I recently read a news article that reported sales of George Orwell's novel "1984" have skyrocketed since Donald Trump's election. It seems that many people are interested in where the country may be headed under a Trump administration. That seems to be especially true for young people on our college campuses.
Now, I am just as curious about the future of our country as anyone, so I find it very interesting that college students are reading "1984" to learn about a possible future under Trump but aren't making any connections between Orwell's tale of a dystopian future and what is currently happening on the nation's college campuses.
In "1984" the setting is Airstrip One, formerly known as London, a part of the huge superstate called Oceania. There are, in fact, three superstates that control the entire earth. These superstates are perpetually at war with one another although their allegiances occasionally change from one to the other. So, at any given point in time, two superstates are aligned against the third in a war that consumes massive amounts of natural resources in order to maintain a rough parity. There are some victories and some defeats but borders remain roughly the same from year to year.
The leader of Oceania is Big Brother. Big Brother's portrait is literally everywhere. He eyes are watching you every minute of the day. Television screens are in every apartment and in every office. These screens constantly broadcast news, but they also keep a watchful eye on the populace. A person needs to be extremely careful not to reveal any emotion or action that may be taken as disloyalty to Party dogma or to Big Brother.
One of the really interesting things in the novel is how the news is handled. If Oceania realigns itself with one of the other two superstates, all old news articles have to be rooted out and destroyed so that all the news agrees with the current reality. If some prominent person rebels and turns against Big Brother, they are made to be non-persons and their histories, including any pictures, articles or references to them, are removed from all existing records. In this way, the news is totally controlled. The populace is kept continually upset at traitors and foreign enemies, while any challenge to Big Brother's reign is met with total hatred and repugnance.
A large part of the workforce is employed in erasing old history to make current reality the only reality. And, there are others busily reworking the language itself in order to limit people's ability to express themselves freely. This new focus on language is called Double Speak and finds its ultimate expression in Oceania's three maxims: War is peace; Freedom is slavery; Ignorance is strength.
Differences between the sexes are blurred in various ways. Everyone wears unisex coveralls and women are not allowed to wear makeup or anything that would make them feminine in appearance. Sex and reproduction are under the control of the government. Close friendships and camaraderie are basically non-existent. Love of Big Brother is the state religion, and disloyalty to Big Brother is the unpardonable sin. Parents fear their children because all children are indoctrinated to detect disloyalty in others, and even the most benign sentiment can be distorted into a charge of treason. The Thought Police are ruthless in rooting out all treason or any unpatriotic feelings among the people. Although mostly unseen, they are the thing to be most feared.
In learning about the renewed focus on Orwell's novel, I have been hoping that many of today's young folks would make some connection with the world of "1984" and the atmosphere on many of our nation's college campuses with the focus on political correctness, intolerance to any ideas that challenge liberal orthodoxy, a move away from First Amendment rights of free speech, and the anti-science transgender and abortion movements. The very cradle of ideas (college campuses) is quickly becoming a cultural strait jacket in which dissenting views are not tolerated. Marxist professors have, in many cases, taken over key faculty positions and seem bent on destroying the very foundations upon which our nation was founded. Some college administrations are encouraging students to report other students suspected of using non-approved speech or words, even though their speech is Constitutionally protected.
In numerous cases, the Founding Fathers are being systematically removed from college courses and, in some cases, their statues are being removed from the very colleges they may have personally founded. Anyone who may have once owned slaves is subject to becoming a non-person. Statues of great Civil War leaders and generals are being taken down and removed all across the South. History is being re-written with a politically-correct lens in place that totally discounts any contribution to the nation's history from anyone who doesn't meet the revisionist's criteria.
The only reality allowed is the current reality as seen by the politically correct. No other view is allowed or tolerated.
I can't imagine a more short-sighted view -- or one more detrimental to the welfare of the nation. What we need is a good dose of common sense, which is one of the reasons I am hopeful when it comes to the current administration. Trump may be emotionally immature; he may be more like a bull in a china shop than I would prefer, but I can appreciate the fact that he is the opposite of politically correct. And, because he is so unlovable, Trump is, in every way that matters, the exact opposite of Big Brother. I can live with that.
You can look for the world of "1984" in the Trump administration if you want to, but if you really want to find that dystopian world in contemporary society, you'll need to look at today's Progressive Movement. The parallels are unmistakable.
Sam Byrnes is a Gentry-area resident and weekly contributor to the Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 03/01/2017