In movies, you always hear the good guy say, “Don’t let the ‘glowing piece of aggro-crag treasure’ (or whatever) get into the wrong hands, or we’re doomed.” If that happened, the so-called bad guy would then wield a power that could destroy the world. Luckily, the hero is always around to save the day.

Unfortunately, the real life power-in-the-wrong-hands scenario is a bit less convenient than the one portrayed in the media, and it is the root of many a problem.

Think of romantic relationships, where everything from domestic abuse, time usurpers, and cheating spouses stem from one partner’s power over the other. Think of the power of certain pieces of information, and the blackmail that can be used to contain them. Think of corporate monopolies edging out the little mom and pop shops. In a more literal sense, think of power grids or nuclear reactors, and what happens when they fail.

And for the kicker, think of the ultimate, overarching power in our lives - the government - and you have yourselves a gold mine of potential abuses: war, police brutality, dictatorships, coverps, tax loopholes, wrongfully-imprisoned individuals, biological warfare, censorship... the list goes on.

All of this negativity has to be channeled into something proactive to keep us from self-destruction. This is why we chose the color yellow for this issue. Psychologically, yellow is an uplifting color associated with clear thinking and sound judgment. It encourages optimism and symbolizes hope. In this time in America when the once most powerful nation in the world is losing ground, little has been more doubtful than now. All we can do is keep the hope that someone will come along to make things right. In the meantime, we should keep these abuses in our minds, and remember our opinions on them. If the same powers ever come across our way, hopefully we can keep from making the same mistakes in our own lives.