There is a difference between exercising power and acting tough. To exercise power is to methodically, consistently, thoughtfully work accessible power in a conscious effort to improve. To act tough is merely a muscle flexed to feel good about one's self and/or to impress others. Flexing a muscle is a spurious reaction with little or no thought to consequence. And because a flexed muscle is a threat, this single-minded act is that of a bully. Some bullies learn to flex different muscles in rapid-fire succession in an attempt to disguise and/or reinforce their abuse of power.

I believe that the more muscle flexed, the more insecure one is. And I believe that the more muscle flexed, the more tenuous one’s hold on power. Those who are more secure in their power allow and even encourage this lesser flexing of muscle because the alternative, (methodical, consistent, thoughtful power worked to improve circumstance), would threaten their security. It is interesting then that to bully the powerful and wealthy, we must choose to not be a bully. Furthermore, it is the movement toward more widespread improved circumstance that tends to transform greater power from condescending confidence to fear-mongering intimidation. And finally, the unabashed onslaught that is fear-mongering intimidation allows those who are seen as merely condescendingly confident to claim the mantle of good guy; because the opposite of bad guy, must be good guy – right? By definition, good-cop bad-cop is a staged production designed to manipulate, control, victimize. And this nicely sums up the cluster that has become our nation’s two-party political system.

Anyone who has ever been taken advantage of by good-cop bad-cop, in hindsight would attest to the fact that ‘good’ is a misnomer. As a nation we should have long ago passed into hindsight, but here we are – still believing in the good cop and still suffering exploitation and oppression at the hands of two bad guys. An actual good guy would find a way to empower from the bottom-up. Instead we flirt with progress and improve only incrementally because one-half of our powerful, wealthy leadership, (the condescendingly confident), play good-cop through top-down paternalistic policy, while the other half play bad-cop keeping us off balance by prompting us to fight back with an uncoordinated, disjointed rapid-fire lesser flexing of muscle. And we (the majority) choose sides pretending we are a part of something and believing it is real.

It is a staged production that benefits power and wealth. And we (the majority) are victims.