Two more examples of how Orwell’s ‘1984’ is becoming a reality in 2013:

One of the basic precepts of Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty-four‘ is that individuals should not think for themselves, and that everyone is subservient to the State. It’s accomplished by reprogramming how people think, a reversal of logic and that which was known. Only through accepting these illogical reversals is someone “allowed” to exist:

“WAR IS PEACE;
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY;
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”

These three basic slogans of the Party were everywhere. Even questioning them was tantamount to a Thoughtcrime, and was punishable as such.

But was ‘Nineteen Eighty-four‘ just a book, merely a dystopian fantasy to be discussed in an English Lit class? Because more and more, I’m getting the distinct impression that someone decided it’d make a pretty good “How-To” instruction manual. 

Example #1:

Here’s an excerpt from the original article, via the Baltimore Sun:

“…The format of the forum did not allow the public to stand and ask a question. Instead, those who wanted questions answered had to write them on a piece of paper. Dance read the questions and had members of a panel, which included state schools Superintendent Lillian Lowery, answer them…”

And:

“…The officer pushed Small and then escorted him into the hall, handcuffed him and had him sit on the curb in front of the school. He was taken to the Towson precinct and detained.

Small was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, which carries a fine of $2,500 and up to 10 years in prison, and disturbing a school operation, which carries a fine of $2,500 and up to six months…”

I don’t care on which side of the Common Core discussion you are: doesn’t this seem several miles beyond excessive? Sure, he stood up and asked questions when the “rules” dictated that he was supposed to submit his question in writing, but still: arrested? And possibly facing fines and prison?

Prison!?? For what at worst is speaking out of turn?

Welcome to the new Ministry of Truth, gang. And FYI: the Ministry doesn’t appreciate being questioned.

—

For Example #2, we’re going directly to a college campus itself. Hearkening back to the days of Thomas Paine, a young man decided to be a pamphleteer for the day, handing out copies of the ultimate rebellious document: our nation’s Constitution.

Any guesses how THAT turned out?

The irony of preventing a kid from handing out a United States Constitution, which includes the Amendment protecting Free Speech, on a campus of higher education, …seems to be utterly lost on our new Statist masters.

There’ll be more examples: tomorrow, next week, and next month, until we no longer question our rights. That’s because we’ll no longer recognize them as being “rights” at all.

The pity of it is that we’ll have surrendered them with barely a whimper of protest. We’ll have given them up of our own free will, and many will congratulate themselves on their new enlightenment.

Hmmm, …where have I read about that before?