rethinking “power”

Have you ever stopped to think about how important communication is? Without communication, it is not possible to effectively exist as dogs, as humans, as societies, or as corporations. There are several things that are related–or made clear– through communication.

Two of these are knowledge and power. Any dog will tell you that what we know and how we influence others is directly related to how we communicate. I’ve briefly blogged about this before, and this morning I just want to get across one thought– a new one for most of you humans:

This energy, this force, this thing called “power” is like a fabric, a “moving substrate” (to use Foucault’s terms) upon and through which communication (like a natural law in and of itself) allows dogs, humans, and corporations to relate to each other.

Contrary to what most humans think, neither knowledge nor power is like a capital that can be divided or held or had. Nobody can “have” power. It is not like a bone that is shared or that can be taken away from you. Rather, power is exercised. Read it again: Power is a force. It is a force that a gas company or a government entity or even a dog can exercise.

So, the next time you feel powerless, take this to heart: you are not. Just like me, Ada the Dog, you need not worry about losing power or gaining power. It’s there all along– you just need to exercise it. How? By barking!