Everyone of us is given from the moment we enter this world an identity. With the years we grow up first discovering our closer environment the forming of what we call the character begins to shape us to that human being able to start an own existence as independent individual after our nurture. The own experiences are forming us as well as the education from our parents in combination with our nature. We learn that we have to make compromises and arrangements to exist together with other individuals whose views and expectations differ to our own ones being part of a functioning society which fulfills each ones demands and expectations without disadvantaging others.
So far the theory. In the practice we still are caught in the pyramid of power. It's not enough to realize our own views as part of our identity, we tend to convince the others around us from our ideas. But what's good for us hasn't be necessarily good for some others. Life models begin to collide and a tricky mechanism starts to achieve our believes: the control mechanism. With its help we are able to climb up in the pyramid of power to the desired place leaving others behind us submitting theirselves to our requirements. Our identity has changed to a personality.
But instead of asking ourselves if our token direction through the sea of life is really the right one we even become deaf for our counterparts' or third parties' critics. To accept that we maybe made a wrong decision will be regarded in the pyramid of power as a sign of weakness allowing others to take over the place we fought so long and so hard for. Our character is no longer open-minded for new input. Desperately we defend our position even against those who are trying to help us. Allies are becoming enemies, the inner control mechanism is running on permanent high speed level to protect our achievements.
Suddenly we are nothing more than a small part of a giant destructive system.
The first step to stop that vicious circle which is permanently undermining a constructive togetherness is for sure the insight to change our behavior basically. It will take time not only to break out of it but to rebuild the pyramid of power to a flat share of balance. With beginning of the change process questions will raise how to avoid in the future a return of the inequitable system only feeding selfishness, greed and corruption.
On that point the perception of personality has to be discussed.
As a reminder: I'm using the term identity as the self created character which is able to reflect his own views and deeds in comparison to other identities' ones, a pares inter pares behavior. On the other hand the personality claims a more or less direct leadership influence, in the best case a primus inter pares behavior (which is sadly more an ideal imagination than reality), in the worst case oppression and tyranny.
Leadership bears a lot of risks. One of those risks is the growing immunity to critical voices. As human beings we all have not only virtues but also faults. Instead of working on the last ones we tend especially in the pyramid of power to neglect them, critizism and concerns about our decision making are no longer seen as constructive, they're becoming instead of a direct threat to our position. But as personalities we are demanded being aware of our responsibility. Unfortunately many of us are simply ignoring this duty opening the doors for injustice. Instead of rearranging or sharing the position with others to advance the system in a sustainable direction we assemble only those around us who are helping us to eliminate any kind of change. Loyal cronies are forming together with a class of sociopaths a safety belt, a guaranteeing of our leadership whis has become a rulership demand. Paternalism is nipping every dissident thought in the bud.
To disprove arguments of personalities' defenders I refer to the wise words of my sculpturist teacher who told us that the sculpture is not what we create. It's existing since a very long time in the rock. We are only the ones exposing it by removing the dispensable parts around.
The personality cult is in the present on a peak whereever we look at. In the political life as well as in the public sector, the entertaining industry, the business and even in the family life. Everyone who's fighting against a corrupt personality like a dictator should ask him- or herself if it is necessary to become something like a counter-personality bearing the risk of getting self corrupted. This kind of corruption begins almost with claiming the idea of freedom, justice and equality for oneself. Those ideas are common knowledge. Breaking up the system means not to replace the former owner of the position in the pyramid of power. It means to deconstruct the focussed part of the system creating space for a real sustainable change. Not as declared personality maintaining the sword of Damocles called control fetishism over ones head. Better as identity open for constructive criticism and common advancement.
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