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The Effects of Power on Responsibility Essay

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The Effects of Power on Responsibility

Power and responsibility have a complex relationship that is connected by factors such as a person’s morals and ethics, personality, and under what conditions the person was raised. In a world where power can be found in many forms and in many places, the use and abuse of power can be seen regularly. Power is not just being the CEO of a fortune five-hundred company, or being an elected political representative, the manager of Taco Bell has power, as well as parents as they raise their children. These are the people who have the most influence on how power is used, and if it is used with responsibility. In the United states there are five-hundred and thirty-five congressmen, a president, and a …show more content…

He simply did not have the power to start a foundation for cancer. But once he gained the power, it gave him a means to the end. Often we have ideas that would show great amounts of responsibility, but simply cannot put them into action because we do not have power, and in this way power has a great effect on responsibility. Power does not always change a person’s morals or responsibility, it just gives them the opportunity to achieve greater things that they may not have been able to accomplish before they gained their power.

An increase in responsibility will change a person’s use of power because they may do things for the good of other people that are not necessarily looking out for themselves. In the case of Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, his level of responsibility was increased when he became the man in charge of a squad of marines. Many people believe that his actions were crimes against humanity, but in his situation he used his power responsibly to try to heel the men he was responsibly for alive. An article by Josh White of the Washington Post says:
Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, 26, told his attorney that several civilians were killed Nov. 19 when his squad went after insurgents who were firing at them from inside a house. The Marine said there was no vengeful massacre, but he described a house-to-house hunt that went tragically awry in the middle of a chaotic battlefield.”
In the circumstances, Staff Sgt. Wuterich kept the

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