Orwell's 1984 has had an impact on thought for many decades, but it's very hard to believe it has become real as it has for the past three years especially. Although I was familiar with some of the concepts, it wasn't until the "pandemic" that I actually read 1984 (read some of my first substack articles to see some of my commentary about 1984).
Others have made memes along the lines of 1984 wasn't meant to be an "instruction book" yet our tyrants appear to have used it as exactly that!
Control the media and control the government and you can shove complete lunacy down the throats of the populace and they will swallow it!
I also read it for the first time in 2020. Shocking how prophetic Orwell was, though he is not the only one. I wrote another piece about how they've merged so many dystopian novels into a compendium to follow as one giant playbook. Yes, it's cliché to say "it was meant as a warning, not a manual," but being cliché doesn't make it any less true.
I read it in high school, so over a half-century ago. While I don't remember the details, I do recall the general idea, and it's scary to see it played out so much.
I knew many who read it in high school. It (and a couple of others like Atlas Shrugged and Brave New World) were regularly assigned, just not in my English classes for some reason. We read things like The Scarlet Letter, My Name is Asher Lev, To Kill a Mockingbird.... So, I knew *about* them (and, to some degree, the concepts they taught), but I never really *knew* them. Thankfully, I'm big on reading, so I caught up on a bit, especially over the past few years. Atlas Shrugged is an amazing novel that I *highly* recommend.
1984 and Animal Farm were both in English class. I've read others, although not Atlas Shrugged. My problem with reading, now, is that I almost instantly fall asleep. LOL
Read Animal Farm not too long *after* high school. Same with Farenheit 451. I have, at times, suffered from that same issue of nodding off while reading. Used it to my advantage and started reading at bedtime. That's how I read Atlas Shrugged. It's a long one, but well worth reading.
Yes, it's a very sobering thought to realize this is happening in "real life". Not as blatant as 2 + 2 = 5 of course, but in our faces, barely concealed and seriously threatening!
You might be very interested in reading what I wrote about Eric Blair (George Orwell) and the experiences he had which led him to form his views and write 1984. He simply took what he observed happening in real life and then imagined how much more potent it could be with future technology.
What has fascinated me is how so many great minds have been concerned about these problems for an incredibly long time. Some of us likely think these problems are "brand new" and life will go back to "normal" soon. I'm more pessimistic. This has been building for a *long* time. It is only now where the tyrants are openly obliterating the freedom of the common citizen that has woken up many of us. Instead of returning to normal, the indicators imply we are headed toward the collapse of the American Empire. As that happens, the entire rest of the world is going to also be greatly impacted, largely because our economy (and currency) still dominate the world.
The money shot in this piece that I think few picked up on is this:
> "the party" (meaning the government)
Exactly this. In "1984," they are synonymous. They are likewise synonymous in Communist Chy-na. Not in the USA --- yet. The Party is trying to wear the government like a skin suit, having hollowed it out of all legitimacy and usefulness. The Trump prosecutions are the attempt to zip up that suit once and for all.
I think it's an interesting parallel as well that so many now refer to the Democrats and the Republicans as the "uniparty," recognizing that there is little difference between the two.
True, and that term has been around a long while, though I think it's unhelpful and being too cynical by half. Once that skin suit zips up for good, there won't be any reason to keep any GOP around anywhere any longer.
GOP party leadership are complicit losers, for sure, since they want their seat at the table, but the rank-and-file voters and a small but significant minority of elected officials are not; if it *really* didn't matter who won, they wouldn't fight quite so bitterly about elections. Unfortunately, because of funding, tradition, infrastructure, etc, the GOP remains the only vehicle by which to attack the Blob.
I definitely agree that the "party" (i.e. those elected) differ from the "proles" (the rank-and-file voters - though many share the same proclivities). I won't comment on the rest, however, as I am currently writing another piece that will discuss it.
