Charlie Chaplin Called Upon Humanity & Democracy

"The Great Dictator" was a movie produced, directed and written by Charlie Chaplin and filmed during the early months of World War Two. Chaplin also starred in the movie, his first major sound movie, which offered a satirical look at fascism, and thus, it had an anti-fascist message, the bluntest part of which came in a dramatic speech delivered by Chaplin near the end of the picture. Today, WE should not dare ignore Chaplin's words, lest we continue on this path to the destruction of democracy and of hope. America has long been a beacon of light to many around the world. We have NEVER been a perfect country. We have things for which we must atone. But in spite of our flaws, peoples of the world have looked in our direction for hope in the face of tragedies, persecution and tyranny, because the good news is, while we are often slow to respond to our failings and shortcomings, including that of horrendous racism, Americans gradually gather the courage to do that which terrifies pompous, self absorbed dictators; that is, we look at ourselves and we then try to correct the negatives we see. We reach for our ideals after periodic retreats into the perceived comfort of the past. 

Here is the link to both the video of Chaplin's speech from "The Great Dictator" and the text of that speech.

https://www.charliechaplin.com/en/articles/29-the-final-speech-from-the-great-dictator-

 Photo is of the Warner Home Video 2003 DVD

WORD HISTORY:
Atone-This is simply the combination of the words "at" and "one," two words from the Germanic roots of English, and with the idea being, "to come to one," with the further meaning of, "to come to one in agreement;" thus also, "to make amends for, to reconcile, to return things to a state of being whole" (it once could also convey a sense of "to repair"). The "one" part of the compound "atone" has kept the old pronunciation for "one." "Atone" seems to have started in the 1300s (mid?), but it didn't really become widespread in usage until the second half of the 1500s. For the history of the word "at," here is the link to the article with that "Word History:" https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-third-man-one-of-greats.html
For the history of the word "one," here is the link to the article with that "Word History:" https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-former-confederacy-modern-american_30.html

Like Mr. Howell, Trump Says, "Make It Fit"

I'm returning briefly to one of my all time favorite shows, "Gilligan's Island." In the show, for those unaware, Mr. Howell, properly known as Thurston Howell III, played by Cleveland's own Jim Backus, is a wealthy business tycoon and one of the castaways who were shipwrecked during a storm. Like a dictator, Mr. Howell is accustomed to giving orders, and subordinates hop to it. By the way, he sees subordinates as everyone else on the planet. Like Donald Trump (played by Donald Trump), Mr. Howell's feathers get ruffled when anyone dares to point out his mistakes or dares to oppose his desires. Even with his great wealth, Howell is always scheming to get even more wealth, sometimes at the expense of his fellow castaways and even of his own wife. Can you imagine Mr. Howell as president, with access to the U.S. Treasury, especially after getting rid of anyone who could investigate any dipping into the till or other lawbreaking? In spite of his faults, Mr. Howell could eventually come to a reality check on his behavior and then try to make amends, although it might take some stomping and pouting first. 

Anyway, in one episode the shipwrecked little group finds separate pieces of an ancient stone tablet with drawings they believe might disclose a secret way off the island. Like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, each person tries to put a piece of the puzzle together. When Mr. Howell tries, the piece doesn't fit, so he says, "Break off a piece and make it fit!" Rigging the truth will make any message of the stone tablet wrong and of no benefit.

Photo of Jim Backus as Thurston Howell III from the Turner Home Entertainment/Warner Brothers Complete Gilligan's Island First Season DVD Set

WORD HISTORY:
Sub-This is not the shortened form for "submarine," but rather the widely used prefix. "Sub-" is distantly related to "up," "open," "oft" and "often," all words from the Germanic roots of English, and it is also related to a whole range of words with the prefix "sub-" (examples: "subordinate," "submerge"), and to many words beginning with "sus" (examples: "suspect," "sustain"). "Sub-" goes back to the Indo European root "upo," with the notion of "from under" or "from below," "to go over/above." This gave Italic "supo," seemingly a prefixed form from Indo European, and this gave Latin "sub," with generally the same or similar meanings to the Indo European form. This was not borrowed by English so much directly, but rather along with a number of words from Latin or from Latin-based languages, and it was then used by English as a word forming prefix, like for "subway," a word with the Latin prefix, but with a Germanic base and an original English word (way).        

