George Orwell — Dystopian genius or enlightened prophet?
The latter may be the real answer.
For those who haven’t read the classic novel, “1984,” it is a cautionary tale about a future society ruled by a surveillance state that seeks to redefine truth through strict thought control.
Sound familiar?
Although Orwell’s “1984” is technically classified as fiction, Recent Posts The author of The Federalist Papers, Monroe Harless, claims that the book contains a surprising number of “descriptions of reality.”
Glenn Beck He reads out 15 quotes from “1984” that are referenced in Harless’ article and accurately portray the current state of America.
15 Lines from ‘1984’ That Are No Longer FictionYoutube
1. “The Party commanded you to reject the evidence your eyes and ears heard. That was their final and most important command.”
2. “They contribute nothing to the wealth of the world, for everything they produce is used for war purposes; and the object of waging war is always to gain an advantage in waging the next war.”
3. “We are already destroying the habits of thought which have survived since before the Revolution…The child will be snatched from its mother at the moment of its birth, like the egg from the hen.”
4. “I hate purity. I hate goodness. I don’t want virtue to exist anywhere. I want everyone to be corrupt to the bone.”
5. “…everyone knows the news is all fake anyway.”
6. “Sexual impulse was a danger to the Party, and it exploited it. It played a similar trick on parental instincts. Meanwhile, children were systematically rebelled against their parents, taught to spy on them and report any deviations. The family became, in effect, an extension of the Thought Police.”
7. “Do you understand that the purpose of Newspeak is to narrow the scope of thought? Eventually thoughtcrime will literally become impossible because there will be no words to describe it.”
8. “Power is not a means but an end…the object of persecution is persecution.”
9. “Winston, how can one exercise power over another?” thought Winston. “By making him suffer,” he said. “That’s right, by making him suffer. Obedience is not enough. Unless he suffers, how can you be sure that he is obeying your will and not his own?”
10. “Freedom is the freedom to say that two and two make four.”
11. “The Ministry of Peace is concerned with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture, the Ministry of Abundance with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from ordinary hypocrisy. They are deliberate exercises in doublethink.”
12. “Doublethink is the ability to hold two contradictory beliefs simultaneously and accept both.”
13. “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered.”
14. “We have severed the ties between children and parents, between men and men, and between men and women. No one wants to trust his wife, his children, or his friends. But in the future, there will be neither wives nor friends.”
15. “Astonishing statistics continued to flow from the telescreen: Compared to last year, there was more food, more clothing, more houses, more furniture, more cooking pots, more fuel, more ships, more helicopters, more books, more babies. More of everything except disease, crime, and insanity.”
All Glenn can say is, “That’s just where America is.”
To hear his commentary on the quote and examples of how the U.S. federal government embodies Orwell’s “1984,” watch the clip above.
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