The descent to hell is easy and those who begin by worshipping power, soon worship evil.

C. S. Lewis

Throughout America the desire for power tramples other values.  Seen by some as an unmitigated good, people clamor for the ability to manipulate their surrounding environment; and many seem willing to sacrifice other concerns in its pursuit.  Compassion, integrity, truth and comprehension fall before the craving to control; and a dark madness to rule others outweighs any mitigating factors.  Adversaries morph into demons, differences transmute into evidence of incontrovertible wickedness, variants mutate into monsters; the ability to love falls prey to a hating that hungers for the obliteration of all opposition.   Winning outweighs a concern for fair play and just outcomes; victory at any price becomes a burden that must be borne regardless of cost.  What we lose in the process is ourselves; what is left is a loss that supersedes any possible gain.  Selfishness reigns supreme in the kingdom of the unkind, and kindred spirits fade into specters of hideous countenance. 

The adoration of power demands that, in the end, everyone strives strives for themselves and themselves alone; forsaking the company of humanity for the desolation of the stygian throne.