Gilligan's Island Episode: The Little Dictator

This episode was first broadcast in September 1965.

"Gilligan's Island" was a comedy originally aired on the CBS television network in the mid 1960s. The show's first season, 1964-65, was broadcast in black and white, but the show began airing in color with the 1965-66 season. The basic idea of the series was that seven people had been shipwrecked during a severe storm after the tour boat they were on sailed from Hawaii. The boat was beached on a small uncharted island where these seven representatives from various parts of American society had to learn to get along in order to survive. Some viewers took the show far too seriously, as many particulars of the episodes certainly didn't make sense,* but those of us who loved the show didn't care, and "Gilligan's Island" was and still is one of my all time favorite shows. The show was canceled after the 1966-67 season, but these episodes from the 1960s were aired for decades in syndication in the United States and around the world. In addition, three full-length movies were made in the late 1970s and early 1980s featuring all of the original cast, except Tina Louise, who remained embittered about how the show had damaged her career, as movie and television execs felt she was too tied to her "Ginger" character from the show, and this restricted the roles offered to her. Some of the other cast members were embittered too, until they came to realize how beloved they and the show were to so many people around the globe.

Cast:

Bob Denver ................. Gilligan
Alan Hale, Jr. .............. (the) Skipper
Jim Backus ................. Thurston Howell III
Natalie Schafer ........... Mrs. Howell, aka "Lovey"
Tina Louise ................ Ginger Grant
Russell Johnson ......... the Professor
Dawn Wells ............... Mary Ann
Nehemiah Persoff ...... Presidente Rodriguez 
 
This episode was done as a parody of Central and South American countries of that time period in the 1960s, as so many of those countries often were politically unstable back then. This episode uses a fictional country called "Equarico" to make that point. The guest star was Nehemiah Persoff, a favorite of mine, and a man now 100 years old! 

A deposed dictator from the fictitious Latin American country of "Equarico" is exiled to the island, complete with his pistol. He meets Gilligan and introduces himself as Ex Presidente Rodriguez, but Gilligan doesn't believe him and sarcastically introduces himself as George Washington, which brings Rodriguez to mistakenly reply, "They exiled you too?" From this point on, Rodriguez calls Gilligan "George." In the world of Equarico, Rodriguez has learned that "he who has gun is the leader." Rodriguez implements this doctrine and he sees the castaways as his new subjects, and he declares himself as "the provisional presidente, until such time as it is safe to hold free and democratic elections." When the castaways ask, "When will that be?" Rodriguez responds, "You should live so long." The castaways make a couple of attempts to overthrow Rodriguez, but they fail, which brings Rodriguez to prepare to execute Gilligan, but when he pulls the trigger of the pistol, the gun is out of bullets. The castaways now take the dictator into custody. Rodriguez assumes he will be executed or exiled, because that's what happens in Equarico. Instead, the castaways simply want Rodriguez to become one of them and to be a good citizen of their island community, where he can become "anything he wants." Of course, what Rodriguez wants is to be the leader, and he plans to use Gilligan ("George") as the means to achieve that wish by trying to convince Gilligan to become the "leader" of the island, with Rodriguez always being there to "help" him. (Democracy is always vulnerable to want to be dictators, if people don't keep vigilant.) He tells Gilligan to sleep on the proposal and Gilligan has a dream about being the "leader," but in his dream, he realizes that much is wrong in his realm, and that Rodriguez won't let the truth about his nation's problems come to his attention. Rodriguez is self aggrandizing, interested in his own well being, not interested in the country and its people. Gilligan's loyal and truthful cabinet members (all portrayed by the castaways) are executed by Rodriguez, who fears the truths about the country they are trying to show to Gilligan. Rodriguez finally tells Gilligan that he has no real power, rather he is a puppet ruler, with Rodriguez pulling the strings. Gilligan awakens from the dream and races outside to tell Rodriguez he will not be his puppet, but he finds Rodriguez getting into a boat sent by Equarico to take him back to that nation so he can be restored to power, as there has been another revolution. He promises he will send a ship to rescue the people on the island. The castaways begin to learn a few basic words in Spanish for their trip, but on the radio comes the announcement that Rodriguez has again been overthrown and exiled to the top of the Andes Mountains. So much for any rescue. 

