The ruler of men has no power beyond what the men he rules are willing to acknowledge. He says to kneel, and all in his presence kneel, and in that obedience grows stronger.
He says to clap, and all in his presence clap. His power grows stronger still.
With every nodding head, every act of unquestioned allegiance, every time that logic is dismissed in favor of ideology, the ruler grows stronger. The words of a bumbling old man who needs help climbing stairs become the edicts of the most powerful person on the planet.
Power is dependent on compliance.
Without it, power shrivels and dies, just as the plant shrivels and dies without water. If the ruler of men says kneel, and one man does not kneel, his power is suddenly in question.
For that means he does not rule over every heart and mind, and if he does not rule over every heart and mind, then his power is not absolute.
The standing man is a symbol of death. That though this ruler may have his day in the sun, the clock has begun to tick, tick, tick until he is seen for what he is.
The standing man will either be joined by others who are filled with renewed courage, or he will be killed. History is filled with examples of both. The cost to stand is always great.
In this age, the rulers of men stand before us bumbling and shuffling around, weakly, seeking power from the compliance of those who bend the knee before them. There he appears as the scientist. There he appears as the newscaster. Now he appears as the politician.
But too many are standing now.
If you stand they have nothing left.
The game is over.