, becoming a symbol of the ruin brought on by unchecked ego.
The hidden asymmetries of everyday life
Now, think of someone afflicted by small power syndrome. How many people came to mind? Probably quite a few.
These people are everywhere. They spread like water rushing downhill and rise like fire climbing uphill, consuming everything around them.
It might be an authoritarian manager, a petty rule enforcer, a politician, a parent — or anyone who, upon gaining some authority, begins to see themselves as superior to others. They act with arrogance, impose their will, and believe that reality bends around them.
In the end, they’re just collections of atoms, the same as you, me, and the phone or computer you’re reading this on. But blinded by the illusion of power, they forget their own insignificance and fancy themselves special for occupying a privileged position in society.
Playing dictator with reckless abandon
The petty dictator who considers themselves above morality and ethics believes that power hasn’t corrupted them — no matter how many bodies they’ve left in their wake.
Their “heaven” doesn’t need to be above the firmament: it might be a modest title, a supervisor’s badge, or a seat in the upper ranks of the state. But in their own mind, they see themselves as an absolute ruler.
Like Lucifer, they ignore the signs that their power is illusory and temporary. And, like so many before them, their downfall may come through the rejection of those beneath them, the loss of their position, or social isolation.
They put on their blinders.
And in the end, so do we. We accept the asymmetries of everyday life, anesthetized by living in a society where abuse has become normalized, where arrogance gets mistaken for leadership, and where the powerful feed on the certainty that they’ll never be questioned.
Conclusion: we are stardust
In the end, both Lucifer and those consumed by small power syndrome are victims of the same mistakes:
1 - Confusing momentary authority with a divine right to absolute command.
2 - Forgetting that there is always someone operating in a higher sphere of power above them — someone who can clip their wings without hesitation.
In the end, we are all stardust drifting through the vastness of the cosmos. Understanding our own insignificance frees us from the illusion of grandeur and reminds us of an essential principle: no amount of power justifies disrespect.
Looking at the whole picture teaches us to take off our blinders — and remember that, above all, everyone deserves to be treated with dignity.
To feel a little less alone in my thinking, read up on everyday asymmetries and ego:
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Skin in the Game, by Nassim Taleb: https://amzn.to/4kAnGso
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Ego Is the Enemy, by Ryan Holiday: https://amzn.to/41YG5X8