Absolute Power; Absolute Corruption

How the story of Atlantis can relate to our personal lives.

It is possible that Atlantis was just a myth and Plato was just trying to prove a point. Like it says in all of the crime dramas the names have been changed to protect the innocent or basically so we don't piss anyone off. There are certain things that run true and common through out our common human history. I believe the ultimate corruption of power to the point where we destroy ourselves is one of them.

What makes me like Shakespeare is that he is able to capture common human condition so well. Romeo and Juliet is a classic example. Two star crossed lovers that are not supposed to be together because of where they come from but they are doomed to a tragic fate. Odds are there were no real Romeo or Juliet but there were couples that fought the odds to be together much to the dismay of their families. Julius Caesar, he is not the first person or political leader for that matter to be betrayed by someone he trusted and loved. Othello, gripped in jealousy. Why should the story of Atlantis be any different?

These works by Shakespeare are covers for basic threads of humanity. Whether Atlantis is real or not it is at the very least a cover for a basic thread of humanity. The Atlantians were highly advanced people; they had everything they could have ever wanted. According to the myth they had gold, jewels and many other valuable resources but they didn't matter to them. The power became too much for them in the end though. They became greedy and pretty much covered all of the seven deadly sins.

Humans have many weaknesses. Love of others and ourselves, wealth and power prestige basically the Carl Marx societal dividers with an added bonus. The people of Atlantis fell victim to their weakness. It was a tragedy that may just happen again one day whether you believe in the story or not. It is a human characteristic that happens time and time again on a small scale along with all of the others. The tragedy of Atlantis can occur in our personal lives or on the grand scale of things with our society but we can try to learn from it and change it for the better.