Like most boys, I loved comic books. I still do. And without question, my favorite character has always been Spider-Man. I have a couple posters framed and hanging on the walls in my office, I’ve had them for over 20 years now.
Most people that have even a passing familiarity with the Peter Parker/Spider-Man story know that he learned a hard lesson after the death of his Uncle Ben, that with great power comes great responsibility. You’re probably thinking “That’s great for a guy that can stick to walls and bench press a car, but what’s that got to do with me?”
I’m getting to that, but first I’m going to take that statement and apply a bit of basic algebra to it…
great power = great responsibility
This is the algebra part, subtract “great” from both sides of that equation and you are left with…
power = responsibility
Whether you think it is “great” or not, we all have “power”. Power in our own lives, power over the decisions we make, power over the actions we take, and even the kind of power that can influence others. Thus, regardless of how great or how insignificant we feel that power is, it comes with responsibility.
At it’s most basic, we have the power over the decisions we make every day. For example we have to make decisions about what we choose to eat on a daily basis. It seems rather mundane, but as someone who has had bariatric surgery, in making such decisions we need to weigh the responsibility we hold to our our success or failure to lose weight.
These seemingly small decisions can also have an impact on our responsibility to others. Because the responsibility tied to these decisions also hold the potential for consequences.
Now I’m not quite sure I would say it’s proportionate or not, but as the degree of power one has in a particular instance increases, so can the level of responsibility one has… as well as the impact of the consequences.
Take for example, the recent incident where a doctor wrote what he initially felt was a humorous column for a trade magazine about some of the issues medical professionals face when working with patients who are overly large or obese.
A doctor is definitely someone who has a lot of power. Add being a contributor for a national publication to the mix and the degree of power is significantly increased. And unfortunately, like Peter Parker, this particular doctor learned the lesson of responsibility the hard way. Ok, sure, nobody died – but Uncle Ben is a fictional character, so technically, neither did he. And when a medical professional acts with such disregard to that responsibility, it can have profound and lasting consequences on their patients.
While often these thoughts run through our heads on an subconscious level, sometimes we have internal struggles or debates and make very conscious decisions, yet we also often find ourselves simply reacting to a situation purely on instinct.
The point I’m trying to make though is that we all have both the power and the responsibility to be aware that when we make decisions, when we take actions, that we have an influence not just on our own lives, but also on the lives of those around us. For example; the decisions we make about what to eat effect our weight, our weight effects our health and our health effects not just ourselves but also those who care about us.
This doctor’s decision to write that column had an impact on way more people and in ways I’m sure he never imagined. And in response to that, many people in the weight loss surgery community stepped up and acted with a combined power that seems to have made a positive impact.
This is the power we have, both as individuals and as a group. The power to effect change and a responsibility to do so for “the greater good”. And not simply because we should, but because we can.
I can’t decide for you how you will use your power, maybe it is by becoming a member of a organization such as the OAC, or helping raise awareness for your own favorite charity. Maybe it’s by blogging, maybe it’s writing to the publisher when a negatively biased article is published or sending a reporters a thank you when a thoughtful or inspirational story is printed.
No, I can’t tell you what to do, just please, do something. You have the power.
