On a security detail years ago in a country I choose not to disclose our team of six men were assigned to protect three corporate executives in their quest to look over some land. To help accomplish this mission a level four armored vehicle was brought in and we had to secure weapons permits through their countries military. While being issued our weapons permits we were briefed by the militaries local command that the gorilla fighters in that area were very powerful and a head on confrontation with them would be disastrous for us.
Traveling with two of us in a chase car and four other team members with our clients in the armored vehicle we were heading back to town from our last destination. To make a long story short we came under small arms attack. The chase car was shot up pretty badly and was unable to move. Four of us were able to take the higher ground and keep the fighters away from the armored vehicle. As ammunition ran short on both sides close combat ensued but did not last long and the fighters faded away.
None of our people were lost and with the exception of some stab wounds and some missing teeth we considered ourselves pretty well off. This was the third time in my life that I realized that power was not always in wealth or numbers.
Because of my work I am licensed to carry weapons. Friends ask me all of the time do you always carry a gun. I don’t. My friends will always tell me that if they could carry a gun they would. A gun is not power it only evens odds in a bad situation. Carrying a gun is a horrible responsibility as you always have to know where it is, it weighs a lot and is uncomfortable and should someone want to take it you must stop them. Using a gun in defense always ends in pain or death and remorse.
Power with out integrity is only a fleeting moment and to flaunt power without integrity is not really power at all instead its just merely a cowardly act.
Integrity is straight forward. Take a boat. If a boat has no water tight integrity the boat will sink.
So I ask this question. If a person is placed or positions himself in power and has no integrity what do you think would happen to that person sooner or later?
The richest man in the world always showing he is in a class way above others goes into a fine restaurant for lunch. A homeless man slips into the restaurant and asks the rich man for some spare change. The rich man screams for the restaurant staff to “remove this filth from the restaurant” and the staff physically throws the homeless man out on the street. An hour later when the rich man has finished his lunch he leaves the restaurant passing the homeless man giving him a scowl. As the rich man starts to cross the street he unknowingly steps in front of a speeding taxi. The homeless man standing close by with out regard for himself leaps forward grabbing the rich man and throws him out of the way of the taxi. The taxi strikes the homeless man throwing him 30 feet away. As the homeless man lay dying on the street the rich man quickly left so he would not be questioned by the police as a witness wasting his valuable time.
All of the rich mans wealth or his influential position could not save him at the moment he started to cross the street. The only power to save the rich man belonged to the homeless man he called filth and had thrown out of the restaurant. It was a good thing for the rich man that the homeless man always held onto integrity
True power is never any more than this. True power belongs to the person that has the ability to control the moment.
