We’re not even close to 1984 but the parallels are there. Society has become much more politicized. Thats not a good thing. Part of it comes from the breakdown of religion. Religion- right or wrong- supplied people with objective standards of judgement. Whether they admitted it or not, peoples moral standards came largely from religion. Nature ( if you will) abhors a vacuum. The gap has been largely filled with varieties of politics. If you listen to what people say, if you read things and consume media , you’ll notice that moral judgement is largely political at this point. Trump is the epitome of evil or good depending upon your standpoint. A good person is someone who holds the politically correct views of the moment which are subject to endless revision.You’ll notice that opinions appear to be more valued then actions. A person may be the epitome of virtue according to traditional standards but they are to be utterly condemned if they have ever said a bad word or expressed a bad opinion. They must be “ cancelled “. Whereas those who embrace or embody present standards of virtue are to be endlessly forgiven for their sins. In fact, they may be incapable of sin.This is an environment inherently sympathetic to authoritarianism because the state is routinely seen as the vehicle for and enforcer of virtue.People who do not hold the correct views are a threat even a source of contagion. They need to be dealt with. Language must be rigorously policed to prevent corruption. Improper language suggests improper thought. History needs to be rewritten to support present views. When it appears to contradict the present it must be eliminated. This is all going on and it’s scary!
You suggest that we are not close to the dystopia depicted in '1984', but I believe the rapid advancement of technology has accelerated our trajectory in troubling ways.
Traditional forms of media—such as books, records, and CDs—are increasingly being replaced by digital formats and cloud storage. This shift not only facilitates the erasure and editing of data but also makes the manipulation of history significantly easier.
In '1984', the gradual erasure of inconvenient truths occurred over generations, but today we are witnessing a more immediate and alarming trend. For instance, in the United States, numerous books are being removed from libraries, and vast amounts of academic research are being deleted. Our reliance on cloud storage and streaming services means that much of the content we consume is no longer owned in a tangible form. This raises serious concerns about the ability to rewrite history. I was going to mention "newspeak" but @michele123 already has below and make the same point I was just about to.
The speed at which authoritarian regimes can now alter narratives is unprecedented; it can be accomplished with just the click of a button. Therefore, when you assert that we are not close to such a reality, I find that perspective somewhat subjective. It raises the question: what defines 'close'? Is it a matter of generations, or is it the immediacy of the changes we are witnessing today?
I feel that we r almost there. The government misinformation campaign is the Ministry of Truth. The internet makes it easy to rewrite history and change definitions. The definition of recession was changed . Kamala Harris’s record and even her answers in interviews have been manipulated to make her appear less radical.
One disturbing part is the newspeak dictionary and the discussion regarding it at the beginning of the book . Winston is told that the point of the dictionary is to remove words so people cannot form thought crimes. He is told that in 10 years people won’t even understand this discussion.
The destruction of all human friendship and connection is what the government wants in 1984. I see it here and now.
The fact that we have 2 genders is under attack. That’s 2+2=5. Women r being harmed by men identifying as female. If we state 2 genders then we get cancelled by big brother ( Biden’s puppeteers) and Google.
Also , the border is secure unless it’s not then it’s Trump’s fault. Bring on the rats and room 101.
I didn't understand it until very recently myself. While I didn't go back and read 1984 - though I probably should - Winston Smith's 2 + 2 = 4 statement started making sense at the turn of the decade, when I started seeing not only censorship going about but those openly willing to censor and control other viewpoints simply for the fact that they deviated from the official perspective. The COVIDcrisis played a big role in this, but we can also look at issues like what the Twitter Files revealed, foreign policy (too many issues in this category to name), and if we want to get even more recent, FEMA's hurricane response. I can go on and on here, such as identity politics and quips that have come about 'control,' mainly from the Left, but you get the idea.
