Many of us have heard the term “Orwellian”, but for those who have heard it, do you really know what it means? If not, it is past time for some literary education. “Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and [literary] critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell.” He was born in India, raised and educated in England. He was associated with the Independent Labor political party and was 46 when he died. “‘Orwellian’ . . . like many of his neologisms [a new word, expression, or usage; American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition], such as ‘Big Brother’, ‘Thought Police’, ‘Room 101’, ‘Newspeak’, ‘memory hole’, ‘doublethink’, and ‘thoughtcrime’ . . . “ have become part of our English language. (Wikipedia.)
“Orwellian is an adjective describing a situation, idea, or social condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. It denotes an attitude and a brutal policy of draconian control by propaganda, surveillance, disinformation, denial of truth (doublethink), and manipulation of the past, including the ‘unperson’ – a person whose past existence is expunged from the public record and memory, practiced by modern repressive governments.” (Wikipedia.)
His book, “Nineteen Eighty-Four” (1984), was published in in 1948. The movie, by the same title, distributed in 1984, is a gut-wrenching tail of how controlled a society can become. The movie is not for the faint of heart, for it brings to life what the political ideology of a totalitarian state could look like. It is unfortunate, but it would appear that our current government leaders, propped up by globalist elites, is on course to become to a great degree those fears for which Orwell’s book was written. Have you noticed how certain words have morphed over the last few years to become something they were never intended to become, like the word “gay”. If today you were to tell someone you were going out to have a “gay old time”, some might look at you with a slightly skewed eye. Maybe more recently you have noticed phrases spoken that have, in no one’s reality, any real application to the actual effects of the phrase. For example, the “Inflation Reduction Act” of 2022, has done nothing to reduce inflation, but in fact has only cemented inflation’s course in our Nation, and in fact has exasperated it. The Act only increased spending on global climate initiatives and the advancement of burdensome regulations on many. There has been an effort to rewrite our Nation’s history. Have you noticed any statues removed or defaced recently. How about any schools or bases renamed of late? We’ll list only one more as you can probably name many others. Consider the “Affordable Care Act” of 2010. That Act substantially increased the cost of healthcare for many and brought with it exclusions and cancellations. It wasn’t so “affordable” to many.
We will now quote from the movie what was explained to the lowly citizen, Winston, as he was being tortured into submission by “Big Brother”. The “Thought Police” had found him out, and reprograming was imperative. To set the stage, the book and movie talk about the war that the society was browbeaten into believing was occurring between Eurasia and Eastasia. Enjoy the conversation below and see if you can recognize any parallels between what is said, and what we see in our Nation today. If you cannot see any similarities, you may already be subjected to “Newspeak”, where simplified grammar and limited vocabulary is designed to limit a person’s ability for critical thinking (Wikipedia).
“In accordance with the principals of Doublethink, it does not matter if the war is not real, or when it is, that victory is not possible. The war is not meant to be won. It is meant to be continuous. The essential act of modern warfare is the destruction of the produce of human labor. The hierarchy of society is only possible on the basis of poverty and ignorance. In principle, the war effort is always planned to keep society on the brink of starvation. The war is waged by the ruling group against its own subjects and its object is not victory over Eurasia or Eastasia, but to keep the very structure of society intact.” “There is truth or there is untruth. To be in a minority of one doesn’t make you mad.”
Winston, the civilian being tortured during his reprograming says, “I understand how. I don’t understand why.”
“They say that time heals all things. They say that you can always forget. But the smiles and the tears across the years, they twist my heartstrings yet.” “We do not destroy the heretic because he resists us. As long as he resists us, we never destroy him. We make him one of ourselves before we kill him. We make his brain perfect before we blow it out. And then, when there is nothing left but sorrow and love of Big Brother, we shall lift you clean out of history. We shall turn you into gas and pour you into the stratosphere. Nothing will remain of you, not a name in a register, not a memory in a living brain. You will be annihilated in the past as well as in the future.”
“How does one man assert power over another? By making him suffer. Obedience is not enough. Power is inflicting pain and humiliation, otherwise you cannot be sure. Power is tearing human minds apart and putting them together again in shapes of your own choosing. Power is not a means; it is an end.” “In our world there will only be triumph and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy. The past is forbidden. Why? Because when we can cut away from his own past, then we can cut him from his family, his children, other men. There is no loyalty, except loyalty to the party. There is no love, except love for Big Brother. All competing pleasures, we will destroy. If you want a vision of the future, Winston, image a boot stamping on a human face forever.”
Do you see any FREEDOM and LIBERTY in the world view set forth above? We doubt it. The elites and “Big Brother” only want those things for themselves . . . . . not for you. Family, love, sex, food, entertainment, enjoyment, fulfillment, personal achievement, fairness, equality, justice, and mercy are qualities forbidden in Nineteen Eighty-Four. If we are not careful, if we do not speak out, if we remain silent in the face of opposition, if we are not mindful, our Nation’s calendar could be wound back to Nineteen Eighty-Four.
