Sharon Kennedy: Orwell’s '1984' is upon us
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. ... And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed — if all records told the same tale — then the lie passed into history and became truth. ‘Who controls the past,’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.’” These few lines were taken from Orwell’s book, “1984,” which television journalist Ali Velshi briefly analyzed on his recent “Banned Book Club” program.
When Velshi was hit with tear gas and rubber bullets while broadcasting live during the 2020 George Floyd violent protests in Minneapolis, DJT humiliated and mocked him. Velshi doesn’t hide his dislike of the former president. Reviewing books that have been banned by extreme ultra-right citizens gives him the perfect platform in which to expose what is happening and will continue if Trump is re-elected.
Winston Smith, the protagonist in Orwell’s book, is a worker in the Ministry of Truth. It’s his responsibility to rewrite historical documents so they match the Party’s propaganda. An authoritarian government must manipulate history and embrace alternate facts while simultaneously keeping an eye on the populace. Velshi, like many others, is sounding a warning that is largely ignored because it seems preposterous. Books are banned. Then they are burned. Seems ridiculous? Consider the 2016 election that proved that the ridiculous can capture the imaginations of millions and lead to the absurd. What’s the next move?
Some folks might say we already live in an era of the “Thought Police” and have for decades. We have no privacy in our homes. We know we’re being watched. The cameras on our computers and smartphones record everything we say. Even our thoughts are anticipated. We write or text something and before we decide the next word, the digital device does it for us. Is this level of sophistication encouraging us to think? No, of course not. Even as I write this my computer is telling me what to say. I often disagree with it, but if taken to “Room 101” where I would be faced with my worst fears, I would soon capitulate and agree, as Winston did, that “2 + 2 = 5.”
When our loyalty to Big Brother is complete, we’ll do or say anything to gain and keep his approval and avoid the torture Winston endured before he caved. Banning books is the first step an authoritarian government takes. Ignorance of the past becomes an absolute necessity to quash resistance. The U.S. Constitution must be rewritten. If America’s version of Big Brother regains power, we’ll be forced to hang his image in every room in our home and genuflect to it whenever we pass by. If we refuse this outward sign of obedience and adoration, we’ll be considered intellectuals and immediately arrested.
You think it can’t happen here? Think again. Democracy is fragile. Not many have lasted as long as ours. Perhaps the ancient Greeks thought Athens would never implode. Dr. Michael Scott of Cambridge University argues that after 200 years the Athenian democratic system destroyed itself. “If history can provide a map of where we have been, a mirror to where we are right now and a guide to what we should do next, the story of this period is perfectly suited to do that in our times. We ignore it at our peril,” he wrote in his book, “From Democrats to Kings.”
Are you willing to take the chance? Yes? Then, like Winston, your struggle is over. You have conquered yourself and are caught in your idol’s web of lies.
— To contact Sharon Kennedy, send her an email at sharonkennedy1947@gmail.com. Kennedy's new book, "View from the SideRoad: A Collection of Upper Peninsula Stories," is available from her or Amazon.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Sharon Kennedy: Orwell’s '1984' is upon us
