Big Brother is watching
“Before the Hate had proceeded for thirty seconds, uncontrollable exclamations of rage were breaking out from half the room…But what was strange was that although the Kochs were hated and despised by everybody, although every day, and a thousand times a day, on platforms, on the telescreen, in newspapers, in books, their theories were refuted, smashed, ridiculed, held up to the general gaze for the pitiful rubbish that they were—in spite of all this, their influence never seemed to grow less. Always there were fresh dupes waiting to be seduced by them. A day never passed when spies and saboteurs acting under their directions were not unmasked by the Thought Police. They were the commanders of a vast shadow army, an underground network of conspirators dedicated to the overthrow of the cause of Truth, Justice, and The Affordable Care Act.”
This is a paraphrase of one of the best known passages in George Orwell’s ‘1984.’
In his nightmarish vision of a totalitarian future, the author describes a mandatory indoctrination session where the hero and his co-workers at “The Ministry of Truth” (i.e. the propaganda ministry) are forced to take part in a daily “Two Minute Hate.” They have to watch a video broadcast designed to get them stirred up against whoever is the villain “du jour,” i.e. whoever is the foremost enemy of the regime at the moment. Continue reading
