What's in a word? A deeper meaning:
P roviding
O thers
W ith
E ffective
R esources
True power is being in a position to help others, help themselves. It's providing an opportunity to all who are willing, and ready, to take advantage of it. It's not about handouts, but hand-ups.
To feel power is when your influence can affect the outcome of a situation. To be powerful is to know you can do many things, but choose to do things that will assist in the upliftment of others.
You can most definitely possess power and be ethical, power doesn't change who we are, it just reveals who we always were. Those who have never been in any position of authority, but find themselves suddenly in such a position, they more often than not abuse said authority. This is because it's unfamiliar territory to them, they don't know the terrain, so they're navigated by frustration. When someone has been in a position of power, they know that respect of persons will bring about respect for the position, because they'll respect the person in charge of the position. Power should never change anything outside of conditions, regardless of how much is possessed.
Correct knowledge is power, proper understanding of said knowledge is power defined. When we don't know, we can be made to believe anything. Ignorance is the greatest enemy we could ever have because it puts us in a position to be misled. To have absolutely no idea which direction we should go to is powerless at it's worse.
I have been in various positions of power, and each time, I always used my blessings to help others. In days gone by I didn't mentally see as clearly as I do now, but never the less, I knew right from wrong. I knew to do people right would create potential allies, as I knew to do them wrong, I would be creating definite enemies.
There are numerous reasons why some have, while others have not. The primary reason is due to generational effort, what was made and left behind, versus what was denied, so that nothing would be left. When people worked for other people, for four hundred plus years, at zero dollars an hour, all day, every day, it's no wonder why ones have, while others have not. It's next to impossible for a person to compete, let alone catch up to those who have when they have never had anything because the generations before them had nothing. It's extremely frustrating to know how things were, and not be able to do anything to make it right. No matter if we get ahead, we'll forever be a hundred steps behind.
There's no need to look towards others for salvation when the solution lies within unifying with your own kind. Study the history of all the groups of people of the world, and you'll see that the primary component of their success was coming together and supporting one another. Everything begins with self, then it spreads out. People support who they respect, and respect is usually given due to a show of self-respect. Where there's no self-respect, where there's no self-love, why should we expect to receive it outside of self?