We’re not even close to 1984 but the parallels are there. Society has become much more politicized. Thats not a good thing. Part of it comes from the breakdown of religion. Religion- right or wrong- supplied people with objective standards of judgement. Whether they admitted it or not, peoples moral standards came largely from religion. Nature ( if you will) abhors a vacuum. The gap has been largely filled with varieties of politics. If you listen to what people say, if you read things and consume media , you’ll notice that moral judgement is largely political at this point. Trump is the epitome of evil or good depending upon your standpoint. A good person is someone who holds the politically correct views of the moment which are subject to endless revision.You’ll notice that opinions appear to be more valued then actions. A person may be the epitome of virtue according to traditional standards but they are to be utterly condemned if they have ever said a bad word or expressed a bad opinion. They must be “ cancelled “. Whereas those who embrace or embody present standards of virtue are to be endlessly forgiven for their sins. In fact, they may be incapable of sin.This is an environment inherently sympathetic to authoritarianism because the state is routinely seen as the vehicle for and enforcer of virtue.People who do not hold the correct views are a threat even a source of contagion. They need to be dealt with. Language must be rigorously policed to prevent corruption. Improper language suggests improper thought. History needs to be rewritten to support present views. When it appears to contradict the present it must be eliminated. This is all going on and it’s scary!
I don't want us to get close, which is why I point out the parallels. I agree that the politicization of society is an ugly and dangerous phenomenon.
You suggest that we are not close to the dystopia depicted in '1984', but I believe the rapid advancement of technology has accelerated our trajectory in troubling ways.
Traditional forms of media—such as books, records, and CDs—are increasingly being replaced by digital formats and cloud storage. This shift not only facilitates the erasure and editing of data but also makes the manipulation of history significantly easier.
In '1984', the gradual erasure of inconvenient truths occurred over generations, but today we are witnessing a more immediate and alarming trend. For instance, in the United States, numerous books are being removed from libraries, and vast amounts of academic research are being deleted. Our reliance on cloud storage and streaming services means that much of the content we consume is no longer owned in a tangible form. This raises serious concerns about the ability to rewrite history. I was going to mention "newspeak" but @michele123 already has below and make the same point I was just about to.
The speed at which authoritarian regimes can now alter narratives is unprecedented; it can be accomplished with just the click of a button. Therefore, when you assert that we are not close to such a reality, I find that perspective somewhat subjective. It raises the question: what defines 'close'? Is it a matter of generations, or is it the immediacy of the changes we are witnessing today?
I feel that we r almost there. The government misinformation campaign is the Ministry of Truth. The internet makes it easy to rewrite history and change definitions. The definition of recession was changed . Kamala Harris’s record and even her answers in interviews have been manipulated to make her appear less radical.
One disturbing part is the newspeak dictionary and the discussion regarding it at the beginning of the book . Winston is told that the point of the dictionary is to remove words so people cannot form thought crimes. He is told that in 10 years people won’t even understand this discussion.
The destruction of all human friendship and connection is what the government wants in 1984. I see it here and now.
The fact that we have 2 genders is under attack. That’s 2+2=5. Women r being harmed by men identifying as female. If we state 2 genders then we get cancelled by big brother ( Biden’s puppeteers) and Google.
Also , the border is secure unless it’s not then it’s Trump’s fault. Bring on the rats and room 101.
I didn't understand it until very recently myself. While I didn't go back and read 1984 - though I probably should - Winston Smith's 2 + 2 = 4 statement started making sense at the turn of the decade, when I started seeing not only censorship going about but those openly willing to censor and control other viewpoints simply for the fact that they deviated from the official perspective. The COVIDcrisis played a big role in this, but we can also look at issues like what the Twitter Files revealed, foreign policy (too many issues in this category to name), and if we want to get even more recent, FEMA's hurricane response. I can go on and on here, such as identity politics and quips that have come about 'control,' mainly from the Left, but you get the idea.
I’ve read 1984 several times and its meaning evolves for me as I age and the world changes . I didn’t understand it in high school but I do now.