Orwell's 1984 has had an impact on thought for many decades, but it's very hard to believe it has become real as it has for the past three years especially. Although I was familiar with some of the concepts, it wasn't until the "pandemic" that I actually read 1984 (read some of my first substack articles to see some of my commentary about 1984).
Others have made memes along the lines of 1984 wasn't meant to be an "instruction book" yet our tyrants appear to have used it as exactly that!
Control the media and control the government and you can shove complete lunacy down the throats of the populace and they will swallow it!
I also read it for the first time in 2020. Shocking how prophetic Orwell was, though he is not the only one. I wrote another piece about how they've merged so many dystopian novels into a compendium to follow as one giant playbook. Yes, it's cliché to say "it was meant as a warning, not a manual," but being cliché doesn't make it any less true.
I read it in high school, so over a half-century ago. While I don't remember the details, I do recall the general idea, and it's scary to see it played out so much.
I knew many who read it in high school. It (and a couple of others like Atlas Shrugged and Brave New World) were regularly assigned, just not in my English classes for some reason. We read things like The Scarlet Letter, My Name is Asher Lev, To Kill a Mockingbird.... So, I knew *about* them (and, to some degree, the concepts they taught), but I never really *knew* them. Thankfully, I'm big on reading, so I caught up on a bit, especially over the past few years. Atlas Shrugged is an amazing novel that I *highly* recommend.
1984 and Animal Farm were both in English class. I've read others, although not Atlas Shrugged. My problem with reading, now, is that I almost instantly fall asleep. LOL
Read Animal Farm not too long *after* high school. Same with Farenheit 451. I have, at times, suffered from that same issue of nodding off while reading. Used it to my advantage and started reading at bedtime. That's how I read Atlas Shrugged. It's a long one, but well worth reading.
Yes, it's a very sobering thought to realize this is happening in "real life". Not as blatant as 2 + 2 = 5 of course, but in our faces, barely concealed and seriously threatening!
You might be very interested in reading what I wrote about Eric Blair (George Orwell) and the experiences he had which led him to form his views and write 1984. He simply took what he observed happening in real life and then imagined how much more potent it could be with future technology.
Combine him with the likes of Rand (also wrote from experience), Huxley, Bradbury, etc. and you have what we're living today.
What has fascinated me is how so many great minds have been concerned about these problems for an incredibly long time. Some of us likely think these problems are "brand new" and life will go back to "normal" soon. I'm more pessimistic. This has been building for a *long* time. It is only now where the tyrants are openly obliterating the freedom of the common citizen that has woken up many of us. Instead of returning to normal, the indicators imply we are headed toward the collapse of the American Empire. As that happens, the entire rest of the world is going to also be greatly impacted, largely because our economy (and currency) still dominate the world.
The money shot in this piece that I think few picked up on is this:
> "the party" (meaning the government)
Exactly this. In "1984," they are synonymous. They are likewise synonymous in Communist Chy-na. Not in the USA --- yet. The Party is trying to wear the government like a skin suit, having hollowed it out of all legitimacy and usefulness. The Trump prosecutions are the attempt to zip up that suit once and for all.
I think it's an interesting parallel as well that so many now refer to the Democrats and the Republicans as the "uniparty," recognizing that there is little difference between the two.
True, and that term has been around a long while, though I think it's unhelpful and being too cynical by half. Once that skin suit zips up for good, there won't be any reason to keep any GOP around anywhere any longer.
GOP party leadership are complicit losers, for sure, since they want their seat at the table, but the rank-and-file voters and a small but significant minority of elected officials are not; if it *really* didn't matter who won, they wouldn't fight quite so bitterly about elections. Unfortunately, because of funding, tradition, infrastructure, etc, the GOP remains the only vehicle by which to attack the Blob.
I definitely agree that the "party" (i.e. those elected) differ from the "proles" (the rank-and-file voters - though many share the same proclivities). I won't comment on the rest, however, as I am currently writing another piece that will discuss it.
One should also read “Animal Farm.” It, too, was prescient for our times. “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”