Comparing 1984 to Today: A State of Constant War

War. / What is it good for? / Absolutely nothing, American soul musician Edwin
Starr sings. Apparently, America does not agree. The United States went into war in
Afghanistan 2001 and plans to leave in 2016, making it the longest war in American
history. Recently, President Barak Obama announced his plans for another long war in the
Middle East. Fight, we must, Obama tells the American people. Similar slogans are
used in the dystopian novel, 1984. War is Peace, the government tells the people of
Oceania in 1984. The government of Oceania breaks and makes alliances as it pleases, to
conquer lands. The constant state of war in 1984 by George Orwell compares to the
seemingly never-ending conflict America has in the Middle East.
America and Oceania are stuck in never-ending wars. Greider, a writer from The
Nation, states, It [war in the Middle East] may take ten years, or longer If Americans
step back from their bitter recriminations, they may be able to recognize an impossible
pattern, in which we are caught in a trap of our making. Winston, a party member of the
Oceanian government, could not remember a time when his country had not been at
war, (Orwell 30). Both the worlds are caught in perpetual wars, and will not stop until
they win. American policy-makers and presidents say that, American would use its
overwhelming military supremacy to maintain world order (Greider). This is similar to a
concept in 1984 where the government of Oceania is attempting to conquer the other
super states- Eastasia and Eurasia (Orwell 110). America and Oceania are similar in the
way that they are in constant turmoil with other countries.