When Power Corrupts: From Boardrooms to the Oval Office
- jessicagray0
- Mar 4, 2025
- 3 min read
Where do you stand?
MAR 04, 2025
By Dr Jessica Sneha Gray | NZ
I’ve seen it before—too many times to count. In governance, in management, in organizations I poured my heart into, I’ve watched the same pattern play out like a well-rehearsed script. Those in positions of influence, their cups only half-full but brimming with self-importance, turning against me the moment I dared to challenge their motives. These were people who valued control over integrity, who saw truth as an inconvenience rather than a guiding principle.
And yesterday, I watched that same script unfold—not in a boardroom, but on an international stage in the Oval Office.
The world witnessed American leadership, supposedly the beacon of democracy and justice, cave under pressure and resort to the oldest trick in the book: bullying the weaker party while pretending to be the arbiter of peace. Ukraine, a nation fighting for survival against an immoral Russian dictator, found itself not uplifted, but humiliated. President Zelensky, a man who has risked everything for his people, was treated not as an ally but as an inconvenience. His English, likely far better than the American delegation’s Ukrainian, was weaponized against him. His courage, authenticity, and unwavering commitment should have been what mattered. Instead, he was met with arrogance and condescension.
Rather than standing by an ally with dignity, the American delegation acted like schoolyard bullies—mocking, undermining, and treating Zelensky as though he were an unworthy burden. They called it “tough negotiating,” but in reality, it was the reinforcement of a toxic lesson: that power grants the right to demean, that diplomacy is just another word for coercion, and that those in need must first be humiliated before they are helped.
While few of us have stood in President Zelensky’s exact position, many of us know what it’s like to face power misused. Anyone who has stood their ground against bullies in their workplace, their community, or even within their own families understands this dynamic. I know what it’s like to stand against those who believe their influence makes them untouchable. I know what it’s like to see truth drowned out by political maneuvering, dismissed not because I was wrong, but because I was inconvenient. And I know what it’s like to witness allies abandon principle in favour of self-preservation.
The real danger lies in what we teach the next generation. When we allow this kind of behaviour to go unchecked, we tell young minds that success is measured not by integrity, but by how well you can manipulate others. That bullying isn’t just tolerated—it’s celebrated as a political strategy.
As a sociologist with a doctorate from the school of business and marketing, I understand the importance of optics and negotiation. Some may argue that Zelensky should have prepared for the meeting differently, that he should have placated Trump and his administration, that playing the weaker hand with grace is sometimes necessary. There may be truth in that. But the bigger issue here is the classic bully tactic of equating victim and aggressor. Trump’s statement (I paraphrase) that people are dying on both sides, as if both (Ukraine and Russia) were equally to blame, is an insult to the very foundation of moral ethics. I’ve seen this before in my own life—when calling out a bully, I was told, “But she felt hurt when you asked her to stop bullying you.”
Trump and J.D. Vance had a responsibility to maintain diplomacy, to smooth any tensions in front of the cameras. Instead, they used Zelensky’s limited English, triggered him before the meeting, flaunted their power, and humiliated a leader who deserved respect.
Yes, the world needs peace. Ukraine needs peace NOW. But we also need kindness and respect. Strength must mean more than brute power; morality must mean more than political manoeuvring. I agree that it is time for peace. But peace should never come at the cost of dignity. If the American leadership truly wants to help Ukraine, they must do so with honour, not humiliation. Because when history looks back, it won’t just judge the winners and the losers—it will judge how they fought the battle. And right now, the so-called defenders of democracy, “a shining city on the hill”, “leaders of the free world,” are failing the very values they claim to uphold.
"When power is pure, it shields the weak; when power corrupts, it crushes them. True strength is not in dominance, but in dignity."
Dr. Jessica Sneha Gray
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