Totalitarian Leaders
Through the close examination of past and current leaders, we have observed their path to power and maintaining it, as well as the impact their power has on others.
Heavenly Empress Wu ZeTian Born in 624 in Lizhou, China during the Tang Dynasty, Wu ZeTian lived a life of hardship, endurance, power, and corruption. Plagued by the desire for more power and control, nothing stood between Wu ZeTian and the throne. Starting out as Emperor TaiZong’s concubine at the age of fourteen, she served under him till his untimely death in 649. Years later, she seduced Emperor Gaozong and became his consort. Desperate for more power, ZeTian formed a network of spies and manipulated the Empress, ultimately murdering her and becoming the Emperor’s favorite wife. But the Empress was not the only wife targeted by Wu ZeTian. Having murdered multiple through clever and cunning means, Wu Zetian became the new Empress. With her new title as Empress, Wu Zetain began to take on more power and step in for her husband. Following his death, she took almost complete control of China, taking on the title “Heavenly Empress” and doing whatever possible to expand the Tang Dynasty’s borders. However, even though the reform made was positive, Wu Zetian was still a ruthless power-hungry ruler, not afraid to murder and start rebellions against her own children in order to maintain power. Utilizing manipulation, manslaughter, and her self-taken power, Wu Zetian achieved something no other woman in China could have, absolute power. But it was her path towards absolute power that will never be forgotten. Her ruthless ways of achieving and maintaining it truly showcase the length people will go to for power. Heavenly Empress Wu ZeTian will forever be known as "the most powerful woman in China's history" (Gale 2014). |
Führer Adolf Hitler In the book A Child of Hitler, Alfons Heck details his childhood growing up in the Hitler Youth Party in which children were indoctrinated at the age of ten, sometimes earlier, and sent to train and fight for the German army. These children were known as Nazi Youth. Even before they were sent to fight, children were taught that Germans were the superior race and others, especially Jews, were inferior. A quote from Heck explains how youths were so easily drawn into Hitler’s agenda without question, “Adolf Hitler ceaselessly encouraged the feeling that we were his trusted helpers and used it with brilliant intuition” (Skinner). The children were given a higher purpose, hiding from them the truth of the atrocities they took part in. Because many of them were incredibly young, they did not understand or even know to question the gruesome acts taking place. A point of interest is the debate about the children’s involvement and therefore guilt in the attempted annihilation of the Jewish people. Though some might think being children would exempt them from the majority of the blame, Heck acknowledges that no matter how young they were, they still stood aside while the atrocities happened. “To us in the Hitler Youth, the ‘Final Solution meant deportation, but not annihilation. A measure of guilt must go to most Germans because they neither disputed nor opposed that decision” (Skinner). No matter if they were common citizens, Hitler youth, or Nazis, people still stood by while murders were committed. Whether through fear or love, Hitler managed to silence any morality that lived within his people, making his mass execution of the Jewish people a liberating triumph for the German people. A primary legacy of A Child of Hitler is Heck's warning that children are exceedingly susceptible to propaganda, readily able to become, as Heck says in the memoir, “enthusiastic victims.” Adolf Hitler is known today to be one of the world’s cruelest and bloodthirsty dictators, annihilating entire Jewish populations in Eastern Europe alongside sending a total of 1.65 million people to concentration camps where they were sent to be tortured and eventually come to their deaths through gas chambers. Hitler’s corruption not only resulted in the demise of millions but his very own as well. |
President Donald J. Trump President Donald Trump gained power through his first campaign in 2016, competing in favor of the Republican Party. His political attitude made conservatives approve of him, promoting views they shared and proving himself to be a headstrong and capable candidate. While he did not win the popular vote in 2016, he won the electoral college, securing himself the role of United States President. During his term, he continued to be a right-swaying president, having extremely strong views about immigrants and the economy. Again, his words influenced his followers, leading them to boldly and blindly support all of his views, even ones that were unapologetically sexist and racist. Now, with his more recent 2020 campaign, he has claimed voter fraud and told his followers