Great Quotes to Live By - Charlie Chaplin
Hi All,
I started this new series last week with a philosophical quote from Bruce Lee.
This week, I've chosen a quote by Charlie Chaplin:
"Nothing is permanent in this wicked world - not even our troubles."
There are several reasons why I like this quote and know it is great life advice.
Chaplin refers to this wicked world. All we need to do is look around and there is indeed wickedness, evil some might call it, almost everywhere. We've seen it in all its ugly "glory" during the recent and still ongoing scamdemic.
Wickedness has always been there and it will always be there. It's has an immutable existence and is an integral part of the universe for without it, we wouldn't know what good or goodness is.
Nothing is permanent. That is so true as well. Our universe is in a constant state of flux and change.
Chaplin, mentions not even our troubles are permanent. As humans, we prove to be an adaptive species (like pretty much all other species we share our planet with). In other words, similar to the previous quote from Bruce Lee about being like water, we adjust ourselves accordingly. Both our brain and soul are "hardwired" to solve problems, adapt, an evolve as needed for continued survival. It's an innate instinct and ability we are endowed with.
Put more simply, I think Chaplin's message is that we shouldn't take our troubles and even our lives too seriously.
Since nothing is permanent, our troubles will eventually get resolved and in the long term, it doesn't really matter as we will all meet the same fate.
If I can offer one contradictory argument to Chaplin's assertion that nothing is permanent, I would contend that our soul is of an immortal nature and thus could be considered "permanent".
Chaplin's The Greatest Speech
In his 1940 film The Great Dictator, Chaplin wrote a very powerful speech which he impassionately delivered at the conclusion of the film.
Though it was written 80 years ago, its content appears timeless and very much applies to our world right here and right now in 2020.
You can watch the speech hereunder:
There is an alternate version that is perhaps even more poignant, as it overlays images and clips from recent times which really accentuates Chaplin's meticulously crafted words:
The speech is one for all ages; and I am sure it will be just as relevant 100 years from now, 1000 years from now, or 10,000 years from now.
The speech itself is filled with worthy of further inspection, for it reveals the very nature of wickedness and, more importantly, how to overcome it.
Here is the speech in its entirety along with certain parts which I find particularly relevant bolded for emphasis and with commentary notes under each sectional paragraph:
I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone - if possible - Jew, Gentile - black man - white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness - not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.
commentary: We have indeed "lost the way" and greed (the socially engineered love of money and materialism) is certainly one of its underlying causes.
Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost...
commentary: "We think too much and feel too little." - this quote alone is worthy of examination. We have become more and more cold-hearted and indifferent to the plight or misery of others. "More than machinery we need humanity." We are heading right towards a transhumanistic world that will be dominated by AI (Artificial Intelligence); and if we are not careful, AI-driven apps, robots, surveillance, law enforcement, etc., will show us no mercy and even less humanity.
The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men - cries out for universal brotherhood - for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world - millions of despairing men, women, and little children - victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.
To those who can hear me, I say - do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish...
commentary: Chaplin says: do not despair. Do not trap yourself in state of fear or desperation for that is exactly what the powers-that-shouldn't be want. This misery, greed, hate, will indeed pass. The world is cyclical and we have seen such troughs in our evolutionary cycles. You cannot permanently have down without it eventually turning up. Chaplin is right: nothing is permanent! "the power they took from the people will return to the people" - we see this happening now in 2020, as a critical mass around the world is indeed waking up to this tyranny and oppression; they are standing up and no longer putting up with it. These tyrants and dictators are so few in numbers and we outnumber them by the billions.
Soldiers! don’t give yourselves to brutes - men who despise you - enslave you - who regiment your lives - tell you what to do - what to think and what to feel! Who drill you - diet you - treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men - machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate - the unloved and the unnatural! Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!
commentary: "Only the unloved hate." Our oppressors most likely do hate us because they have never been truly loved. As Jesus would have instructed us: we should not hate them (for we would be just as bad), but rather we should forgive them and offer them a chance at redemption. Violence or destroying them will do no good, but only append to the wickedness which we abhor.
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.
commentary: “the Kingdom of God is within man.” We tend to forget that - the divine spark within us. It has never left us; we merely need to look into our own souls and reclaim our forgotten glory. "You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure." Why have we forgotten this? We are sovereign beings. No government or institution has any claim over our sovereignty and freewill. We are free to do as we please and it is our choice to make our own lives free, beautiful, and adventurous. We are foolish to forget that. Life is what we make of it, nobody else.
Then - in the name of democracy - let us use that power - let us all unite. 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. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfill that promise. They never will!
commentary: The "brutes" that have risen to power indeed always lie, cheat, and steal. We do all need to unite and fight for a new and decent world, not the world these tyrannical brutes (the globalists, oligarchs, banksters, and technocrats) have in store for us. United we can push back and simply decide not to partake in their evil schemes. It's as simple as that and merely a matter of choice.
Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfill that promise! 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’s happiness. Soldiers! in the name of democracy, let us all unite!
commentary: The time has come. Yes, now in 2020. For slavery to end and freedom to prevail.
Thank you Charlie. Just like our liberty, your message and legacy will never die.
God Bless,
