Who are the wicked people? In anticipating the weak-willed, let us also anticipate that mean, power-hungry, deceitful individuals are also woven into the tapestry of human goodness. It is inevitable that we will encounter cruel people throughout our lives. The more we expose ourselves, the more we seek leadership, the more we express ourselves, and the more motivated we are to change the world for the better. As we rise, they rise with us.
There is no reason to be paranoid about this. While there are the wicked and mean people in the world, they shouldn’t be feared; they should simply be acknowledged and prepared for. There is no need for business people to be shocked by their competitors’ attempts to destroy them. Women should not be surprised when they are met with resistance during their first meeting simply because they are women. We should know that strangers lying to hurt our reputation is a common occurrence and that it only happens because we are doing important things in the world.
We can control our reaction when rude, ignorant, cruel and wicked people emerge from the darkness and attempt to steal our light if we are aware of their existence. The arrival of those boldly seeking Personal Freedom always flinches a society so afflicted by ease and conformity. Expression of our true selves and pursuing our dreams will be met with unfathomable, unending resistance. Slings and arrows of envy may be launched at us by those who believe there is no such thing as success in life. We might be lured back into the fold by soft, duplicitous words.
We may be stabbed by those at our sides with doubts about our readiness or warned that the world is a hostile environment. We may face wicked accusations and walls from those in front of us, fearful of losing their place. In life, such tyrants can create a sense of fear that we must prepare ourselves for and be cautious of.
Our response to contemptuous, small-minded people who seek overt and oppressive power over others must be especially vigilant: the brute towers over others, using his physical presence to intimidate, the greedy liar at work who is trying to wreck us, the abusive lover, the vicious neighborhood gossip, the condescending bullies and the sweet-talking con artists. The existence of these few should not be allowed to tarnish the goodwill of the majority, yet we should not deny their existence. There is a vast terrain of ego to defend against this kind of extreme tyrant.
There are wicked people who are narcissistic, paranoid, and angry. There is one thing they have in common: they are always on the lookout for others who want to attain their level of success. They want to destroy them. Our will and energy are oppressed so that they can feel better about themselves. Our advances threaten their power or indicate their weakness, whether consciously or unconsciously. Their loss of stature will be minimized if they can minimize us.
A tyrant of this type is often found at the helm of a struggling nation, enslaving people and ostracizing dissidents. Often, we see them lording over their subordinates, denigrating those who deserve advancement, and wielding harsh criticism and rumor. They are often family members, battering their own dependents. To force us to fall in line with their demands, they taunt, threaten, and terrorize us. The most vicious weapon a tyrant can use against us is to belittle our worth.
They tell us we are unworthy, stupid, inadequate, and unskilled. They seek to box us into their conception of who we are and where we belong through harsh words and actions. What is the effect? Sadly, we can quickly become self-fulfilling prophecies when we start to fear we are not good enough or cannot win. Our pathetic boundaries of belief may convince us that we are as small as they claim, and we can choose to remain within their pathetic boundaries rather than roam freely into our own self-determination. Others may demean or resist our initiatives, but that shouldn’t surprise us.
Read More – We Must Expect and Honor the Struggle
