George Orwell's 1984. Read it, if you haven't done so already. Scary.

Speaking of 1984!

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Happy New Year It's 1984 - Bush's Orwellian Address By Jacob Levich 10-26-1

Seventeen years later than expected, 1984 has arrived. In his address to Congress Thursday, George Bush effectively declared permanent war -- war without temporal or geographic limits; war without clear goals; war against a vaguely defined and constantly shifting enemy. Today it's Al-Qaida; tomorrow it may be Afghanistan; next year, it could be Iraq or Cuba or Chechnya. No one who was forced to read 1984 in high school could fail to hear a faint bell tinkling. In George Orwell's dreary classic, the totalitarian state of Oceania is perpetually at war with either Eurasia or Eastasia. Although the enemy changes periodically, the war is permanent; its true purpose is to control dissent and sustain dictatorship by nurturing popular fear and hatred. The permanent war undergirds every aspect of Big Brother's authoritarian program, excusing censorship, propaganda, secret police, and privation. In other words, it's terribly convenient. And conveniently terrible. Bush's alarming speech pointed to a shadowy enemy that lurks in more 60 countries, including the US. He announced a policy of using maximum force against any individuals or nations he designates as our enemies, without color of international law, due process, or democratic debate. He explicitly warned that much of the war will be conducted in secret. He rejected negotiation as a tool of diplomacy. He announced starkly that any country that doesn't knuckle under to US demands will be regarded as an enemy. He heralded the creation of a powerful new cabinet-level police agency called the "Office of Homeland Security." Orwell couldn't have named it better. By turns folksy ("Ya know what?") and chillingly bellicose ("Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists"), Bush stepped comfortably into the role of Big Brother, who needs to be loved as well as feared. Meanwhile, his administration acted swiftly to realize the governing principles of Oceania: WAR IS PEACE. A reckless war that will likely bring about a deadly cycle of retaliation is being sold to us as the means to guarantee our safety. Meanwhile, we've been instructed to accept the permanent war as a fact of daily life. As the inevitable slaughter of innocents unfolds overseas, we are to "live our lives and hug our children." FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. "Freedom itself is under attack," Bush said, and he's right. Americans are about to lose many of their most cherished liberties in a frenzy of paranoid legislation. The government proposes to tap our phones, read our email and seize our credit card records without court order. It seeks authority to detain and deport immigrants without cause or trial. It proposes to use foreign agents to spy on American citizens. To save freedom, the warmongers intend to destroy it. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. America's "new war" against terrorism will be fought with unprecedented secrecy, including heavy press restrictions not seen for years, the Pentagon has advised. Meanwhile, the sorry history of American imperialism -- collaboration with terrorists, bloody proxy wars against civilians, forcible replacement of democratic governments with corrupt dictatorships -- is strictly off-limits to mainstream media. Lest it weaken our resolve, we are not to be allowed to understand the reasons underlying the horrifying crimes of September 11. The defining speech of Bush's presidency points toward an Orwellian future of endless war, expedient lies, and ubiquitous social control. But unlike 1984's doomed protagonist, we've still got plenty of space to maneuver and plenty of ways to resist. It's time to speak and to act. It falls on us now to take to the streets, bearing a clear message for the warmongers: We don't love Big Brother. ___ Jacob Levich (jlevich@earthlink.net) is an writer, editor, and activist living in Queens, New York.

-- joj (jump@off.c), October 29, 2001

Answers

Yup, he scares the crap out of me.

-- Sojourner (notime4@summer.spam), October 29, 2001.

Me, too. Yesterday I heard on NPR that the "government" has SECRETLY arrested some 900 people as "terrorists". No charges, no way to even learn who they are!

This sounds exactly like Chile under Pinochet :-(

I never expected the country to go to the facists so rapidly, not that Congress would throw away the constitution without a fight.

Did you ever see the movie "Missing"?

JOJ

-- joj (jump@off.c), October 30, 2001.

You people might want to read the text of the address to the nation. I think it will answer all of your questions. The rhetoric about Orwell here is ludicrous. Rather than posting someone else's thoughts and writings you might consider developing some of your own.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), October 31, 2001.

Gee, Gary, thanks for the EXCELLENT advice. Yaknow, I did develop an opinion of my own one time. I even wrote a book about it. It dealt with exactly the kind of thing which seems to be happening right now, here in the us of a. Unfortunately, I called it "2001" George Orwell stole my idea, and published it as 1984. I guess 1984 is a catcier title than 2001.

I'll avoid calling you something insulting now.

JOJ

-- joj (jump@off.c), October 31, 2001.

Instead, Gary, I'll just say, "Rather than referring us to dubya's thoughts and writings you might consider developing some of your own.

JOJ

-- joj (jump@off.c), October 31, 2001.

I can't say I'm surprised at Bush's actions. After all, he stole the presidential election. What else could you expect from someone like that? Respect for the Constitution? Here's another Orwellian quote for you: "All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others." The Pigs are always good at creating the illusion that they play by the rules all the while making sure they come out on top. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are in this country right now, if you start chipping away at our civil rights this country will go right down the tubes.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), November 02, 2001.

Please do not turn this into another "the sky is falling" forum, there is one in the circle already.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), November 04, 2001.

Jennifer, had President Bush's opponent been able to carry either his own home state or the home state of the president with whom he served for eight years, Florida wouldn't have been an issue. So far as that state goes, even partisan Dem reporters who got full unfettered access to every ballot via the Freedom of Information Act weren't able to come up with a scenario in which the count came out for Gore. Besides, the election was a year ago. Get over it.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), November 04, 2001.