More than Expected

Is it for citizens' freedom or for governments' power that governments pass

Freedom Acts? Surveillance? The novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

demonstrates this concealed agenda. Roy Ogren's essay "Why Read 1984," as well as

Paul Joseph Watson and Alex Jones' article "Americans Are Now Living in a Society

That Rivals Orwell's 1984." The authors show how propaganda and technology are

used by the government to sway public opinion. Many of Orwell's apocalyptic views

in Nineteen Eighty-Four are being realized now, although on a much larger scale. By

describing the hidden use of technology in modern America, both the essay and the

article illustrate components of Orwell's dystopian worldview.

In Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell envisions a future dominated by propaganda,

in which one's views are constantly molded and reshaped to conform to the party's

viewpoint. "WAR IS PEACE," there are continual reminders."FREEDOM IS

SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH," proclaim slogans on every telescreen

throughout Oceania, bombarding people with material designed to "enlighten [ones]

mind, arouse [ones] passion," and "mold [ones] belief" (Orwell 130, Ogren 6).

Orwell's vision is unfolding silently in the lives of every living human being in the

twenty-first century, despite the fact that the world is nearly seventy years in the

future. These political slogans. Today, the propaganda portrayed in Orwell's work is

clearly shown, although it is frequently overlooked as required for national security

by policymakers. One might be blasted with party slogans such as "Janet Napolitano's

"See Something, Say Something"" from one of the hundreds of in-store screens while

collecting weekly groceries at a local Wal-Mart.Even behaviors like "paying with

cash" are suspect to authorities (Watson and Jones 10). Although these phrases may

be meaningless to the typical American, educated or critical thinking may recognize

that Orwell's novel served not just as entertainment but also as a warning.

While the television was crude technology in Orwell's day, it still had enough

capabilities for the government, such as the ability to "receive and transmit" signals

back and forth (Orwell 5). Although residents in 1984 only had one television in their

homes, the concept of not having many televisions, smartphones, and laptops in a

twenty-first-century home is odd, especially in this age of information overload.We

are more susceptible to misinformation due to information and technology than

Oceanian inhabitants (Ogren 6). Many people believe their phones are safe from

messages like those in Nineteen Eighty-Four, but they are mistaken, because a new

American alert system called the "FEMA Emergency Alert System" will be able to

"hijack all conventional broadcast communications, and mandatory government

messages will appear" on any device (Watson and Jones 12). Imagine all the cellular

gadgets, laptops, and television in someone's home with this type of power and

capability to brainwash citizens.For years, "See Something, Say Something" has been

displayed all day and night (Watson and Jones 11). Orwell's greatest concern was that

technology would become an indispensable element of daily life, and that it might

later aid him.Watson and Jones propose "[re-educating Americans] into acquiescence"

as a technique for governments to influence people's beliefs in secret ways (Watson

and Jones 12).

 Many of Orwell's terrible dreams are becoming or have already become reality

in modern society, but some current government activities are more heinous than

anything Big Brother has ever done. Although propaganda appears to be both

dangerous and successful, it can be avoided if one does not take information at face

value and accepts all a government promises. While it may appear that technology

was created to assist the normal person in their daily lives, it can also have more

hidden, dark, and militaristic features than one might think.

 Work Cited

Jones, Alex, and Paul Joseph Watson. "Americans Are Now Living in a Society That

Rivals Orwell’s 1984." Infowars. 9 Nov. 2011. Web. 17 July 2015.

<http://www.infowars.com/americans-are-now-living-in-a-societythat-rivals-orwells-

1984/

Roy Ogren was head of the English Department at Branford High School, Branford,

CT From Rationales for Commonly Challenged Taught Books. Themed issue of

Connecticut English Journal, Diane P. Shugert (Ed.), vol. 15, no. 1, Fall 1983.

Orwell, George. 1984 [Nineteen Eight-four]. Penguin. Print.