Perceptions #200047

"S.K. Benjamin - A Corrupted Power Figure"

by Norman Bales

"Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely." [Lord Acton (John Emerich Dahlberg) in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton (1887)]. The trail of despots from Alexander the Great to Adolph Hitler confirms Lord Acton's thesis. But just how does a humble person go from being a nice guy to a power drunk madman? The life of S.K. Benjamin offers insight into the process.

Prior to the age of thirty, no one would have guessed that S.K. would ever have a career in government and no one would have dreamed that he might become a powerful national leader. His early training suggested a career in agriculture. Had some enterprising basketball coach visited his area he might have recruited S.K. for the pivot position on his basketball team. He certainly had the height for it. But politics? No one would have guessed it.

S.K. became his nation's leader at the age of thirty despite the fact that he was inexperienced, untrained and demonstrated no aptitude for the job. You might say that he was the right person in the right place at the right time. His rise to power took place at a time when his country had become politically unstable. The people wanted order and discipline. So why did they pick S.K.? Well, he just looked like a leader. If Cecil B. DeMille had been making a movie, he would most certainly have chosen him to play role of a government leader. But it takes more than a handsome face and an impressive physique to lead a nation.

At first he managed to achieve his country's objectives. He seemed to understand his shortcomings and wisely relied on the advice of an older statesman who pointed him in the right direction. Somewhere along the line he began to notice that privilege comes with power. Things were going so well in his country, he began to believe his own press releases. He gained confidence in himself, but then confidence ballooned into arrogance. He dismissed the counsel of his trusted advisor. He started making incredibly bad decisions.

Unfortunately, his nerves were shot. He thought music would help, so he hired an accomplished string player to play some soft tunes. He thought that would calm him down. But the string player was more than a musician. The young man distinguished himself in battle and won the praises of his countrymen. Public opinion is often a fickle thing. S.K.'s ratings were down. He was now number 2 in the popularity polls. The string player nailed down the top spot.

S.K. grew desperate. He developed such an enormous ego that he could not tolerate anyone who grabbed more headlines than he did. His emotions, his ethics and his motives spiraled downward. The rival had to be eliminated, but the string player was a pretty resourceful young man. He skillfully eluded S.K.'s hired assassins.

Things went from bad to worse for S.K. His inward guilt brought him to the brink of insanity, while the country's stability lurched out of control. The defense program was sorely mismanaged and the nation was soon at the mercy of its enemies. The enemies invaded and to his credit, S.K. stood with the army in a desperate attempt to defend the country. In a fierce battle, S.K.'s son became a war casualty and the army was routed. Rather than suffer defeat, S.K. committed suicide. Thus ended the life and the political career of S.K. Benjamin, also known as Saul, the son of Kish of the tribe of Benjamin.

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