At the bottom of all of our terrified souls, we know, that democracy is a dying giant, a...

Howard Beale: At the bottom of all of our terrified souls, we know, that democracy is a dying giant, a sick, sick, dying, decaying political concept, riling in it's final pain. I don't mean that the United States is finished as a world power. The United States is the richest, the most powerful, the most advanced country in the world, light years ahead of any other country. And I don't mean the Communist are gonna take over the world; because, the Communists are deader than we are. What is finished... is the idea that this great country is dedicated to the freedom and flourishing of every individual in it. It's the individual that's finished. It's the single, solitary human being that's finished. It's every single one of you out there that's finished, because this is no longer a nation of independent individuals. It's a nation of some 200-odd million transistorized, deodorized, whiter-that-white, steel-belted bodies, totally unnecessary as human beings, and as replaceable as piston rods... Well, the time has come to say, is dehumanization such a bad word. Because good or bad, that's what is so. The whole world is becoming humanoid - creatures that look human but aren't. The whole world not just us. We're just the most advanced country, so we're getting there first. The whole world's people are becoming mass-produced, programmed, numbered, insensate things...

That sort of thing is not likely to happen again. Because at the bottom of all our terrified souls... ...we know that democracy is a dying giant... ...a sick, sick, dying, decaying, political concept writhing in its final pain. I don't mean that the United States is finished as a world power. The States is the richest and most powerful... ...the most advanced country, light years ahead of any country. I don't mean the communists are gonna take over the world. The communists are deader than we are. What is finished... ...is the idea that this great country is dedicated to the freedom... ...and flourishing of every individual in it. It's the individual that's finished. It's the single, solitary, human being that's finished. It's every single one of you out there that's finished. Because this is no longer... ...a nation of independent individuals. It's a nation of some 200-odd million... ...transistorized, deodorized... ...whiter than white steel-belted bodies, totally unnecessary as human beings... ...and as replaceable as piston rods. Well, the time has come to say... ...is "dehumanization" such a bad word? Whether it's good or bad, that's what is so. The whole world is becoming humanoid, creatures that look human but aren't. The whole world, not just us. We're just the most advanced country, so we're getting there first. The whole world's people are becoming mass-produced, programmed... ...numbered insensate things. It was a perfectly admissible argument... ...that Howard Beale advanced in the days that followed. It was, however, also a very depressing one. Nobody particularly cared to hear his life was utterly valueless. By the end of the first week in June... ...the Howard Beale Show dropped one point in the ratings... ...and its trend of shares dipped under 48 for the first time since last November. You're his goddamn agent. I'm counting on you to talk some sense into the lunatic. Nobody wants to hear about dying democracy and dehumanization. I'm sorry I'm late. We're starting to get rumbles from the agencies. Another couple of weeks and the sponsors will be bailing out! This is a breach of contract. This isn't the Howard Beale we signed. Get him off that corporate universe kick, or so help me, I'll pull it off the air! I told him, Lou! I've been telling him every day for a week! I'm sick of telling him. Now you tell him! Jesus Christ. You could help me out with Howard if you wanted to. He listens to you. You're his best friend. I'm tired of all this hysteria about Howard Beale. Every time you come from seeing somebody in your family... ...you come back in one of these middle-aged moods. I'm tired of finding you on the telephone every time I turn around. I'm tired of being an accessory in your life. And I'm tired of pretending to write this dumb book... ...about my maverick days in the great early years of television. Every goddamned executive fired from a network in the last 20 years... ...has written this dumb book about the great early years of television. And nobody wants a dumb, damn, goddamn book... ...about the early days of television. Terrific, Max! Maybe you can start a whole new career as an actor. It's the truth. After living with you for six months, I'm turning into one of your scripts. Well, this is not a script, Diana. There's some real, actual life going on here. I went to visit my wife today because she's in a state of depression... ...so depressed that my daughter flew all the way from Seattle to be with her. And I feel lousy about that. I feel lousy about the pain that I've caused my wife and my kids. I feel guilty and conscience-stricken... ...and all of those things that you think sentimental... ...but which my generation calls simple, human decency. And I miss my home...