Freud had an interesting theory about the charismatic dictator taking
the place of the mass' superego in bad times. An article was published
in the NY Times today, at
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/magazine/30wwln_lede.html (not
violating any copyrights here, this is one of the free articles).
Pam
BOB KISS wrote:
>DEAR LIST,
>...
> Last night I watched, for the umpteenth time, the original "TRIAL AT
>NUREMBERG" with Spencer Tracy. What I saw as the main thrust of that film
>was that people react very poorly to fear and any powerful politician knows
>this. They are willing to give up rights and do just about anything,
>however illegal, in order to have security or catch the "bad guys" and then
>are surprised when they can't get those rights back. The question is,
>"What is it we are trying to preserve if we give up our rights and indulge
>in illegal acts to catch the enemy?" Sadly, they also often surrender their
>reason in favor of the obvious quick fix...the scapegoat. At the end of the
>film, Burt Lancaster's character, a judge condemned to life imprisonment for
>his crimes states, "I never knew it would come to millions and millions".
>Spencer Tracy, who plays the chief of the tribunal who sentenced Lancaster's
>character says, "It came to that the first time you sentenced a man to death
>whom you knew to be innocent". Both good and bad things have very small
>beginnings. Pick up every stitch....
>
>
Received on Mon May 1 00:20:56 2006
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