Is the book 1984 coming true?

[techs]

It is amazing how many of the book 1984's predictions are coming true. At least thats how I see it.
What do you think?

 

[gsaldivar]

If you want to see 1984, go download a documentary on North Korea.

 

[Meuge]

Originally posted by: techs
It is amazing how many of the book 1984's predictions are coming true. At least thats how I see it.
What do you think?

Yes.

It just remains to be seen whether the final blow to democracy will be struck by secular fascism (U.K.) or religious fundamentalism (U.S.A.)

 

[dahunan]

This is from a post by a member named replicator

"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." - President GWB 2002 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020618-1.html)

"War is peace. freedom is slavery. ignorance is strength." George Orwell's 1984

 

[techs]

Originally posted by: dahunan
This is from a post by a member named replicator

"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." - President GWB 2002 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020618-1.html)

"War is peace. freedom is slavery. ignorance is strength." George Orwell's 1984

From the White House website:
Please note: many files associated with the previous administration have been removed from this server.

:Q

 

[dahunan]

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: dahunan
This is from a post by a member named replicator

"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." - President GWB 2002 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020618-1.html)

"War is peace. freedom is slavery. ignorance is strength." George Orwell's 1984

From the White House website:
Please note: many files associated with the previous administration have been removed from this server.

:Q

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020618-1.html the ) was causing probs

 

[Starbuck1975]

It is amazing how many of the book 1984's predictions are coming true. At least thats how I see it. What do you think?

I think that I am not wearing a government issue jumpsuit, and my television does not serve as a two way monitor of my everyday activities.

Opponents of the Bush Administration are free to hold protests against the President...we still have free elections...there are currently numerous investigations on Republican lawmakers who have stepped over the line for the ethical conduct we expect of our elected leaders.

To suggest our society mirrors that of 1984 is a bit of a stretch. Sure there are some parallels in terms of how that society utilized war to keep the masses in check, but even those are leaps of faith.

 

[sandorski]

I think part of the magic of "1984" was/is that it is based not so much on what could be, but what has always been. It was somewhat a reflection of reality rather than prophetic fiction.

 

[ntdz]

Liberals figure that b/c their man doesn't get elected, the country is no longer a democracy. Give me a break.

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: ntdz
Liberals figure that b/c their man doesn't get elected, the country is no longer a democracy. Give me a break.

And all conservatives love to generalize...or is that a little too much irony?

 

[NJDevil]

Originally posted by: ntdz
Liberals figure that b/c their man doesn't get elected, the country is no longer a democracy. Give me a break.

Few liberals are saying the country isn't a democracy. Rather, they are pointing out some frightening similarities between the novel and certain aspects of society. I see the calling of anti-war groups unpatriotic quite disturbing. Opposing a war is not treason.

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: NJDevil

Originally posted by: ntdz
Liberals figure that b/c their man doesn't get elected, the country is no longer a democracy. Give me a break.

Few liberals are saying the country isn't a democracy. Rather, they are pointing out some frightening similarities between the novel and certain aspects of society. I see the calling of anti-war groups unpatriotic quite disturbing. Opposing a war is not treason.

QFT...and I'd say that attempting to eliminate opposition is much close to being against what this country stands for. Of course my Murrow quote probably gave my position on this away

 

[NJDevil]

Originally posted by: Rainsford

Originally posted by: NJDevil

Originally posted by: ntdz
Liberals figure that b/c their man doesn't get elected, the country is no longer a democracy. Give me a break.

Few liberals are saying the country isn't a democracy. Rather, they are pointing out some frightening similarities between the novel and certain aspects of society. I see the calling of anti-war groups unpatriotic quite disturbing. Opposing a war is not treason.

QFT...and I'd say that attempting to eliminate opposition is much close to being against what this country stands for. Of course my Murrow quote probably gave my position on this away

Basically ... I saw the movie last night, and was quite impressed. I think some people on this board could use some cinematic enlightenment.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Few liberals are saying the country isn't a democracy. Rather, they are pointing out some frightening similarities between the novel and certain aspects of society. I see the calling of anti-war groups unpatriotic quite disturbing. Opposing a war is not treason.

Opposing a war is not treason, but labeling anti-war groups as unpatriotic is nothing more then grandstanding, rhetoric, sabre rattling and propaganda...if anti-war advocates suddenly started disappearing, facing IRS audits, or other extensive harassment...then there would be cause for alarm.

Yet the most vocal of anti-war advocates are marching on with their respective causes, with enough media oversight and coverage to ensure and protect their freedom of speech...that their message is not catching on, or causing a higher call for accountability on the Bush Administration, is more due to the sometimes erratic messages and easily dismissed tactics coming from the anti-war camp.

 

[cubeless]

Originally posted by: NJDevil

Originally posted by: Rainsford

Originally posted by: NJDevil

Originally posted by: ntdz
Liberals figure that b/c their man doesn't get elected, the country is no longer a democracy. Give me a break.

Few liberals are saying the country isn't a democracy. Rather, they are pointing out some frightening similarities between the novel and certain aspects of society. I see the calling of anti-war groups unpatriotic quite disturbing. Opposing a war is not treason.

QFT...and I'd say that attempting to eliminate opposition is much close to being against what this country stands for. Of course my Murrow quote probably gave my position on this away

Basically ... I saw the movie last night, and was quite impressed. I think some people on this board could use some cinematic enlightenment.

the truly sad thing is that you, along with millions of others, actually do form your beliefs based on movies... that is what is killing this country... you can't tell the difference between (mostly garbage) entertainment and the actual demands of real life...

 

[Starbuck1975]

Basically ... I saw the movie last night, and was quite impressed. I think some people on this board could use some cinematic enlightenment.

