2009 George Orwell Where are You?

If you haven’t read the famous book by George Orwell written prior to the 1950’s you should take the time to peruse this phenomenal piece of writing. It has been a long time since I have turned the pages of this novel but when I was driving home the other night it automatically popped into my head as I heard about the New LED’s being installed on this very highway. Now instead of the normal one colour screens with simple text on them hanging over the roadway we will now be able to see large full colour messages and even videos. This reminded me of the Orwell character who was living in the world of “Big Brother” the see all know all arm of the Government. When you consider the fact that cameras are everywhere now recording people driving home, going to the store, visiting the ATM and on and on you can see that we are not that far from Orwell’s world. In fact you can be traced pretty quickly if someone wants to find you. They can track your GPS signal, your cell phone signal or where you used your credit or ATM card and then look for you on any one of many CC TV cameras in every store or street corner. Some cars even have GPS chips installed for safety and anti theft which can be used to locate a vehicle in an emergency. “Big Brother is Watching You” is not so ridiculous as it was thought to be decades ago. Think about this statement “The “Party” has taken over all aspects of life and is intent on eradicating individuality”. Now apply this thinking to application of social programs throughout the western world and you should see the link. Socialism by its definition destroys individualism through the removal of individual responsibility for oneself. If the Government takes care of you it follows that you then need not worry about expending any effort on making your life better just follow along with the herd and line up at the trough when it is your turn. Welfare, unemployment, health care, food stamps etc are all entitlements that are provided by the Government with no obligation but to show up with your handout. Before you yell, “you heartless bum” remember that I am not talking about the small percentage of truly needy people that require the safety nets, I am speaking about the culture of “someone owes me something” that has been slowly forged over decades by the Liberals and Socialists in the western Governments. What about this statement that can drive chills up your spine as you see this art in play in the news day after day? “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” Think about the constant attempts by rogue governments that try to say the Holocaust didn’t happen or the current governments that remove the records of the atrocities from school history books in order not to offend anyone. Listen to the TV news networks after a major political event that is good for one party but not for the other. On one station you will hear the news from a perspective that takes the bad news and spins it into good news. On the other station you will hear the good news spun into excellent news. Very rarely will you find any bad news a day or two after the event as everyone has moved on and really doesn’t care who was right and who was wrong. The talking heads or “spin doctors” are an amazing breed and can change results through distortion and downright lies without blinking an eye. They have no morals, principles or a conscience that guide them and therefore are immune to the truth. A few examples of life under “Big Brother” but don’t take my word read the book.
I may reread 1984 again and then take another crack at providing you with some other interesting links to our own path towards Oceania.