By Reggie Rivers
When I first read George Orwell's novel "1984" in high school, I was struck by the ability of the Ministry's of Truth to cause the public to forget a truth simply by stating its opposite.
The Ministry's three slogans - "War is Peace," "Freedom is Slavery" and "Ignorance is Strength" - revealed its talent for reversing the meaning of words.
In high school, I assumed that this type of manipulation would never work in the real world, but now and again I wonder - especially when I hear President Bush attempt to reshape our perception of actual events by telling us that the truth is the opposite of what we're seeing.
During the State of the Union address this week, he said, "We seek the end of tyranny in our world." Yet, his administration has engaged in extremely tyrannical behavior: invading a sovereign nation, incarcerating people without trials, committing torture, spying on its own citizens and shrouding itself in secrecy.
Regarding the war in Iraq, he said, "If we were to leave these vicious attackers alone, they would not leave us alone. They would simply move the battlefield to our own shores." Though it has long been proved that the Sept. 11 terrorists weren't from Iraq, had no connection to Iraq, and are not now in Iraq, President Bush continues to insist that the war is related to Sept. 11.
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http://www.denverpost.com/riversGreat article from mainstream newspaper
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