Are we heading towards a society like George Orwell's 1984?

Question

The war in Iraq, the patriot act, RFID chips? Are we heading towards an 1984 type of society?

1984 was a book about how the government controlled things. They created a war with another country to keep the military machine fueled. They controlled the media, and they monitored what you watch.
Best of all, they controlled people through fear. Made it so that people would want that control and protection.

If you don't believe that the government watches the internet, check this out.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2004/02/23/362182/index.htm

Answer 1

We are already THERE!! LOL!!! RFID?
Ready For Instant Detainment? LOL!! Ha ha ha!!!

Seriously, some may call me a conspiracy therorist, I really don't care, but the "facts" the media is offering just doesn't add up, and Bush's regimes "strategy", has been used by dictators in the past to gain control of the masses. I think the US government staged all this terrorist stuff, likely paying them for their services to keep them in business. Since we have no proof otherwise, I think the government was behind 9-11, killing their own people.

Next time you are out and about, look at how many cameras you see. They are everywhere. On the highways, in stores, on the streets, in malls...businessess, neighborhoods, EVERYWHERE!!!

The patriot act is simply a candy coated declaration of Martial Law. THEY (the government) CAN ENACT IT AT ANY TIME!!! Look at what went down with FEMA when Katrina happened!! Hello! People, WAKE UP!! All they need to do is "create" a reason! After witnessing 9-11, can you put anything past them?? That would be too easy!

The war, in my opinion serves three purposes, to distract the people, to divide the people, and to make the government elite rich.

One has only to wonder what their nefarious master plan is. Rest assured, though, it's nothing good with all they have done thus far. Pray, meditate, and prepare your self for anything. It's coming soon, whatever it is. I just know it in my soul. Things are about to go from bad to worse, real fast. You can put the house on that.

Oh, and all you people who think "voting" works in this "democracy" of ours are disillusioned!! It's all a game. They have already mapped out their hierarchy. No matter whom the "people" supposedly elect, whether democrat or repulican, their mission will ultimately be carried out!! If Kerry was in office, WE'D STILL BE FIGHTING IN IRAQ!!!

Answer 2

The book "1984" was written 58 years ago. Orwell had no way of knowing how much technology would have advanced. 1984 is obsolete. There was a movie last night on AMC called "Enemy of the State" starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman. Scary!! (The same movie is playing again tonight in about a half hour.) But that movie was produced eight years ago and technology has come a very long way since then. And the laws that the movie warned about have already been passed, along with many more that are even more restrictive of our privacy and freedom.

HEADING towards 1984? I wish we were headed BACK that way! We have long since passed that milestone and are headed for something far worse.

Answer 3

OK smartypants..for those of us who haven't had the divine pleasure of reading 1984, can you be so kind as to elaborate?

I think it had something to do with totalitarianism. In which case, I think that 2006 is probably no different than other years passed. The government, overall, seems to have always manipulated information in an attempt to control our thoughts. I think the Patriot Act is a necessary evil. RFID chips are actually being used presently in other countries and by wealthy individuals/celebrities who fear for the safety of their children. This is actually scary, especially if you are religious. Now, the war in Iraq would support 1984's premise more than anything, although, I'm sure the government has lied to us in the past, as well.

Answer 4

The parallels between our modern world and that of George Orwell's 1984 are uncanny. The Ministry of Truth, the Thought Police, the political manipulation of language to distort reality, the hidden censorship of political correctness, and the war on terror as a control mechanism--all echo the themes of 1984. So much so, that reading the news headlines often makes it seem disturbingly prophetic.

If you take nothing else away from the reading, remember this point:It is an ILLUSION. State power is only effective as long as those subject to it "believe" in it. The state has no power except what we grant it. Its power is derived from our willingness to give up our own power. Thus, the state's primary role is to instill in its subjects the idea that it is absolutely necessary, and that without it, life would be miserable and chaotic (like present-day Iraq, perhaps?).

State education, manipulation and control of the media, spin, censorship, fear-mongering, doomsday scenarios, mass hysteria, religious symbolism and "grand visions," are all tools of the state--in its constant quest to maintain control over people. And if that doesn't work, well there's always tear gas, guns and tanks!

The only thing that can destroy this illusion is if people simply ignore it and act as if it wasn't there.

Just take one example--taxation. Taxation is money expropriated from you by force. Yes, force. If you do not pay your taxes and continue to ignore threats to do so, then you will be charged and likely incarcerated.

If you, as an individual, try to stand up to the state and refuse to pay your taxes, then they ship you off to jail. You, by yourself, cannot hope to oppose the state on its own terms. You must set your OWN terms.

However, if everyone simply said "no" in unison, there is absolutely nothing the state could do about it. It could not fine everybody (as they would refuse to pay that also). It could not imprison everybody. It certainly could not execute everybody. No, the state would be exposed for what it is--a charade. The big, fat emperor with no clothes.

"If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--forever." -1984

Answer 5

Nope. The key to 1984 was the government being able to control information. With the advent of the Internet, our media, etc. there is no way the government could exercise the same level of control described in 1984.

Answer 6

I'm all for RFID chips and DNA sampling of everyone, especially any foreign born entering this country. Liberals let the idiots come in and go out then ***** when something goes wrong.

What does the war in Iraq or the Partiot act have to do with 1984. And incase you didn't know it 1984 was 22 years ago. *LOL* Personally I think anyone who brings up 1984 is probably doing something they shouldn't be doing and is afraid of getting caught!

Answer 7

We could be headed there--chowderheads who value security at the expense of freedom, people who believe that if you are doing nothing wrong that you have nothing to hide, and people who want to control others, even to the point of controlling their thoughts, are present and vocal in today's society.

Fortunately, people who value freedom, don't want a lojack implanted in their skull and police cameras on every corner, and who don't mind letting the lunatic fringe speak their mind are also present and vocal in today's society.

It is a delicate balance between security and freedom--every country wants both. My reading of history indicates that nations who value security at the expense of freedom have less of both.

I think that was the lesson of 1984--patriotism is good, until you love your country more than the people in it. When you lose the freedom to criticize your government, you lose the ability to improve it. You still tell everyone how great it is, while you watch it go to hell, and hate anyone who tells you how bad things are getting or that it needs to improve.

Answer 8

Orwell wrote the book in 1948 in post-war England. The title comes from his reversing the last two numbers. Orwell believed that his depiction had already arrived, including the synthetic gin so lovingly described. It reminds one of a Hogarth painting.
The real danger to any society comes when people will do nothing except defend their rights to personal pleasures. In our modern society, we see with a kind of uncertain world view, how things appear to be askew in various parts of the world. Personally, I am proud that the US has stepped in when other bullies have pushed people around. Clearly, mostly in retrospect, we have made some serious mistakes in implementing ideology. Unfortunately those roots go back a long way in our history.
Whenever people fail to stand up and be counted, fail to look beneath the glossy surface, fail to endorse the hard reality which demands personal dedication and sacrifice, then we will be part of Orwell's vision. No one pushes drugs down our throats or into our veins, but somehow we have become as used to them as we have our extravagant demands for our daily amusement. When did personal sacrifice become dirty words and why do we wait for someone else to start? As Santayana said so eloquently, freedom is the right to say "No."

Answer 9

I'm thinking it'll be a mix of 1984 and V For Vendetta.

Answer 10

Heading there? They are tapping out phone calls, tapping our computers, watching our e-mail, looking at our bank records, and tell us “everything is fine”. Soon they will have cameras in every home!

Get off your sofas and VOTE these people out! ALL of them!