In SUMMARY: Away from Moral Ambiguity and Paranoia, Back towards Good Intent and Righteousness:

With regards to the Challenger-Manipulator, we see the consummation of Paranoia in the Face of Power, manifest as an evil to rival that of well-meaning Corruption and the Road to Hell that’s “paved with Good Intentions”. Suspicious to a fault, the Challenger knows to distrust ANYONE who comes to or by Power, for he knows himself and his own all-too-human frailty in the face of Temptation. Intent on preserving his own Freedom in the face of those in Power, he contents himself with the knowledge that, by his own example, he might protect his beloved fellows and equals from Imminent Abuses. Knowing Corruption in itself to be a dreadful fate, he seeks to spare his fellows the Road to Hell by barring any liberties they take towards self-empowerment and influence in Groups. Employing his incisive insight into Human Nature, the Manipulator disempowers the same friends he sets out to protect, for only by so doing can he spare them the Fate of Corruption and thereby convert them to fellow defenders of Equality. Recognizing how this is in itself an act of Power on his part, he seeks to assure himself that his intent is Pure; questioning the Good Intent of his Superiors, he thus sees through himself and, in so doing, ALL Intent. As he gains Power, he no longer NEEDS Intent in order to content himself with his own actions. If he DOES abuse his Power, he contents himself in doing so with KNOWLEDGE of the Fact. Though men claim to be honest in opposing him, he sees through “Honesty” as appeal. He is the far MORE honest in admitting to his own depravity, and if the falseness of this Honesty is then exposed to him, he claims to have seen through ALL Honesty before he was himself accused. Thus his corruption is the far more Absolute than the fleeting errors of his adversaries, and their depravity is always circumscribed within bounds he himself defines, far more arbitrarily and with far baser banality and nihilistic cynicism. At the root of his distrust of all Authority are the seeds of all Corruption. On the one hand, he wishes to preserve what little Power he enjoys from those who seek to steal it from on high; he fears weakness and deplores those willing to resolve themselves to slavery. On the other hand, in times of want and need he resents those whose Strength surpasses him, for he distrusts their lofty views on Justice. If Justice is presumed to be a product of Necessity, and if Necessity is seen to be synonymous with Weakness, then in Strength he is content to fabricate his own Justice, deploring the false Justice of the Weaklings he deplores, and in Weakness he is content to fabricate his own Justice, for what he lacks in Power he atones for in Virtue. Even those who have figured him out, as I have, are suspects, for how could they have attained such Knowledge without seeking Power, becoming Equally Corrupt?

 

[({R.G.)}]