Hey, good morning. It's Sunday, May 18th. We've talked a lot about creeping authoritarianism on this show as our government continues to encroach on personal liberties and endanger the idea of a government for the people by the people. It's a very serious matter, but the road from democracy

to authoritarianism, the posturing, the demeanor, the threats made by those who wish to rule

with an iron fist is, among other things, often quite tacky. Think about Russian President

Vladimir Putin or Iraq's late president Saddam Hussein. And the first thing

you might think about is all the gold decorations in the oversized rooms and the oversized tables

at their palaces and their government buildings might sound like someone else you know. We'll get to

that in a second. Many strong men love to display giant photos of themselves wherever they can.

If you ever go to Tiananmen Square in Beijing, you'll be greeted with a portrait of Mao.

Mao founded the People's Republic of China.

He served as chairman of the Chinese Communist Party for more than 30 years.

His portrait is about 19.5 feet tall.

It doesn't look that big there, but it's 19 and a half feet tall, 15 feet wide.

It weighs 3,000 pounds. It's been hanging over the gate leading

into the Forbidden City since 1949. Well, actually, I'm lying about that. That particular

portrait you're seeing on your screen has not been hanging there since 1949. It actually gets

replaced every year ahead of October 1st, which is a holiday in China called National Day.

They have a specially chosen artist who's tasked with painting his portrait year after year after year.

Been dead for a long time.

If you travel farther to the east, you'll find something similar in North Korea.

In that country's capital, Pyongyang, there's an area called Kim Il-sung Square, where you'll find large portraits of

Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, the great leader and the deer leader, respectively, overlooking

the plaza at all times as people go about their daily lives. But don't feel too bad for

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