From Orwell's 1984

[lunasun]

"It was curious to think that the sky was the same for everybody, in Eurasia or Eastasia as well as here.
And the people under the sky were also very much the same--everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just like this, people ignorant of one another's existence, held apart by walls of hatred and lies, and yet almost exactly the same--people who had never learned to think but were storing up in their hearts and bellies and muscles the power that would one day overturn the world."

- George Orwell, 1984, Book 1, Chapter 10

Can we get to that point in my lifetime? Or do we need to degrade down to what was in this book first - hope not but most are still not thinking

99%s of the world unite!

At this point xenophobia, racism , class discrimination, (some)religious elitism and sexism are chains that could hold you in place as much as the subjects of your scorn

[Worship Money]

1. We need to start

recognizing humanity as a whole as our in-group.

[Crazy Dave]

2. Won't happen here on DU

People here can't even get along with each other.

[leveymg]

4. It's amazing how many people who say they don't like this place still hang out here.

Why is that?

DU is one of the major on-line incubators for progressive change. That's why I'm here. How about you?

[Crazy Dave]

5. I would say that you and I are on the same page

I consider myself a liberal-progressive but the Obama apologists and supporters really get pissed off and hate us. They would love to get us kicked off this website. Especially when we suggest that a REAL, liberal-progressive democrat challenge Obama in 2012.

[leveymg]

9. I'm all for inclusion and enjoy the spectrum of opinion here.

Provided that people remain civil and don't post out-and-out propaganda, I have no problem with expression I disagree with. Others are less "liberal" in that respect, and are into purges and witch-hunts. I would suggest to those people that if they don't like what they read, and want to talk to themselves, they might try setting up their own hall of mirrors and try charging admission to their Fun House.

:+ :evilgrin:

[procon]

6. Orwell was prescient...

just look at the current spurt of fanatical "American Exceptionalism". Yes, we have some things to be proud about, but also some truely cringeworthy stuff has been done in our name. We are no better, and hopefully, no worse than any other people; that's the hard reality denied. Is it just braggadocio, or insecurity, machismoism... I do not understand that mindset.

[Puzzledtraveller]

10. 99% is 1% less than 100% of humanity

love your enemy and you may find what you seek.

[lame54]

3. I thought you were going to quote...

the part where the poor had to bow to capitalists

[ThomWV]

7. It was Orwell's Essay, "Shooting an Elephant" that attracted me to his writing

I have read everything I could find that he wrote. This is the one that got me started: http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0300011h.html#part4

I also think that 1984 is the most important book a young person can read - old farts like me too. Read it and re-read it.

[white_wolf]

8. Animal Farm is also very good.

Also Homage to Catalonia is good.

[Zorra]

11. Solidarity. nt

[jwirr]

12. TPTB have always played us off - one against the other. As soon

as we start realizing that we have begun to think.

[kctim]

13. The problem isn't that we fail to recognize people are the same

it is that people try to mandate everbody to be "very much the same."

Avoiding this is why the United States succeeded while others failed. This is why the United States is failing now.