Almost all people have times in their life when they feel that they are not in control of the events that happen to them. There are often times when others seem to have more power over people than they do over themselves. This can create a strong feeling of power imbalance between oneself and another person. Sometimes, this can be because of a positive power imbalance, in the case of a mentor, advisor, or supervisor who uses his or her authority to guide and teach others. Sometimes, however, this can also be because of a negative power imbalance, in the case of a boss who bullies; a boyfriend or a girlfriend who can be emotionally and physically threatening; or in the case of a confrontation, one person initiating violence against another.

In the United States and in other countries around the world, power imbalances are often commonly experienced by populations who may be political or social minorities because of their gender, race, tribal and ethnic association, or socioeconomic status. Consequently, discrimination may occur as a way of preserving the status quo as a means of preventing others from accessing multiple public and private services, credit, employment, and housing opportunities, for example.  

As people bring the personal into the professional, self-awareness is important for homeland security personnel when working and intervening successfully with critical incidents that may involve culturally diverse responders, survivors, and perpetrators. Coping with unpredictable and ongoing situations of crisis and terror can arouse personal feelings of helplessness and lack of control. It is important, therefore, to understand what particular coping strengths you can bring into such a situation, your ability to respond to and manage such a situation, and what your capacity is to learn from such events for future use.

Therefore, looking back over your own life, choose a situation in which you experienced a major power imbalance while interacting with another person that either assisted or prevented you from meeting your aims. This could be, for example, with a former boss, coach, teacher, parent, or friend who had some kind of authority over you when the incident occurred.   

Assignment Guidelines

• This paper should be between 750-1,000 words and will be written in 3 parts:
  • The first part should be labeled "Part 1: What Happened."
    • Insert as much objective detail as you can remember, in as factual a manner as possible. 
  • The second part should be labeled "Part 2: Looking Back."
    • Insert what you felt your response was to what happened during the event.
  • The third part should contain discussion regarding 2 additional aspects and should be labeled "Part 3: What I Learned and How I Can Apply It."
    • Write about the lessons that you learned from this experience.
      • Consider your future career as a homeland security or emergency management professional.
      • Consider what advice you would offer if a friend, relative, or fellow professional had faced a similar situation to what you faced.
• When choosing an event, pick an occurrence that you feel has been resolved to a great degree in your mind.
• It is not the purpose of this assignment for you to re-experience a feeling of trauma and feel upset; rather, you should be able to choose an incident that you feel that you have learned and gained wisdom from.