1984 The Scary Truth

 1984 The Scary Truth

            The famous book 1984 is a dystopian novel based on the way George Orwell saw the future possibly unfolding. One may see it just as a work of fiction, but others use the book to open their eyes to the real world and all the possibilities they overlook. The book describes a world completely controlled by Big Brother, the government that rules the super-state Oceania. The inhabitants of Oceania must be careful of how they look, what they say, what they write, and how they interact. The possible future described may seem farfetched, but Orwell saw it as the natural outcome of Communism and Fascism. People in this society are watched like dogs; every move that is made is monitored and documented by Big Brother. In American society today, citizens are subject to much of the same surveillance, without realizing the extent. It seems Orwell’s dystopian future could be a reality in what is supposed to be the freest country on Earth.

            Big Brother is the “friendly face” of Oceania’s government; it is also a derogatory term used today to describe the ever so powerful United States government. The name Big Brother describes how those in authority watch over the actions of every citizen. In 1984 the amount of surveillance is uncalled for, every room and hallway has a telescreen. These telescreens are used to listen to every word being said above a low whisper, and to watch every movement made by an individual. These telescreens keep the people of Oceania under constant fear of being vaporized. Similar to Oceania, the United States has cameras posted around every corner, some used for security, but all of them are accessible by the government to monitor the public.

The term vaporized is used to describe how someone in the society would all of a sudden disappear the instance Big Brother heard or seen something it does not agree with. In 1984 the Newspeak writer, Syme, was vaporized. The reason he was vaporized was simply because he was intelligent and understood the point behind his job, which was to edit the language and reduce it to the simplest form. The fact Syme was intelligent does not seem like a good enough reason to vaporize him, but in a society where the capable are feared, due to the fact they can rebel. This is similar to the “black bagging” the US government uses to make people disappear. Hassan Ghul was one of the people since the national disaster of September 11, 2001 who disappeared and to this day has yet to be found. His charges are unknown, the only evidence is he was suspected to be part of al-Qaeda. Now for someone to be vaporized in the book 1984, one must talk out against Big Brother or they must commit a deed that is not permitted, such as falling in love or showing emotion. In today’s society when someone is black bagged they are never seen or heard from again, which is the point of it. A similarity between Orwell’s vaporizing and the American’s black bagging is neither requires or allows the person or persons to have a trial, the government has final say on what happens to the individual.

Depending on the job, black bagging someone can also mean keeping them under heavy surveillance with phone taps, wires throughout a home and office; and even copying confidential information. For someone in modern society to be watched so closely does not require much according to Glenn Greenwald, “For the past year, the Associated Press has systematically exposed how the New York Police Department, often working in conjunction with the CIA, engaged in a sprawling spying campaign aimed at Muslim individuals, students, institutions and mosques in the United States, all without a whiff of any suspected wrongdoing.” This excerpt from Greenwald’s website describes how someone can be watched just on their religion and/or ethnicity. For those who do not know of Glenn Greenwald, he is an American lawyer who studies the constitution and civil rights of citizens. His contributing opinions show up in many popular magazines such as The New York Times, The American Conservative, etc.

Do to the quoted War on Terrorism; the government has rapidly gained more and more oversight on the people. Some of the Acts and Bills passed by our government are starting to make Big Brother too powerful, causing Orwell’s book 1984 to slow transition from fiction to fact. The legal way to vaporize someone in modern society is to use the law and twist it the way you please. In 2009 a series of bills were passed giving the Armed Forces extra powers in war time. One of these bills is “SEC. 1021. AFFIRMATION OF AUTHORITY OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES TO DETAIN COVERED PERSONS PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE.” To make things a little simpler, the passing of these bills gives the Armed Forces the ability “to indefinitely detain, without charge or trial, anyone they consider to be engaged in hostilities against the United States. The provision would not restrict military detentions to people in specific countries or regions of the world and would apply to U.S. citizens living within the United States “(opencongress.org). Even though these acts and bills are only effective during wartime that does not change anything, approximately twenty-five so called wars have happen or are happening since the year 2000. So meeting the requirement of wartime is not a challenge at all. As stated above Orwell’s book 1984 can be used to open the eyes of the reader. Now that our government has the right to detain anyone they see as a threat to the country the idea of telescreens, vaporization, and Big Brother are no longer just fiction.

Many other acts and bills over the last few years have been passed giving overwhelming power to government officials. After the tragedy on September 11, 2001 the American government passed the Patriots Act, this act was the forefront of what is to come. With the passing of the Patriots Act the government has the ability to have constant surveillance on anyone they please. Even though there are restrictions stating someone must fit a certain category before surveillance can be placed on them; the government controls the FBI, NSA, and CIA which are all corporations that hold lists of possible terrorists. If one steps back and looks at the big picture, the government has given itself the ability to watch everyone and everything people do, not only the ability to watch, but to detain them without a trial. These acts and bills are slowly overwriting the rights given to the people by the constitution.

“Liberty Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment: No State shall... deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” This statement from the fourteenth amendment states we have the right to life, liberty and property. The definition of liberty according to the dictionary is “freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according to choice.” If people were truly free of control and interference the government would not tap its people’s cell phones, and wire its people’s houses. Similar to 1984 the people were told all the freedoms they do have, they were not taught all the laws except the three main slogans “WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, and IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.” Every day that passes life as it once was is changing; no one will ever be as free or as strong as they were yesterday.

Now that the secrets out, is the possibility of telescreens, vaporization, and controlling history really that farfetched? As far as the people of today know they have privacy and the ability to do as they please without government interference, but who is to say that we are not being watched? Telescreens in every room is old technology Orwell predicted, in modern society the technology available allows us to be watched from space through satellites in real time. If one analyzes society enough they may come to realize the so called dystopian fiction of 1984 is actually a living nightmare that is overlooked every day.

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