NINETEENEIGHTYFOURESSAY!

please excuse the formatting it is obviously screwey


Quite often the question is raised as to what has gone wrong with our society today, where the problems have occurred, and who the main people are behind all of these problems. To the untrained eye, one may believe that presidents and prime ministers control the world, when in reality there is a true mastermind behind them, a ‘man behind the curtain’. This unseen force is slowly taking away rights and freedoms from the general population, much like they have done in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four. This timeless novel tells the story of the protagonist Winston Smith in the third person. Winston lives in the “pseudo-future” society of Oceania, or more specifically, airstrip one. Oceania is, from what we are told in the book the equivalent to modern day England, and airstrip one is the equivalent of London. The society of Oceania is a totalitarian one, under the rule of a god-like entity called big brother. Although many people think that “Nineteen Eighty-four” is an allegory for World War II, the novel is actually a prophecy for the future, a prophecy for now. The world today is beginning to mirror that of Nineteen Eighty-four.

In the novel, the people of Oceania are almost always under surveillance. They are, at any given moment, being watched by Telescreens, undercover inner party members or the Thought Police (or any combination of the three). Telescreens are two-way monitors installed in every room of every building (except in the proles’s places).

Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper would be picked up by [the telescreen]; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork.

(Orwell, 1949)

As you can see, these telescreens and these Thought Police severely affect ones right to privacy. Imagine having cameras in your room, in your house and on your street, watching your every move.

While, at present, people are not being forced to have cameras in their houses, the process has started. In many European countries as well as some North American cities, the governments are deciding to install street cameras. Some citizens believe that this is a direct violation to a person’s right to privacy. Take this quote for example:

[…]Still, police cameras have sparked outcry in many cities about Big Brother and prompted debate about the balance between civil liberties and public safety.

‘It's an attack on citizens' right to privacy,’ said Barbara Daubin, who manages a St. Laurent Blvd. clothing boutique. ‘I don't think we should be followed around (by a camera). And I don't think cameras will make us safer’.

(http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=3fb8e721-b112-4443-b5b41e477d54ec13)

Another indicator that the world today is starting to resemble the one in Ninteen Eighty-four, is that there really is a “Big Brother”-like entity or entities. The only difference is that in the book general public knows about it, but in real life it’s unknown to the average Joe. In the book, Big Brother is a figure that has complete control over the citizens of Oceania, much like former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Like Castro, Big Brother has the ability to control the media, and makes use of that ability. For example, Castro has literally forbidden the Cuban media from mentioning anything about the Castro family. This is not so different from what they do in the “Ministry of Truth” in Nineteen Eighty-four.

And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’

(Orwell, 1949)

As you can see, Fidel Castro and Big Brother both severely hinder or even eliminate they’re citizen’s freedom of speech and they’re rights to expression.

Another parallel that one can draw between Big Brother and a world leader of today is with current President of the United States, George W. Bush. In the book, everyone’s conversations are closely monitored, as mentioned earlier.

‘Where civil liberties are concerned, they have taken us much farther down the road to an intrusive, “Big Brother”'-style government — toward the dangers prophesized by George Orwell in his book 1984— than anyone ever thought would have been possible in the United States,’ Gore told an enthusiastic crowd of 3,000 that filled DAR Constitution Hall.

(http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1110-01.htm)

Above is a quote by former Vice-President Al Gore. This quote was taken in a context of discussion concerning the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (or the USA PATRIOT Act). The PATRIOT Act was sworn into law by President Bush on March 9^th 2006. This controversial act allows the government to, among other things, legally monitor phone calls in the United States.

Although similarities can be seen between the world leaders of today and Big Brother of Nineteen Eighty-four, the real big brother of today is not seen. It or they, rather, are rarely talked about. These people are the ones who control the world leaders of today. These are the ultra-rich (The Rockefellers, the Morgans, the Rothschilds, The Warburgs etc. ) who manipulate the “World Leaders” to serve they’re personal agendas (which are to get more money and gain more power). For example, there is ample evidence to suggest that these people were the ones who instigated the United States involvement in many wars including, but not limited to World War I, World War II, The Vietnam War and the “War On Terror”.

Why would they do this, you ask? These people, these 'Men behind the curtain' control many of the world’s top banks, namely the Federal Reserve of the United States of America. When a world power like the U.S goes to war, they spend billions upon billions of dollars (for example the war in Iraq has cost America $563,614,882,202 according to (http://www.anti-flag.com/)). Not even The U.S government has that kind of scratch just lying around, so what they do is they borrow it.

'It’s important to understand that the most lucrative thing that could happen for the international bankers is war, for it forces the country to borrow even more money from the Federal Reserve Bank, at interest.'

(“Peter Joseph”, Zeitgeist- The Movie)

When the government borrows that money, interest is immediately slapped onto it. This means that, in order for the government to pay the debt that they owe the Federal Reserve, they must: borrow even more money (which comes with more interest), raise taxes or raise the price of taxable goods (i.e.: gasoline). It is for this reason that the world seems as if it is in a constant state of war. In the novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four”, Oceania is in a state of perpetual war with one of Eastasia and Eurasia and in alliance with the other. However, in the book war is used as a device to keep the people of Oceania united, scared, and therefore open to forgo they’re rights for protection against an imagined enemy.

Actually as Winston knew it, it was only four years since Oceania had been at war with Eastasia and in alliance with Eurasisa. But that was merely a piece of furtive knowledge which he happened to posses because his memory was not satisfactorily under control. Officially the change of partners had never happened. Oceania was at war with Eurasia: Therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia. The enemy of the movement always represented absolute evil, and it followed that any past or future agreement with him was impossible.

(Orwell, 1949)

The parallels between 2008 and Nineteen Eighty-four are not hard to see. One could even conclude that Orwell's book sounds, it would sound eerily similar to the world that we live in today. The reasons why one might see these similarities are that, in both worlds, the citizens are under almost constant surveillance, both worlds have unseen forces running the show with no regard to public opinion, and both worlds are in a state of perpetual war. In 2008 War is peace, ignorce is bliss, and truth in government is non-existent.

Referances

Orwell, George. Ninteen Eighty-four. London. Secker and Warburg. 1949

Browning, Robert. "Gore Urges Repeal of Patriot Act". Las Angles Times. October 15, 2008 .

The Montreal Gazzete seems to have taken down the article that I cited.....