Orwellian

I have been back in “Civilization” for three weeks. It is as if I have arrived in George Orwell’s 1984. Last week, I listened with disbelief to the Democratic National Convention – Doublethink everywhere. There was John Kerry, who called American Marines risking their lives to liberate Iraq from a mass murder, baby killers, talking about respecting our military. Joe Biden claiming the GM is alive even as they announce they are selling cars at $49,000 loss, when they will never repay the “lone” they have stolen from the taxpayers, and have paid no taxes at all. There was Bill Clinton, a liar from the beginning, claiming that things are better in an America where unemployment has reached levels not approached since the mess created by the Carter administration and were the average pay of our citizens has shrunk $4,000 a year.

Obama’s speech is not worth mentioning.

Orwell’s protagonist, Winston Smith, finds himself in a filthy slop house trying to eat tasteless pinkish – gray stew. He tries to remember the world that once was, the world before the Party and Big Brother made it “better”. He listens as the telescreen proclaims how much improved things are than they were and Winston knows it is a lie.

“As though in confirmation of this, a trumpet call floated from the telescreen just above their heads. However, it was not the proclamation of a military victory [Osama is Dead] this time, but merely an announcement from the ministry of Plenty.”

“’Comrades!’ cried an eager youthful voice. [Bill Clinton, no doubt] ‘Attention, comrades! We have glorious news for you. We have won the battle for production! Returns now completed of the output of all classes of consumption goods show that the standard of living has risen by no less than twenty per cent over the past year. All over Occania [The convention hall and MSNBC] this morning there were irrepressible spontaneous demonstrations when workers marched out of factories and offices and paraded through the streets with banners voicing their gratitude to Big Brother [Barack Obama] for the new, happy life which his wise leadership has bestowed upon us.”

As he sits there contemplating the lies he himself has stuffed into the media relating to consumption goods the voice broadcasts his own fabrications. “It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grams a week. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grams a week. Was it possible that they could swallow that, after only twenty – four hours? Yes, they swallowed it. Parsons swallowed it easily, with the stupidity of an animal.

The eyeless creature at the other table swallowed it fanatically, passionately, with the furious desire to track down, denounce, and vaporize anyone who should suggest that last week the ration had been thirty grams. Syme, too – in some more complex way, involving doublethink – Syme swallowed it. Was he, then, alone in the possession of a memory?”

Back from Camp, back in the Obama Nation; I am forced to ask, am I the only one with a memory. Am I the only one who has ever read Orwell? Am I the only one who knows it is all a lie?