Power to the People

Years ago when our children were very young, we had an activist friend who visited often.  He liked to amuse himself by having our kids march around the room, pumping their little fists in the air and chanting, “The people, united, will never be defeated!”  And sometimes, “Power to the people.” I was thinking about that phrase this morning.  Though electricity is often referred to as power, “Electricity to the People” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.  Does electricity equal power? In some ways, that seems true. Countries that “developed” earlier and had electricity became more politically powerful than countries without it. Maybe it’s not entirely inappropriate that we call the organization that supplies electricity, the power company.