I like the seemingly benign sentiment in Chaplin’s quote. But there’s an error in it: There is no power to “the people.” There are no “people’s rights.” Rights only apply to the INDIVIDUAL. America’s unprecedented success and achievement happened because of the rights of the individual, not the collectivist or socialist idea of “the people.” The rights to free speech, private property, owning a gun and due process are all individual rights. The moment you elevate “the people” over the individual is the exact moment you give power to some people over others.
It’s errors like this that caused even America to morph, over time, from a Bill of Rights based Constitutional republic into teetering on the edge of a socialist nightmare (already entrenched in blue states and cities).
We cannot afford these mistakes. The dictators to whom Chaplin refers will always be with us, and always stand ready to exploit, enslave and destroy the rights of the individual.