You are my jury - I will provide a handful of facts and give my personal opinion in the end.

Fact #1 Charlie Chaplin Lived in LA for Over 40 Years - Not As a Citizen

In an effort to present the facts fairly, I will start out with a negative - Charlie Chaplin was not a United State's citizen and no account that has arisen details that he ever applied for citizenship in the US. He did apply as I stated for citizenship in Switzerland (after his exile from the US) but that was denied. The Swiss have a unique political philosophy which I commend them for - neutral. The Swiss would have violated their neutral position IF they granted the citizenship to Chaplin after his visa was denied in America.

OK, one red mark against Chaplin. Moving forward.

Fact #2 Charlie Chaplin's Voice Appears Political

Here is my biggest disagreement with the interpretations of Charlie's voice. The argument that was made was that Chaplin felt that communism is what the world should be. I don't interpret this from watching his film and re-reading the words from The Great Dictator.

I see a man who is not trying to make a political statement; I simply see a man who is trying to make a statement about basic humanity. I see a man making a moral argument that we are all equal.

I see a similar cord of agreement with John F. Kennedy's plea for equal treatment, Lincoln's plea for freeing the slaves and Gandhi's plea against classes or castes in society. Similar to the John Lennon's song Imagine - "where we all could be as one". Like these great men who fought with words, legislation for equality, so too, Chaplin was simply seeking the unity of humankind.



Here are Chaplin's very words in The Great Dictator , examine those very words for yourself:

"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's 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 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 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! In the seventeenth 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. 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 fulfil that promise. They never will! Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfil 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 unite! Hannah, can you hear me? Wherever you are, look up Hannah. The clouds are lifting! The sun is breaking through! We are coming out of the darkness into the light. We are coming into a new world - a kindlier world, where men will rise above their hate, their greed and their brutality. Look up, Hannah! The soul of man has been given wings and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow - into the light of hope, into the future, the glorious future that belongs to you, to me, and to all of us. Look up, Hannah... look up!"





Fact #3 Charlie Chaplin Violated the Artist Code & Departed from His Mission of Comedy

There is absolute truth in this statement. The entire artistic work of Chaplin had always, always been devoted to making people smile. His iconic song "Smile" was truly his mission statement in life.

However, I believe the artists are correct, true artists cannot violate their mission. If a soldier violates their mission statement lives are lost. Did Charlie violate this code of conduct? Absolutely, the final ending minutes of The Great Dictator had nothing to do with comedy. And the entertainment value is questionable at best. The words were scolding and the words were meant and clearly intended to scold.

OK, another red mark - he clearly departed from his mission statement of "comedy and entertainment".



