Power Plays and Truth Claims

A long time ago, I was in a Church group one day. The group leader had a very intuitive approach that night, and I have had a very different outlook on life since then. The issue that we were talking about was homosexuality. We mentioned the fact that yes, it is immoral. But what we particularly focused on was the issue of power plays and truth claims. Please let me explain.

A truth claim is exactly what it sounds like. Claiming that something is true. "It's cold outside." or maybe "We should let all the illegal aliens here in the United States stay, and not be deported." are examples. A power play is something else. It is the IMMATURE approach of offending someone, often with a truth claim. One example is "God hates fags." Also, a slur (especially a racial slur) is a power play. Any type of name calling is a power play. For those of you who are hockey fans, you might be familiar with power plays. If a hockey player does something wrong, they will have to sit in the penalty box. During that time, that team has 1 fewer players and the opposing team has 1 more players. During that time, the opposing team engages in a power play. It is the exact same concept as in an argument, when a truth claim is also a power play. So how do we tell the difference between a truth claim that's not a power play and a power play? Well, it's a matter of opinion. If I tell you that the tobacco industry has blood on its hands because of the countless people who have died from smoking, many people will declare that statement to be a power play. Some who would see it as just a truth claim might say "You know that he's right." Here is one way to distinguish between a truth claim and power play. A truth claim is meant to benefit the person who you are speaking to. A power play is meant to benefit the person who is speaking. So if I make that statement about the tobacco industry to try to reduce the number of people employed in tobacco, so that they can have a better task in their careers, that is just a truth claim. But if I make that statement so that anti-tobacco organizations will give me donations, and so that we can raise taxes on the tobacco corporations, then that statement that I made is a power play.

Here is another example. Let me say this.

On November 22nd, 1963, John F. Kennedy was shot while riding in a vehicle with no top cover. He should not have been so exposed to somebody hurting him.

I personally think that that is just a truth claim. Now let me say this.

On November 22nd, 1963, John F. Kennedy was shot while riding in a vehicle with no top cover. The dumbass was basically asking for it because of that.

I think we can all agree that the statement in red is a truth claim, while the statement in green is a power play. But these two statements are generally saying the same thing. Right?

There is also the issue of scare tactics. There was a Stanford University Professor sometime ago named Paul Ehrlich. He once claimed that everyone on Planet Earth (yes, everyone) would be dead sometime during the 1980's. Was that a power play? You decide. But not all uses of scare tactics are power plays. Let me prove it to you. I once spoke with a gentleman who had heart surgery. After the procedure, his surgeon told him that he can't play golf anymore, or at least for awhile. She mentioned that she had one patient who didn't listen to her, and when he swung the club, his sutures opened up, and he had to be taken to the hospital to get all stitched back up. Yikes!! Was the doctor who said that trying to feel superior, and make her patient feel inferior? I don't think so. She was making a very valid truth claim, that's all. So, not every form of scare tactic is a power play.

Also, there is the issue of stupidity. There is a big difference between calling a person stupid, and telling them that they did something stupid. If I know someone who gets in a car accident because they ran a red light, I might tell them that what they did was stupid, or wrong. But I wouldn't just say that they are stupid. Is it just a truth claim to tell someone that what they did was stupid or wrong? Isn't it always a power play to call someone stupid, just like any other type of name calling?

When I go to Church, I expect to learn something new. Always. And how does the Pastor accomplish that task. It is always done utilizing a truth claim. In other words, if I go to Church and the person giving the Sermon does not make a single truth claim, I have just wasted my time. Right?

Let's say that I make a truth claim to someone. It could be about religion, it could be about sports, etc. And then the person says that my moral compass is irrelevant, and that my truth claims are completely invalid. Guess what? That accusation is a power play. The accusation that there are no valid truth claims is, in and of itself, a power play.

I hope that you will think about this post. Maybe you will look at things differently afterwards. And maybe you'll become more of a hockey fan as well.