Orwell in 2007

[babylonsister]

Orwell in 2007
by Robert Weiner

snip//

In “1984,” the Party barrages citizens with psychological stimuli designed to overwhelm the mind. The giant telescreen in every room monitors behavior. People are continuously reminded of government’s surveillance, especially by omnipresent signs reading, “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.” Individuals are encouraged to spy on each other, even children on their parents, and report any instance of disloyalty to the Party — i.e., government.

“1984″ is happening in 2007.

Signs along interstate highways urge citizens, “Report Suspicious Behavior.” Cameras mounted at strategic locations monitor our everyday movement (just as in the novel). Red, orange and yellow are no longer just bright, pretty colors: They now represent levels of national security alerts. Intelligence agencies now define “chatter” as “terrorist speak.”

The Party in “1984″ uses psychological manipulation to make citizens “doublethink” — hold two contradictory ideas contrary to common sense.

Back to 2007: The Patriot Act by its very name defies individuals to disagree with it, for to do so would be “unpatriotic.”

The Patriot Act was passed hastily in October 2001, under a cloak of fear in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Some of the fundamental changes to American’s traditional legal rights include:

Establishing a huge surveillance system on millions with no court approval, without probable cause.

Holding citizens indefinitely without access to the courts or counsel.

Monitoring library withdrawals and Internet communications.

Taping attorney-client communications.

Creating a national system for citizens to monitor and report on each other, regardless of reason, including paranoia or ethnic bias.

Developing a massive computer system to monitor every purchase.

Creating a national identification card.

more...

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/07/4378/

[file83]

1. Stranger than fiction, when fiction becomes reality and strange becomes normal.

[gateley]

2. Yep. And we're living it now. nt Recommend

[MasonJar]

3. I read and taught 1984 in 2004 as part of the Teachers of English

curriculum. I was very proud of the group for coming up with the program. It is a scary thing to analyze the similarities between the world in 1984 and the world of W. Orwell thought he was talking about Communism, but he actually has been right about the neocons, who are Fascists.

[nebenaube]

4. wrong!

It is coded to imply communism but clearly refers to the atlantic content as oceana. All one needs to do is replace tags like 'comrade' with 'man' and 'big brother' with 'jesus', 'oceania' as 'america' and 'fortress one' as 'england'. Then it is quite clear.