that his election was stolen. This has caused his followers to start violent groups in support of him and his desperate grasp for the presidency within the last moments of his power. The January sixth Insurrection is arguably a product of Trump’s corrupted power, as hours before the event began, Trump hosted a rally called “Save America” where he said quotes such as “We will stop the steal” and “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore”. These are the words that encouraged many of his followers, including the far-right, extremist groups the Proud Boys & the Oath Keepers, to storm the capitol. The rally Trump held was a mere twenty minutes from the capitol, and groups such as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers were already making their way to the place where the ballots were being counted by the time Trump was barely beginning his speech. Though the President of the United States is incapable of holding “absolute power”, that does not mean they are incapable of being incredibly powerful and have the ability to majorly influence the public, alongside being incredibly corrupt. |
Other examples in Modern Media:
Elon Musk: Elon Musk originally gained his following by trying to be seen as “relatable and cool”, posting online and even having his own ‘meme review’ segments on Youtube, gaining followers by many as a man who was in tune with his audience and fans. He has gained such a following that, no matter what decision he makes, his fans will always either turn a blind eye or follow him into the fire. He promoted his own bitcoin-dogecoin-, leading his followers to blindly invest their money in something that will only have them lose their finances, while he profits. His personal cult has even followed him into his recent venture: buying Twitter. With this, he has become problematic with how he uses power- claiming to promote free speech on his newly-bought website but Also demanding people pay to use it to the fullest- otherwise risking their voice being sent to the very bottom of the list. He even talks about buying more influential websites, a grab for power and more approval from his fans who are increasingly pushing him to purchase sites like Wikipedia.
Ye West: Kanye West, now known as Ye, has recently gone on long rants on Twitter, even going on InfoWars- hosted by Alex Jones, who has been known for his discriminatory and insensitive conspiracy theories- for an anti-semitic tirade about loving Hitler and asking Jewish people to forgive Hitler, to the point where even Alex Jones was trying to get Ye to calm down. He has gone on to post even more anti-semitic tweets and a swastika, leading to his suspension from Twitter. His fan base is swaying between dropping him as fans or defending him and his actions. Due to the giant impact Ye has had through his music, his fan base is still trying desperately to see the best in him. However, despite their persistent dedication, Ye’s fandom is an example of what power is able to give someone; forgiveness even when undeserved.
Elon Musk: Elon Musk originally gained his following by trying to be seen as “relatable and cool”, posting online and even having his own ‘meme review’ segments on Youtube, gaining followers by many as a man who was in tune with his audience and fans. He has gained such a following that, no matter what decision he makes, his fans will always either turn a blind eye or follow him into the fire. He promoted his own bitcoin-dogecoin-, leading his followers to blindly invest their money in something that will only have them lose their finances, while he profits. His personal cult has even followed him into his recent venture: buying Twitter. With this, he has become problematic with how he uses power- claiming to promote free speech on his newly-bought website but Also demanding people pay to use it to the fullest- otherwise risking their voice being sent to the very bottom of the list. He even talks about buying more influential websites, a grab for power and more approval from his fans who are increasingly pushing him to purchase sites like Wikipedia.
Ye West: Kanye West, now known as Ye, has recently gone on long rants on Twitter, even going on InfoWars- hosted by Alex Jones, who has been known for his discriminatory and insensitive conspiracy theories- for an anti-semitic tirade about loving Hitler and asking Jewish people to forgive Hitler, to the point where even Alex Jones was trying to get Ye to calm down. He has gone on to post even more anti-semitic tweets and a swastika, leading to his suspension from Twitter. His fan base is swaying between dropping him as fans or defending him and his actions. Due to the giant impact Ye has had through his music, his fan base is still trying desperately to see the best in him. However, despite their persistent dedication, Ye’s fandom is an example of what power is able to give someone; forgiveness even when undeserved.