The book is far more poignant...although in today's pop culture society, I guess you need movies to educate people on literature that should be required reading in any academic institution that has an emphasis or specializes in government and politics.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: cubeless

Originally posted by: NJDevil

Originally posted by: Rainsford

Originally posted by: NJDevil

Originally posted by: ntdz
Liberals figure that b/c their man doesn't get elected, the country is no longer a democracy. Give me a break.

Few liberals are saying the country isn't a democracy. Rather, they are pointing out some frightening similarities between the novel and certain aspects of society. I see the calling of anti-war groups unpatriotic quite disturbing. Opposing a war is not treason.

QFT...and I'd say that attempting to eliminate opposition is much close to being against what this country stands for. Of course my Murrow quote probably gave my position on this away

Basically ... I saw the movie last night, and was quite impressed. I think some people on this board could use some cinematic enlightenment.

the truly sad thing is that you, along with millions of others, actually do form your beliefs based on movies... that is what is killing this country... you can't tell the difference between (mostly garbage) entertainment and the actual demands of real life...

Depends on the Movie. If they were discussing Rambo, I'd agree with you.

 

[Xonoahbin]

Ironic, because I just checked out 1984 from my local library three days ago. Twenty pages in, I'm like.. "Wow, we seem to be going this direction."
I could just see our government saying, "OK, we need to place cameras in your houses to protect against terrorists. This is for your own safety." If Bush were in office for life, I'd be willing to bet it'd happen.

 

[imported_Condor]

Originally posted by: Meuge

Originally posted by: techs
It is amazing how many of the book 1984's predictions are coming true. At least thats how I see it.
What do you think?

Yes.

It just remains to be seen whether the final blow to democracy will be struck by secular fascism (U.K.) or religious fundamentalism (U.S.A.)

Religious fundamentalist are a reality. Their magnitude and strength are figments of your imagination. I live in the damxed bible belt and can tell you that from what I see down here, you are full of it!

 

[NJDevil]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975

Basically ... I saw the movie last night, and was quite impressed. I think some people on this board could use some cinematic enlightenment.

The book is far more poignant...although in today's pop culture society, I guess you need movies to educate people on literature that should be required reading in any academic institution that has an emphasis or specializes in government and politics.

I'm referring to Rainsford's quotation. My senior thesis in HS, though that was a few years ago was on 1984 and Animal Farm.

I don't watch movies to become informed; that's what newspapers and books are for. Rather, I watch them because they bring stories to life (in this case, the story of Murrow's "war"). I do agree that we need more emphasis on literature rather than pop culture, but to assume we cannot get anything out of a movie like "Good Night and Good Luck" is a bit unfair.

 

[NJDevil]

Originally posted by: cubeless

Originally posted by: NJDevil

Originally posted by: Rainsford

Originally posted by: NJDevil

Originally posted by: ntdz
Liberals figure that b/c their man doesn't get elected, the country is no longer a democracy. Give me a break.

Few liberals are saying the country isn't a democracy. Rather, they are pointing out some frightening similarities between the novel and certain aspects of society. I see the calling of anti-war groups unpatriotic quite disturbing. Opposing a war is not treason.

QFT...and I'd say that attempting to eliminate opposition is much close to being against what this country stands for. Of course my Murrow quote probably gave my position on this away

Basically ... I saw the movie last night, and was quite impressed. I think some people on this board could use some cinematic enlightenment.

the truly sad thing is that you, along with millions of others, actually do form your beliefs based on movies... that is what is killing this country... you can't tell the difference between (mostly garbage) entertainment and the actual demands of real life...

I was simply noting Rainsford's signature in this post. I don't form any of my beliefs on movies, seeing as they usually provide little useful content in terms of political/moral beliefs. Sometimes, they do raise interesting questions, but those films are hard to come by.

I guess you never learned the whole "don't judge a book on its cover", considering how you grouped me in with those uniformed masses. I was simply saying that movies like this can spark some interesting questions occasionally ... in particular, I meant that Murrow's message has been ignored/lost by many on this board.

Please don't group people based on one out of context post.

 

[Thump553]

The extent to which we have lost our personal freedoms, and are under constant observation (think highway cameras, cell phone tracking, spyware on computers, etc) is pretty mind boggling. So far such intrusions have been pretty innocuous to 99.9% of us, so we don't realize what we have lost.

But since 1984 was written in the 30's, which each president our government has become more of an imperial presidency situation (with the possible exception of a temporary post-Watergate backlash). Someday in the not to distant future these two trends could combine to drastically change our society to a totalitarian one. The growth of the one party system certainly isn't helping democracy either.

 

[irwincur]

What direction... oh, Socialsim.

Orwell was a major fighter against Socialism during his time. The book was written as a warning to what an advanced Socialist state would look like. If you looked at the USSR in 1984 - you pretty much see he was correct.

So, if you want to get anything out of the book, stop the Socialist movement on the far left.

 

[Thump553]

Personally I don't think socialism is the issue at all-it is totalitarianism, the concept of state exercising total control over its citizen's actions. It doesn't matter a whit to me whether the stated goal of the State is Muslim fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, or anything else-the goal is essentially meaningless, it is the straitjacket control I object to. Ulitimately this will be bad for humanity's development.

 

[NJDevil]

Originally posted by: irwincur
What direction... oh, Socialsim.

Orwell was a major fighter against Socialism during his time. The book was written as a warning to what an advanced Socialist state would look like. If you looked at the USSR in 1984 - you pretty much see he was correct.

So, if you want to get anything out of the book, stop the Socialist movement on the far left.

Orwell was painting a picture of a more authoritarian state in 1984. How exactly is the book anti-socialist? It is clearly depicting a totalitarian society where the people have no rights. His book appears more anti-totalitarian than anti-socialist. On the other hand, Animal Farm was the more "socialism gone bad" work of his.