So, there has been a lot of interest in George Orwell’s classic book, 1984, lately. First written in 1948, the book is back on top of the Amazon best-seller list, with tens of thousands of new copies being printed in the first few months of 2017 alone. Some people are re-reading the book and others, like myself and my book club, are reading it for the first time.
And, I have to tell you, it really is terrifying. There are definitely some parallels between Orwell’s party and the current administration. For example, when you compare Orwell’s term “doublethink” with the current administrations term “alternative facts.” Both require a firm, almost fanatical belief in something while also understanding that that something it is not true. Like I said, terrifying.
What scared me most though was not necessarily the Orwellian aspects of our current political climate, but the fact that I can easily see how we go from today to the future described in the book. It does not seem at all far-fetched that we would end up in never-ending war, just for the sake of being at war. (Or, perhaps we already are?). Nor does it seem far-fetched to have a “Party” that would be propped up by those who only understand “when to cheer and when to boo.”
As Orwell describes it:
“In a way, the world-view of the Party imposed itself most successfully on people incapable of understanding it. They could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening.”
This already exists here in America. There are absolutely base supporters of some politicians for whom the above is already true. And, if it we continue down this path, it will only get worse. Two generations and no one will remember what truth is. And then we all end up in coveralls, drinking gin for breakfast and trying to convince ourselves not to believe what we see, but what we’re told.
So, um, yeah, read the book. It’s scary, but it’s probably necessary. Unless, of course, you like gin and lies, then by all means continue as you are.
1984 is on my ‘I must re-read this. . . .’ pile., I keep getting distracted by shiny new books but its still sitting there. The parallels terrify me and I live on the other side of the planet, so I cannot image what it is like actually living under the current administration. Another you might be interested in is the Handmaids tale. I watched the TV series and then read the book, an interesting way of doing it because its made me recognize the differences between the two and understand why the changes were made whilst not distracting me from watching the show. I adored both – give it a go! ( hopefully I’ll get my review posted very very soon. . . )
It’s definitely a terrifying time here now and honestly, reading 1984 definitely didn’t help matters! I’m glad I read it, but it took me forever because it really is depressingly close to our current reality.
As for The Handmaid’s Tale, I read it before, but years and years ago. I guess I need to add it to *my* “Re-read This List.” I did watch the show and it made me cry and yell a lot, but agree it’ll be interesting to see the changes they made from the book. I guess I need to prepare myself for more sadness. ;-)