A 1946 film produced by Encyclopedia Britannica Films presents a scale from democracy to despotism. The ten minute movie attempts to educate citizens on the tools and tactics used by tyranny to limit the freedom of individuals. Dr. Harold D. Lasswell of Yale, who was a professor of law and of political science at the time, narrates the film that shows patriotic Americans pledging allegiance, fading into the silhouette of a lynching. The message? It can happen here.
The film describes the scale thusly:
“A careful observer can use a respect scale to find how many citizens get an even break. As a community moves towards despotism, respect is restricted to fewer people. A community is low on a respect scale, if common courtesy is withheld from large groups of people on account of their political attitudes, if people are rude to others because they think their wealth and position gives them that right, or because they don’t like a man’s race or his religion. Equal opportunity for all citizens to develop useful skills is one basis for rating a community on a respect scale. The opportunity to develop useful skills is important, but not enough. The equally important opportunity to put skills to use is a further test on a respect scale.”
How does your community rank on the despotism scale?
