Inspiration - The Greatest Speech Ever Made

Whilst completing my dialogue for my film I have just gone through my blog trying to find where I might have posted this in order to reference it. I'm rather surprised that this hasn't however been posted yet! It must be some kind of mistake on my behalf because this video is one that I was shown during my first year at uni, when my entire perspective on life really began to change. It helped to secure the beliefs I was starting to have but it also instilled a sense of hope. Please watch the vid below.

This piece of dialogue is taken from the 1940 film The Great Dictator, which Charlie Chaplin himself wrote and starred in. Whilst this written in or before 1940, much of what is said in this clip is still very relevant today (is not all of it) but one section that stands out to me is "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" . I almost feel as though humanity are approaching a new set of cross roads and as Chaplin has suggested in this speech, this time in which we all exist is a time for greed to pass. For humanity to move forward, or perhaps divide. I am not saying liberty is around the corner however people are starting to open their eyes and wake up to what's going on around them. Are we at the cusp of change? Is this just the beginning? Will it get worse before it gets better? I believe, especially over the last few years that I have started to see a greater divide in the people who surround me during my day to day life. Those who (and I am not criticizing this) strive to achieve the western ideals of individualism (careers, wealth, material objects, personal image etc) and those who choose to shy away from this constructed idea of success, instead really embracing the attitudes shown in this video: compassion, togetherness, appreciation, the natural good of the earth we live on etc. I believe that this is the human progress Chaplin speaks of, the realisation that we must practise the 'love of humanity' as he call it, not remove ourselves from it by placing ourself into a self-constructed world were personal promotion rules.