1984 in the 21st Century

Full disclosure: I’m an academic by former trade and deep at heart. I’m also a political junkie. I’ve spent the past 20+ years grappling with issues in local, state, and federal government and rarely shy away from a fruitful conversation. Reading this book was like having a series of discussions with various people of various perspectives all hinging on whether George Orwell’s masterpiece 1984 is apropos of our current administration. Some essayists argued that the real Big Brother happens under democrat administrations, where the common attack line is dems like big government and try to control what one eats, how much soda they drink, etc... Big Government then isn’t a far comparative leap to Big Brother. (Side note: there’s plenty of control by legislation on both sides). Some claimed Trump isn’t Orwellian as much as he is a distraction artist (side note: distractions is Orwellian as is was used to control). Other writers drew specific details out of current events to draw their comparisons. Orwell in 1984 coined the term “Doublespeak” to mean pay attention to what I say even though what I do may be very different. Here, the writer brought up Trump’s doublespeak when dealing with racial issues, an implied use of dog whistles and coded messages to draw attention elsewhere with the true meaning landing on its intended audience. One particular salient essay brought up the use of false facts as a method to distract (and thus control). One needn’t look too hard to remember Kelkeyann Conway’s regrettable use of “alternative facts.” In 1984 Orwell imagined “telescreens” in every home and how spot-on was that!? Now, Big Brother broadcasts its message directly to the people via state news channels. At least half of the population is being controlled by alternative facts. Another Orwellian theme explored is surveillance, and here the Facebook debacle would have been neatly explored, theft of personal data ultimately used for social control. Other examples amply given. From a purely academic pursuit, I really enjoyed this and could see it used as a part of a teaching tool in colleges and universities.