My fellow Americans
I wonder if there is any truth in my current perception that George Orwell is the last unifier of American politics: it seems conservatives fear America becoming that which was depicted in 1984, whereas liberals believe the Bush administration turned the country into Animal Farm. Perhaps I am wrong. Either way, from him comes the following passage. Both sides should take note:
The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies “something not desirable.” The words democracy, socialism, freedom, patriotic, realistic, justice have each of them several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another. In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using the word if it were tied down to any one meaning. Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different.
From “Politics and the English Language,” 1946 — but really timeless.
Yeah, I have to agree, here. If you listen to the words of both sides of the political spectrum, they’re the same. But the sentiments underlying the words…are they the same, or not? It’s almost impossible to be certain of someone’s intentions, especially if they themselves aren’t certain.
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Wow, you’re kidding about conservatives worrying about the USA turning into 1984 right? Last I checked it was the Republicans who built secret prisons that people (including American citizens) have disappeared into to be tortured. Oh, and what about the illegal wiretapping of American citizens that the… wait for it… Republicans initiated and that us crazy liberals have been protesting. And don’t get me started on the anti-intellectualism permeating the current “conservativism” (Sarah Palin, anybody?) Granted nobody I know of has called Obama Emmanuel Goldstein yet and there probably isn’t a literal room 101 at Gitmo, but to say conservatives fear turning the country into 1984 doesn’t reflect the reality that they ARE turning the country into 1984.
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Chelsey replied:
February 4th, 2010 at 10:30
I don’t disagree, but the fact remains that in order to have an 1984 society, you have to have a totalitarian regime that controls everything. Fundamentally, Republicans are against “big government.” They may be duped into it in the name of national security, which I think is a grievous mistake, but I think there are limits to what they would accept.
Regardless, Orwell’s point about the words “fascism,” “patriotism,” and “democracy” is prescient.
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