Recently, "1984" by George Orwell shot back to the top of the Amazon Bestseller List based on the illegitimate inauguration of the TRAITOR Donald Trump and his occupation of the White House. Please note when I refer to his occupation of the White House I always use the word in the military sense. Since November 8, 2016, I have been diligently reading all the literature I have time to cover which addresses misfeasance and malfeasance in office, treason, totalitarian governments, the US Constitution and civil rights. "1984" has been a classic ever since it was released in 1948. It is a masterpiece of fiction about a futuristic, totalitarian government and was a part of that body of Orwell's work to which he referred when he said:
"Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written directly, or indirectly, against totalitarianism. Animal Farm was the first book in which I tried, with full consciousness of what I was doing, to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one artistic whole." George Orwell, "Animal Farm" pp. vii
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| George Orwell |
"1984" is an excellent example of that effort on Orwell's part to fuse both political and artistic purposes. The book made him famous worldwide and its Orwellian language Newspeak has introduced several words into everyday usage such as "newspeak", "Big Brother", "doublethink", and "thought crime". The book is taught worldwide in classes on politics, literature, philosophy, and psychology. There is no more important time that American citizens should be reading "1984" and other works by George Orwell such as "Animal Farm" than today. The book is fiction but it is fiction with a political purpose. It can be easily read and understood by the person who does not ordinarily read philosophy or political science. By virtue of reading the works of George Orwell, that type of reader can begin to understand the importance of observing the actions of government and its leaders and also begin to develop skills necessary to resist destructive, disruptive, and totalitarian actions of government.
The book is set in a fictitious, futuristic 1984 with a totalitarian government which controls literally every function of the lives of its citizens, restructures their reality on a daily basis to fit the needs of the government, and literally wipes those citizens off the face of the earth, without a trace remaining, when they no longer meet the needs or oppose the actions of that government. The protagonist of the book is an ordinary citizen, Winston Smith, who works in the Ministry of Truth where his job is to rewrite history, both small and large, in order to meet the aims of the government. Winston finds himself involved in an affair with a young woman much like himself. Their love affair and joint opposition to the government lead them into the dark world of the government and its actions to control the citizenry.
The book is now and always has been a harbinger of possible and probable tyrannies to come in the real world. It is a billboard of truth, writ large and boldly, warning the citizens of the United States of today that such tyranny is possible and is the goal of people who are living today. The goal of every American citizen should be to prevent such tyranny from ever happening or becoming possible in this country. We are teetering on the brink of the most destructive times in American history. A malignant, malicious, and well organized effort, centered in the White House is working on a daily basis to deprive this country of freedom of the press and individual constitutional freedoms. Media members have been arrested while doing their job of covering multiple news stories which were contrary to the aims of TRAITOR Trump and his minions. Religious believers are being targeted, arrested, and deported simply because they are not members of a majority religion in this country. More crimes against the US Constitution will come and they will come soon. Every citizen of this country should be working to prevent the possibility of such destruction of individual and collective freedoms. Go out and read books such as "1984" and "Fahrenheit 451". Study the US Constitution and fight to defend it. Learn about outspoken defenders of freedom such as Thomas Paine, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and other, more modern patriots who spoke out for freedom and Constitutional Rights. Join organizations such as The American Civil Liberties Union. Financially support organizations such as The ACLU, National Public Radio, The Southern Poverty Law Center, and others which fight on a daily basis to protect the rights of ordinary citizens and work to keep the citizenry informed in an honest, ethical fashion.
This link will take you to a post on this blog about "Animal Farm" another of George Orwell's excellent books about totalitarian governments.
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