But, We Have Lost The Way
The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls...Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. - Charlie Chaplin
This is an excerpt from the comedy The Great Dictator released in 1940. If you haven't yet seen this movie, I would highly suggest watching it. One very inspiring rendition of the speech that I quoted above can be found on YouTube and is entitled "The Greatest Speech Ever Made" which has garnered over 13 million views as of the writing of this post.
I must admit, I had not seen the movie let alone heard the speech until just a few months ago. When I finally did, I was really captured by each and every word that was spoken in Chaplin's speech. In fact, it brought an extreme variation of emotions to the forefront of my mind. I felt everything from despair and shame to courage and hope.
Interestingly, the context of the movie/speech is that it was produced during the beginning of World War II. Although it is labeled as a comedy, the film ideologically opposed the rising Nazi regime and therefore had a serious undertone to it. Even though it had a noticeable application to the World War II era, I believe that we can apply the words from this speech to our society today.
The Way Of Life Can Be Free And Beautiful
If you know any US history, then you understand that we have an incredibly rich past. The founding fathers were men beyond their time. What they wrote over 200 years ago still has a direct impact on our lives now. Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Washington. These were men of inspiration. Of character. Of wisdom. Even though many during their time period labeled them traitors, they were willing to risk their lives for something that they believed to be greater than themselves. They declared themselves independent from the tyranny and oppression of the almighty British Empire. All for freedom.
Since the Declaration of Independence was signed and adopted in July of 1776, our country has been free. But I am here to say that our freedom is no longer. At least, it is no longer what it used to be. Freedom has been slowly demolished by our apparent need for security. Security has long been the justification for the eradication of freedom as we know it. As Benjamin Franklin once said: "Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one."Make no mistake, no matter how much we idealize the past, it was not perfect. World War I, which spanned for four years from 1914-1918, was a precursor to one of the most prime examples of the idealization of our past history: the roaring twenties. This decade is highly glorified, yet if you had been born during this time (which I would argue resembles the US today, in terms of the gap between rich and poor), the statistical probability is that you would have been born dirt-poor.
The Great Depression which occurred in 1929, lasted conservatively through at least the beginning of World War II. WWII took place from 1939 to 1945, approximately six years and one day. The cold war started in 1947, only two years after the end of WWII, and many say that it didn't end until 1991. These times were bleak. The economy was rough, at best, and the future was uncertain. But I can say one thing for sure, man had heart.
The people of our country stood up for what was right. We fought for virtue. For valor. We had actual constitutional rights, unhindered by the government. We did not fear that we were being watched or listened to. Small business was flourishing. We were in the process of ridding our country of the horrendous racism that was abounding. We flew to the moon. We dreamed, we believed and we conquered.
But We Have Lost The Way
I have grown up during the tail end of the golden era of the United States. I only know the greatness of our country from reading about it in history books. And from the stories of old, told to me by my parents and grandparents. Modern technology, though an incredible resource, has been the primary means by which the current state of panic and distrust has erupted. And rightfully so. Although it shouldn't be news to those of us who read the Patriot Act, which was signed into law in 2001, the recent revelations in regards to the current surveillance state, are alarming.
We have allowed fear from real threats and dishonest claims to rule our actions and motivations. When fear is ruling us, we no longer have the power to think freely or act boldly. We engage in self-delusion if we believe that "the good of the people" is the top priority of anyone other than our own friends and families. We should not live in fear or paranoia; but with a awareness and a resilience.
Greed Has Poisoned Men's Souls
In 1837, the United States national debt was $0. It only took the US 176 years to accumulate a debt of almost $17 trillion. Now we are on the path to increase our national debt an average of over $2.7 billion a day. These numbers are easy to graze over, but let's just say that as we continue to increase our reliance on foreign nations, we will only continue to sink into economic collapse.
Companies like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo, Exxon Mobile, Bank of America etc. are widening the gap between the middle class and the 1%. The CEO's of the top 350 companies had an average salary of $14 million. Contrast that with the average median household income: $50-55 thousand.
In a recent study done by economists at UC Berkeley, based on IRS statistics, researchers found fascinating information from the recent recession. Here is a snapshot of what they found:
From 2009 to 2012, average real income per family grew modestly by 6.0%. Most of the gains happened in the last year when average incomes grew by 4.6% from 2011 to 2012. However, the gains were very uneven. Top 1% incomes grew by 31.4% while bottom 99% incomes grew only by 0.4% from 2009 to 2012. Hence, the top 1% captured 95% of the income gains in the first three years of the recovery. From 2009 to 2010, top 1% grew fast and then stagnated from 2010 to 2011. Bottom 99% stagnated both from 2009 to 2010 and from 2010 to 2011. In 2012, top 1% incomes increased sharply by 19.6% while bottom 99% incomes grew only by 1.0%. In sum, top 1% incomes are close to full recovery while bottom 99% incomes have hardly started to recover.
There will always be a gap between the rich, the middle-class and the poor. In fact, economic inequality is built into the very framework of capitalism. The legitimacy of economic inequality present in our system, is not in question. What is causing a problem, however, is the "widening" of the gap between these people groups. If you are looking for an in-depth analysis of late 20th century economic inequality in the US, check out this examination by The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and this article excellently written by Jonathan Rauchby, published by the National Journal Group.
Let Us 'Fight' For A New World
These improper and in my opinion unconstitutional inequalities create in me a great uneasiness. I believe that as a country we need people to come together. We need people to stand up for what they believe is right. Even more importantly, we need people to think for themselves. We need to raise a generation who do not accept things at face-value. Men and women who engage in dialogue, discussion, and realistic conflict in order to discover the Truth.
Whether one believes in religion, God, the universe, Buddha, Allah, etc., we all must come together to find common ground. What is the goal? To create a world in which we all seek to eradicate greed, hate, discrimination etc., and promote a world full of love, value and virtue. As Chapman says: "a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security".