* No question about it, the castaways had access to things that magically appeared, and to items that certainly would not have been carted along on a tour boat, including Mr. and Mrs. Howell's extensive wardrobes. I suppose if you totaled up everything the seven people had available to them, the tour boat, the SS Minnow, might have been closer to the size of the Queen Mary. In one episode, Gilligan thinks he's won a million dollar sweepstakes, bringing Mr. Howell to grant Gilligan a membership in Howell's exclusive club, complete with a special blazer adorned with the club seal. Where did Mr. Howell get the special blazer for Gilligan? I don't care. Remember, this was a comedy. In another episode, the castaways salvage movie equipment and costumes from a sunken ship; the key here being "sunken ship." The thing is, the equipment and costumes are all in perfect condition and totally dry, in spite of the fact that the ship had sunk decades earlier, and again, it was a sunken ship, as in, how did everything remain dry? Again, I don't care, and it was a funny episode.

Photo is from the Turner Home Entertainment/Warner Brothers' Complete Second Season DVD Set 

WORD HISTORY:
Puppet (Pupa)-This word is distantly related, through Indo European, to "few," a word from the Germanic roots of English, but it is more closely related to "pupil," meaning, "student and also the middle of the eye," both (meanings) of Latin derivation and borrowed by English from French. It goes back to Indo European "pau," meaning, "small in size or amount." This gave Latin "pupus," meaning "boy, a male child," and "pupa," meaning "girl, female child" (see "pupa" below), but with the feminine form also meaning "doll;" thus also, "puppet." This gave Latin-based Old French "po(u)pee," meaning "doll, puppet," which provided the basis of the French diminutive "po(u)pette;" thus, "little doll, puppet." English borrowed the word as "poppet" (initially as "popet"?) meaning "small doll, small person." This then became "puppet" by the 1500s and with the meaning of "a small doll made to move by attached strings, wires or sticks" (later also including "hand manipulated dolls in glove form"). About that same time came the generally negative figurative meaning of, "a person manipulated by another to act in a certain way." The word "pupa," meaning "an intermediate stage of development of an insect," is a direct borrowing, circa 1775, from the above mentioned Latin form, which had that meaning attached by Swedish botanist/zoologist Carl Linnaeus in the mid 1700s.        

2018, Perhaps The Most Important Election EVER

Signs of a developing trend leading to the crucial midterm election on November 6 have been in abundance in early special elections. Americans almost always seem to reprimand the party holding the White House in elections held at the halfway mark of a president's term. (DAMN! It just dawned on me, that must be why they call them the "midterm elections." See, just give me a few decades and I can figure it out.) It doesn't always seem to mean that Americans dislike the president in office at the time, but all presidents step on some toes, and those with smarting toes are highly motivated to limp to the polls to vote, often leading their own party to turn out in large enough numbers to give anything from a nudge to an outright smack upside the head to the occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, better known as the White House. There have been numerous special elections since Donald Trump took office in January 2017, and while these elections have produced a number of Democratic wins, including some stunning wins, even the Democratic losses have shown a major narrowing of the margins of Republican victories, compared to recent historical Republican margins in those regions. 

Thoughtful change often wins in the end, but it can take time and the question is, can American institutions and American ideals hold on long enough to win against a man who longs to destroy American democracy so that he can become the undisputed Führer of the United States? Republicans in Congress have knowingly rolled over for this strident, divisive and highly insecure president. Have we forgotten the longstanding question about Hitler and Germans? How could an educated and cultured people follow such a self centered and maniacal man like Hitler, a man with obvious emotional problems? We need not ask that question any longer, for the answer is right before our eyes in the United States of America, where a bigoted, resentful and spiteful old bastard with a bad hairdo has risen to lead this country (hey, Hitler had a bad hairdo too). The GOP has long cultivated the uneasiness of some white Americans about the attempts of black Americans, as well as other American minorities, like Latinos, women (who are actually a majority) and gays, to gain equality and fairness in our society. The thing is, in my lifetime, I have heard many divisive statements by American politicians, including, but not limited to, George Wallace* in the 1960s and 1970s, and David Duke** in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, but I've never heard a president of the United States use so much divisive rhetoric to further his own cause and to satisfy his own ego, as one Donald Trump, the unity of the country be damned!      

