It seems that one constant in the history of humanity is we must always fight to have and to maintain democracy. Democracy is the most worthy cause of all of humankind’s endeavors. We must never forget the history of democracy, its many heroes, and its many enemies. Earth, the birthplace of humanity, had many glorious democracies and many fascist demagogues that worked to destroy them from within. The United States fought furiously in World War II to defeat one such demagogue, Hitler, and the Nazi regime, only to later fall under the spell of its own demagogue and his fascist political movement that worked to divide Americans and destroy its democracy from the inside after a failed fascist coup.
So let us honor two heroes of democracy to give us strength in our own struggle. The first is Nancy Wake, whose name my Gunship proudly shares, and who resisted the fascists during WWII.
Ancient Earth author Mark Shea, BBC News, reminded citizens on 8 May 2020 in his article Spy princess and Lady Death: Eight women of WW2 that:
“Nancy Wake had a reputation as a deadly fighter and a relentless drinker. Born in New Zealand, she grew up in Australia and ran away from school at the age of 16 and later got a job in France as a journalist.
She married industrialist Henri Fiocca and was living in Marseille when the Germans invaded France.
Wake joined the resistance and guided escaping allied airmen over the Pyrenees to safety in Spain. When her network was betrayed to the Germans in 1942, she fled to Britain via Spain.
Her husband was captured, tortured and executed by the Nazis. Wake parachuted back into France, working for the British Special Operations Executive.
In a TV interview in the 1990s she described killing a German sentry. ‘They’d taught this judo-chop stuff at SOE, and I practiced away at it. But this was the only time I used it.’
After allied radio codes were lost in combat, she volunteered to cycle long distances across enemy territory to get replacements.
She would dress up and go on dates with German soldiers to get information. ‘A little powder and a little drink on the way, and I’d pass their posts and wink and say, ‘Do you want to search me?’ God, what a flirtatious little bastard I was,’ she told the Australian newspaper.
Her evasive ability led the Germans to call her the White Mouse. She died in August 2011, aged 98, in London.”
Let us all work as hard as Nancy to resist the evils of fascism. Our second hero is Charlie Chaplin. Charlie was a silent film actor alive during WWII. He understood the evils of fascism and was allegedly quoted as saying, “One doesn’t have to be a Jew to be anti Nazi. All one has to be is a normal decent human being.” He understood that fascism in all its forms is evil, and the only true freedom for humanity can be found in democratic governments. To this end, his first talking picture was The Great Dictator where he praised the virtues of democracy. We are proud to have uncovered his greatest monologue from the film in old Earth archives and to share it with you now. Enjoy, and continue the good fight my friends.