In the link is one of my favorite speeches by famous actor Charlie Chaplin. The famous speech he gives is from the movie called “The Great Dictator”, that came out back in1940. Now, this may just be some old forgotten movie, but this speech contains a message we all need to hear, especially with what has been happening in today’s society. Today, we live in a society that seems to be surrounded by hate, violence, and divided by technology. We live in a society where no one seems to want to help each other, only ourselves, and it honestly hurts to see how far we have fallen. I think it is the time we all rewatch Chaplin’s speech and regain hope for our society and the people in it.
In the beginning, Chaplin explains how he wants to help everyone, rather they are Jew, Gentile, black, or white, and how we all want to help each other because humans are like that. This is how we are supposed to be as a human race, we should help each other regardless of race or ethnicity. I understand there will always be disagreement among people, but that does not mean we cannot help each other, instead of being divided why not work together? As Chaplin continues with his speech, he describes how there is room for everyone on this Earth, and that we can make it free and beautiful. But sadly, as he states, we have lost sight of the way and greed has blinded our vision. Sadly, this is true because we have become a society fueled by the greed of money and selfishness, we have lost sight of helping others.
Like the airplane and the radio brought people together during the time this speech was written, new technologies such as smartphones and social media have brought us together, but at the same time, it has blinded us to the real world and everything that is happening in it. We hide behind these screens because we do not want to deal with the real world, we purposely blind ourselves from seeing those suffering around the world, and we refuse to address it. The purpose of this technology was to unite us, and we must use it to do just that. We must band together to help one another and open our eyes to the real world and help those in despair. This is what humanity is all about, and this is what we have been lacking for so long.
As Chaplin states, In the 17th Chapter of St Luke it is written: “the Kingdom of God is within man” - not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people have the power - the power to create machines. The power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. This is something we have forgotten, that we have the power to change the world but we are afraid to use it. We do have the power to create happiness and to make this life free and beautiful! So what are we waiting for? The fear we feel is all in our heads, we are so much greater than we understand, we have the power to change people's lives, and it is the time we start making a difference. Black, white, gay, straight, Republican, Democratic, these labels we have should not divide us, we are all human beings! It is the time we set aside our differences and help one another. This world may not be perfect, nor it may never be, but we can still make this world a decent place to live in.
Never forget, every day you have a chance to make your life free and beautiful. Do not the fear of failure or hatred hold you back, let the thought of love and success guide you! In the words of Charlie Chaplin, "Let us fight to free the world - to do away with national barriers - to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men and women’s happiness!"
