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:

According to Janet (Big Sis) Napolitano, comparisons to an “Orwellian State” are just crazy talk!

Well, that just settles everything, doesn’t it?

I mean, if Janet Napolitano says north is south, and east is west, we all should probably just start recalibrating our GPS systems immediately: she and her cohorts wouldn’t LIE to us, after all!!

Lest you think I’m taking her out of context, here’s the whole thing:

“I think people have gotten the idea that there’s an Orwellian state out there that somehow we’re operating in. That’s far from the case,” she told Errol Louis during an appearance on Road to City Hall.

Gullibility and the Media: “The More Things Change…”

I wrote this paragraph in my first official post on this blog, published over a year ago. It is disturbingly unchanged:

I continue to shake my head in bewilderment at the willful gullibility of so many Americans. We are jaded and cynical about so many things–God and marriage perhaps topping the list–and yet too many are willing to accept the media’s slant on every critical issue in sight. 

Really? No doubts? No wondering whether there might be some bias, some personal axe-grinding or palm-greasing going on behind the scenes? We should just nod and smile at each new presidential or congressional fiat attempt, and go back to watching The Biggest Loser.

(OK, I take it back. You should probably scratch out The Biggest Loser and substitute The Voice or Game of Thrones.)

So yesterday when my brother mentioned this Salon.com sub-headline: