[FS]

Originally Posted by sspadowsky

Telescreens- In the book, these are literally everywhere, both broadcasting propaganda and watching our every move simultaneously. Today, we have televisions almost virtually everywhere. Even at the gas station near my house, they have small LCD screens at the pump, so you can watch *gag* Fox News while you fill your tank. Add that to video cameras, the new cell phones with built-in cameras, and surveillance cameras nearly everywhere- on streets, at intersections, and in most places of business. Some companies monitor all of their employees on cameras 100% of the time, and even broadcast the footage on the comany's website. We're pretty much under one kind of surveillance or another almost constantly.

I don't really agree on this one. I don't know that much about surveillance in the working place, but for the majority of society it's still all output and no input (unless you want it). In several countries of Europe, police have experimented with hanging up cameras in risky areas to catch any violent criminals in the act. A lot of people cried wolf over that for nothing, and then it also turned out in most cases that the cops barely do anything with the tapes.
However, when I think about it more, the huge output of media (even if not so much caused by the government) has claimed a huge part in politics. Though that power lies largely in the hands of the media, and they barely realize it.

Originally Posted by sspadowsky

Newspeak- This is the mode of the English language that is being implemented in the book. It's a stripping-down of the language into something without color. By that I mean adjectives, any words that could be construed as even remotely controversial. Instead of "bad," there is "ungood." Rather than "horrible," they have "doubleplus ungood." You have to read the book for a more thorough explanation of it, but this is what I'm getting at: I liken it to our current discourse. For instance, no one says a top administration official lied. They say he "misspoke," or "issued a statement that contained factual inaccuracies." Even such a simple word as "lie" has now been raped (I'm sorry, "sexually assaulted") by the Political Correctness movement.

The purpose of Newspeak was slightly different, but I definitely agree on this one. "Collateral damage" anyone? Over the past two years, it's like politicians and the media have introduced a code language to make 'our' barbarism seem less ugly than 'their' barbarism. And at the same time, the complex words distract the rabble from thinking too much.

Originally Posted by sspadowsky

The Proles- The Proletariat, the working class folks. They are not interested in politics, know nothing about those in power, believe what they are told by the media, and are interested in little more than the football scores and the size of the lottery jackpot. Sound like any public you know?

I guess that makes Bush-buddy businessmen the Civilians (or Citizens, or Party members, I'm not sure what they were called in the book). :/

Originally Posted by sspadowsky

The Thought Police and Unpersons- In the book, all laws have been abolished, except thoughtcrime, i.e. speech or literature which goes against The Party, or even going into a neighborhood where you don't belong, or associating with the wrong group of people. People simply disappear and are never heard from again. All record of their existence is erased. While we're not at that point, I certainly liken our government's recent detention of people who have done nothing wrong, who were never charged with a crime, but were stripped of their civil liberties, and sometimes even deported, to this sort of behavior. In other words, we're quite a way off from that, but we're headed in that direction. The proposed expansion of the Patriot Act calls for the DOJ to be able to conduct secret arrests without court order, evidence, or any oversight or accountability whatsoever.

And Guantanamo Bay. They're moving slow, and probably not with all-encompassing evil in mind, but they're moving. If Bush gets re-elected, they'll get a chance to move a lot farther, probably. Brrr.

Originally Posted by sspadowsky

Constant war- The world has been divided into three "superstates:" Eurasia, Eastasia, and Oceania. London, which is a part of Oceania, is the setting for the book. Oceania is constantly at war. Winston comes into possession of a book which explains the purpose of constant war, how it keeps the military-industrial complex in business, keeps the people nationalistic and unquestioning of their government, etc. There's more to it than that, but it's been a while since I read the book. Sounds an awful lot like the very open-ended war on terror, doesn't it?

Yeah, the war that never ends. I don't think the concept's actually too complicated in the book, it's roughly just war that keeps the machine running. In this case it's war that keeps Bush in his seat, because as long as there's war, people need him, or presume to need him. The note on people not questioning their government is frightening in these times, too. How many times didn't we hear from Ronnie, or VinceZeb, or some other unthinking tool that Bush was not to be doubted while he was leading the wars against Afghanistan and Iraq?