Inspired by... Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin

-
I was thinking of writing a series of posts based on people who have inspired me. This inspiration may come from things they have said, or things they do, or both. So today, I start off with someone who seems like a rather unlikely inspiration. Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin. Better known as Charlie Chaplin.

It seems weird that a comedian who rose to fame for his silent films could be an inspiration, but he is. He had a troubled upbringing and was moved around from place to place. With his father becoming a drunkard and his mother in a mental asylum, things were far from easy. But through all this, he made it.

There is a lot that can be said about Charlie Chaplin, good and bad. There is a lot that can be learned from him. There are different things in the story of his life that may attract different people. Reading up on him, there were numerous things I could learn from and associate with. But there was one thing that stood out. One speech he made in a movie called 'The Great Dictator'. One speech that made all the difference to me. Today, I want to share that speech with you and hope that it makes a difference in your life too.

My post is short because I want the focus to be on his words, not mine. When you have a chance, listen to it on You Tube. It will make you think. I am ending off with a speech that is considered one of the greatest ever. A speech that turned my adoration for Charlie Chaplin, the comic actor, into respect for Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, the Man.

''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 men, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each others’ 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.
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. The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in man; 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.
Soldiers! Don’t give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and 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 a 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! In the seventeenth chapter of St. Luke, it’s 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. 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 their promise. They never will! 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!''

-Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin


Remember to look for your inspiration. It is all around you.

Take Care...

Miss Stone

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 4, 2013 at 1:23 PM

    We want to live by each others’ 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. Very very very true - Love this MISS Gem Stone you are priceless:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. La-ToyaMarch 5, 2013 at 9:14 AM

    Thank you so much :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Susie says about Sally...

-
‘What Susie says about Sally, says a lot more about Susie than it says about Sally.’ I came across this and thought it would be a sin not to post this. I know I have written about this before but I thought I should say something about it again. How quick are we to judge others? It really takes nothing nowadays for someone to say something bad about someone else. It has become almost second nature to open our mouths and to spread a story about someone else. In most cases, it does not even concern us at all. We spend way too much time concerned with the lives of others when we should be focused on making our own lives better. And it is true, what you say about someone else really does say more about you than it does about them. If you make it a habit of spreading stories, lies, rumours, whatever it may be, soon, you will have a reputation. And no one will believe you when you bad mouth others, because they already know that you have a reputation of doing so. The bottom line is t...
Read more

The clouds will fade...

-
I love rainy days. Days like today. I love them. The air seems so much cleaner. I inhale it and I feel alive. I feel alive. Rain has a cleansing effect. It falls down to the Earth and wipes all the dirt away. It penetrates the ground and works its way through every soil granule and blade of grass it can find. It leaves its mark on everything it touches. It cleanses. And then, it makes way for growth. That is what rain does. It touches the Earth and makes flowers grow, it makes grass green, and it nourishes and feeds so that growth can take place. And after the rain has stopped, the dark clouds that once threatened are gone, and it leaves us with a beautiful rainbow and the sun that eventually makes its way through the clouds. After the rain, growth takes place and the sun does eventually shine again. And in our lives, it works basically the same way. The dark clouds arise in the form of our problem and obstacles, chasing the sun away. They chase our joy away. They hover in our s...
Read more

They Chose My Womb

-
I often wondered if it would ever happen for me… I often wondered if having life growing inside    me would be something I would experience too.  You know how those thoughts of doom and gloom enter your mind and try to convince you that it is merely something you will witness and never have the pleasure of experiencing first hand. And as the years rolled by, those thoughts grew and gained strength.  I had often obsessed over it. Pretended not to be bothered, but secretly obsessing over it. Until it consumed me.  When I lost my Father and my best friend, the obsession grew. Almost as though I were trying to replace these two lives I lost with another. But continuously, I was disappointed. And so the thoughts grew. The thoughts became stronger and more prominent.  I didn’t know how to wait on God’s timing anymore, and frankly, I didn’t know if I wanted to. I became selfish and trusted Him less, although I still prayed for some kind of miracle. Which sounds we...
Read more