Two Thousand Thirteen

We live in a very different society to the one portrayed by Orwell through the character of Winston in Nineteen Eighty-Four as the United States prides itself as a country on promoting the idea of freedom. To me, this means the freedom to express our humanity through how we choose to live out our lives. However, these freedoms should never be taken for granted and need to be carefully guarded. We need to be aware of groups that demand conformity, be aware of attempts by groups to control language, and be aware of grabs for power as these are the key weapons in the arsenal of the Party.

The character of Winston loses his humanity to the Party in the novel. Throughout the first two sections of the novel, he tries to hide his humanity by attempting to conceal his personal relationship with Julia and writing his private thoughts in a diary. He even tries to join a secret Brotherhood that works against the party in a clandestine manner. However, in the end, the inexorable, all-powerful Party owns him and he is no longer free to even think about defining himself through relationships, preferences, and passions (Orwell). This matters in our society because many believe we should be free to define ourselves through our relationships, preferences, and passions, as long as we are not hurting anyone else.

Although our society is not at all similar to the one portrayed by Orwell, we are not always free to define ourselves through our relationships. A group that has made this difficult is, in this case, the federal government. The Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman for the purposes of federal benefits (Liptak). This act rewards heterosexual marriage but disadvantages those who do not share that orientation, devalues their relationships, and provides an example of one group attempting to have another group conform to an arbitrary norm.

In our society, we also need to be aware of how groups attempt to control language. A current example is the debate on gun rights. The language used by the NRA includes words and phrases such as “Ring of Freedom,” “freedom fight,” “right,” “firearm,” and “King Pinocchio” (referring to the President) (NRA). The NRA appears to avoid words used on the other side of the debate by the White House, such as “gun violence,” “wrong hands,” “background check,” and “mental health” (The White House). As Orwell makes clear in his ideas on newspeak in Nineteen Eighty-Four, if a group can control the language used, it can control the message and ideas about an issue, as each of these groups are trying to.

We also need to be aware of grabs for power. In recent history, one of the most incredible grabs for power in the United States must be the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), of which an extension was signed in 2004. This post 9/11 legislation broadened the discretion of law enforcement in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts indefinitely, significantly reduces restriction in law enforcement agencies gathering of data, regulation of financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals, and expanded the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism. The extension in 2004 includes roving wiretaps, searches of business records (including library records), and conducting surveillance of “lone wolves” (107th Congress; “Patriot Act”). The USA PATRIOT Act gives the federal law enforcement powers to observe citizens and immigrants alike without permission from the courts in many instances.

Orwell’s novel contains these warnings for humanity but I go to bed every night safe in the knowledge that members of U.S. society would never put up with any serious imposition on their freedoms. They would never let apathy and taking freedoms for granted to allow any one group to hoodwink them into the kind of slavish devotion to it that Winston experienced. Right?

Works cited:

107th Congress Public Law 56. Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools                Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT Act) Act of 2001. Washington: GPO,      2001. Web. 12 April, 2013.

Liptak, Adam. “A Look at Issues in the Defense of Marriage Act Case.” New York Times, 27 March 2013.Web. 12 April, 2013.

NRA Digital Network. National Rifle Association of America, 2013. Web. 12 April, 2013.

Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel. Orlando: Harcourt Brace, 1949. Print.

“Patriot Act.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 8 April 2013. Web. 12 April, 2013.

The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 12 April, 2013. 

Picture credits:

qeisecurity.com

fixthispcnow.webs.com