1984 by George Orwell
Commander's Post -- July 2022
by Tom Holley
George Orwell -- 1903-1950
Years ago, like most high school students, I read George Orwell’s 1984. It was published in 1949. I remember some phrases like “reality control,” “double think” and “thought crime.” But, it wasn’t until recently when the current government administration wanted to appoint a disinformation task force czar, “Ministry of Truth,” that I determined to read it again. Wow! What a reality check.
Let me point out several current life experiences that Orwell perfectly described in his book. First and foremost, “reject the evidence of your eyes and ears.” In other words, don’t believe your lying eyes. Believe only what the government tells you; the government knows what is best. There is no border crisis. There is no shortage of goods on the shelves at the grocery store. There is only transitory inflation. The high energy costs are what we must endure to have a livable future. Putin and those dastardly Republicans are the sole reasons for our country’s problems.
It is important to delete items from our present in order to forget the past. Orwell points specifically to books, monuments, street and building names, school and university names, and old ways of thinking. After all, if we eliminate the past we gain strength through common wisdom. “Ignorance (reparations) is not meant to divide or harm, rather it will promote reconciliation, harmony and a reason to come together as Americans” [1]. But what should we remember, “The end is contained in the beginning.”
Orwell called them the “thought police.” We call them the “woke” mob but there is no difference. If one’s thinking does not agree with their thinking then the race is on to denounce you and everything you stand for. However, even Orwell didn’t foresee social media (Big Brother was the media) and the devastating impact it can and often does disseminate. But, he was secure in the idea that overreaching government will eventually control what you are allowed to think.
If one controls the media and/or what is taught in schools then one controls the narrative. One only needs to decide what you learn each day in order to promote and eventuate a specific idea; “continuously mold the consciousness.” Critical race theory (white men are responsible for everything bad that has happened in this country) has been taught in our schools to one degree or another since 1988. While it is sheer lunacy, the liberal media wants us to believe that we must allow it in the name of free speech. And, don’t forget, as parents you have no business thinking or controlling what is right for your child.
Orwell saw early on that the only way to ultimately dominate the masses was through gun control and religion. Big Brother had guns; no one else was allowed to carry a gun under threat of immediate execution. Will things end well for you if the government confiscates our weapons?
Orwell’s “Big Brother” -- “infallible and all powerful.” There is no room for God because the government is going to be all things to you, i.e. God. Don’t believe your lying eyes. Live life in the present and forget that old inconvenient stuff. Trust the government to do what is in your best interest. You don’t need a gun and you don’t need God.
While I can’t do the book intellectual justice, I would encourage you to again read 1984. Every citizen needs to understand how spot on Orwell’s premonitions were about overreaching government. Maybe his vision was 70 years early but it was totally correct. It is the reason that as Sons of Confederate Veterans we must be educated on current affairs -- we must get involved in local government -- we must vote -- we must live the “charge.” As George Orwell would suggest, be part of the “Brotherhood” unless you wish to be controlled by “Big Brother”.
[1] Jerold Nadler, Democrat from New York.
Tom Holley, Commander
Thomson Guards, Camp 91
