the essential message one which miller would have surely intend after see vichy war crime trial be that hatred of somebody without rational basis be a waste of life . meat loaf character and fred and have know lawrence for many year and and yet when the time come and at the bidding of his fanatical supporter and he allow them to attack a man who be not part of their target group . for me and this be the crucial message it doesn not matter what lawrence and his wife do from this point onwards they be mark and and have chance to save themselves by use reason . animal aggression and anger have blind fred union thug to reality . a friend of mine suggest i should see the wave to study how irrational hatred and evil ideology can take over people without them realise it . i once conduct an experiment in a role playing game and and be shock to see how normal and level head people welcome the creation of an oppressive police state which would ultimate threaten them all because it creep in in stage . fred be the start and his la friend and preacher idol be the catalyst which push his neighbour over the edge into violence without stop to think that what they be do in wrong . the relationship between lawrence and finkelstein and the jewish shopkeeper be a fascinate one and because lawrence miss the point almost until the end represent if the bigot force finkelstein out and where be he to go . if his family have flee the nazi and what an irony to be torment again in the land of freedom . that big poster ( it a fairly famous propaganda piece ) about american family enjoy the high standard of living in the world be a very important detail . when you see this film and watch for the grafitti on the subway train and and all the little poster . the message lurk there too . this movie should be on the curriculum of every school and especially in our time when baseless hatred be be promote so widely by reasonable people who be just extremist in thin disguise .