1984

 

1984 is a book that is often referenced when discussing politics. If someone wants to sound intelligent they used phrased like Orwellian, newspeak and memory hole. As someone who had never read 1984, I got tired of hearing about Big Brother and not knowing what it meant. So I decided to read 1984. 

After reading it in a few days I had mixed feelings. It is a great story, there is no doubt about that. The twist where Winston gets arrested was jaw dropping. The ending was breath taking, no pun intended. The final scene of 1984 was very similar to the ending scene of The Sopranos. So much so that I feel David Chase must have been inspired by 1984. 

However, the writing style of 1984 was not that great. It was a bit of a struggle to continue reading the book. It was not the most enjoyable read. The prose felt disjointed and forced. But other than that it was a great read. I don't think 1984 is overrated. It is pertinent today more than ever. With the advanced technology at hand the elite can watch their subject's every move. The secret police can listen to our conversations, read our messages and watch us in the privacy of our homes. We are living in 1984 and Snowden showed us that.

My thoughts are that there is nothing new under the sun like the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 1:9. Way before electronic surveillance the elite had discovered a way to keep an eye on their subjects. The ruling class invented God or the gods who watched our every move, knew our thoughts and listened to our most private conversations. Moreover, like in 1984 rulers used fear and torture to keep the public on a leash. So the elite invented hell, the afterlife and eternal damnation. They promised heavenly bliss for those who died in their wars and who gave them money. But torture and darkness was the punishment for the disobedient. Before Big Brother there was Zeus, Jupiter, Ra, Quetzalcoatl, Yahweh and a host of other sky authoritarians.

The ruler will always want to shape the thoughts of the ruled. Whether through religion, fake news, bread and circus those who have power always want to keep it from the powerless. The elite will use every tactic in the book to keep their privilege. Distractions, wars, threats of violence, torture, lies etc are part their arsenal. 

And perhaps the public needs to be watched. There are bad guys and criminals in society who need to be watched and followed before they commit crimes and hurt the innocent. Places like China and Dubai are safe and clean because the government keeps their boot on the people. Like Machiavelli wrote it is better to be feared than loved. And so a fearful public obeys the law. Without strict laws and a fearsome government the lunatics will soon run the asylum. So in the east and much of the world, 1984 will be the future.

Europe and the west is at the precipice of an enormous cross road. One path leads to Islam and sharia states and on the other hedonistic carefree liberalism plus electronic surveillance. However, I feel Islam will triumph over liberalism. The blue haired anarchists will be beheaded by radical Muslims. George Orwell was both right and wrong about the future. Big Brother will be Allah and he will be watching with the help of technology. If Europeans continue to flirt with Islam, the future will not be a boot stamping on a human face forever, it will be a scimitar descending on the infidel's neck.