Quote of the Day: Power

[qos]

I found this during a random LJ search:

"It is always wrong to wield power if you are not prepared to accept the consequences for your actions and do the work it takes to use your strength and authority with precision and fairness. A good leader is many people's servant. If being trained to become a perfect servant sounds too humiliating, you are not strong enough to withstand the temptations of wielding power."


The Topping Book by Dossie Easton and Janet Hardy.


I liked this because it resonated strongly with my own feelings about power and authority, a topic that's been highlighted in some private email conversations recently. My novel's protagonist Seonaid Montgomery would also like this quote a lot, as would several characters in some of my other writing.

Comments

[queenofhalves]

pat califia actually said or wrote it, but easton and hardy don't give further attribution when they quote it. i suspect it was in a talk or some such.

[southernselkie.livejournal.com]

That >is< a fantastic quote.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_storyteller_/]

I have that book up on my shelf.

[surly-wench.livejournal.com]

That is a wonderful quote.

qos:
My novel's protagonist Seonaid Montgomery would also like this quote a lot, as would several characters in some of my other writing.

That's interesting. May I ask what your novel's about? I'm a writer and I'm also working on a novel (I'm pretty sure I included that in my profile for heroine_addicts but I can't remember, and you've probably forgotten.) It's a piece of historical fiction set in Afghanistan. It's based on the work of a real-life women's rights group there- RAWA.