This upcoming election is likely to be a fight to the death. Are Democrats, independents and anti Trump Republicans ready? Trump and the complicit and enabling Republicans will do anything and everything to minimize their losses and hold onto their control of Congress. The Koch brothers, the Mercers and all of the other "take me back to a previous century" people will spend unprecedented amounts to further Republican control of government. They will say it is to further the Republican Party, but that party is now the party of Donald Trump, which they will NOT tell you. Will the election prove to be the beginning of Trump's political demise, or will he and Republicans emerge stronger than ever, and likely be able to suppress the rights of Americans to protest and to stop the media from reporting critical news articles about them? Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China are Trump heroes, and they are dictators. We don't need to dig up Einstein to connect the dots for us to understand where Trump stands on democracy. This is all in front us, not hidden somewhere in the shadows of the news. Don't be in denial. Don't stick your head in the sand. We can't take our eyes off of them for one second. The young people of this country have stirred and have been springing into action. They can help to lead us through the potentially destructive nightmare of Trumpian fascism.

For the last couple of centuries, people around the world have looked to the United States as a beacon of hope. Some people have been inspired by the U.S. to pursue freedoms within their own respective countries, while others have left their homelands bound for American shores. We're seeing the light of that beacon flickering like a kerosene lamp running low on fuel. The question is, will WE choose to refill the lamp and keep this beacon of hope shining, or will we let the lamp go dry and extinguish its light, letting the path of hope go dark? We now have a man in office who praises dictators and judges people not as individuals, but by their ethnic, racial or religious backgrounds. That's what Führers do.


* George Wallace was the governor of Alabama in the 1960s, a time when desegregation of schools and public facilities was ongoing. For more on the issue of desegregation and racial politics, here are  two links: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-former-confederacy-modern-american_8.html 

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-former-confederacy-modern-american_15.html 

** David Duke is a long time member, and a former leader, of the "Ku Klux Klan," often known by its initials, "KKK," a racist and overall hate filled group dating to the post Civil War era in the American South. Duke was born in Oklahoma, but he has spent much of his life in Louisiana. As most Southerners of earlier times, Duke was a Democrat, and he sought office as such, but as Louisiana and the South, in general, moved more to the Republican Party, Duke changed to that party in the late 1980s. Duke became known for his anti Black American and anti Jewish views. 

WORD HISTORY:
Beacon-This word for "a light positioned on some high place to serve as a guide or warning, often for ships, but not exclusively so," goes back to Indo European "bhah," which had the notion, "to shine, to be bright, to appear as bright." This provided the later basis for West Germanic "bauknan" (English is West Germanic), meaning, "signal light." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "beacen/becn," meaning, "sign, signal." This then became "beken," before the modern version. The other Germanic languages have: German "Bake" (pronounced as if, "bahkeh") meaning, "traffic sign, railway signal," originally used in reference to "a fire set on a geographically high point or in a tower to provide sea navigation);" Low German Saxon "Baak" (sign or signal for ships), West Frisian "beaken" ("buoy"), Dutch "baken" ("beacon"). "Apparently," long ago, Old Norse, from the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages, borrowed the word from Frisian as, "bákn," which meant, "signal, signal fire."^ This was passed down to the modern North Germanic languages as: Icelandic "bákn," which now means, "large stone column;" that is, "a column showing direction."

^ Centuries ago, the Frisian word was "baken/beken," and meant "signal or signal fire." Later, Frisian split into dialects, giving West Frisian the altered spelling and the narrowed meaning to the modern "buoy." Researching North Frisian is very hard, but it "seems" to have "beken," but I can't confirm that from multiple sources. North Frisian is spoken in the German region of North Frisia, which also includes a number of North Sea islands, called the North Frisian Islands (someone stayed awake late to come up with that name). Remember too, while North Frisian is the spoken regional language, standard German is taught to everyone in school.