Essay - Does 1984 Apply Today? George Orwell Wrote the Book 1984...

Does 1984 Apply Today?

George Orwell wrote the book ***** in 1949. The world had been through two world wars, the Spanish civil war and the horrors of ***** holocaust. Although, he was writing based in and about England, like Machiavelli's The Prince it is possible to see his vision in the workings ***** almost any government, especially one ***** ***** current administration, that is quite determined ***** it will do as it wishes irrespective of what the people want.

I have not called the present administration conservative because I don't believe that is the term that applies to it. To me ***** *****ans to conserve the founding ideals of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution. ***** people who wrote those documents and founded this country were not that far removed from ***** monarchies ***** other forms of hereditary dictatorships of the Old World. Their intention w***** very clearly to protect the new country from the kinds of abuses their families had dealt with in Europe.

***** writes a novel depict*****g ***** future where individuality is only allowed to the lowest classes. If you are a prole, which is short for *****tariat, you are considered *****o stupid to matter. They live in the worst housing, they ***** the least of everything except they are allowed to be themselves.

***** Orwell's world, to be of the Party, to be part of ***** "upper class" is ***** be controlled always, for ever, in every way.

Winston Smith, our hero, is thinking anti-government thoughts—a crime punishable by death in ***** society. He is mulling over the concepts of "Reality control," ***** government policy of constantly re-writing history so ***** there is never anything but what the Party and Big Bro*****r says ***** is right in this moment. Winston works ***** the "Ministry ***** Truth." It is *****'s job to do the *****. It ***** Winston's job to make Big Brother always *****. Whether it is production records—Winston, in his thoughts, says ***** doesn't ***** what numbers are *****cluded in the reports because none of the reports are true. (***** believes that nothing was produced in the way of boots,) or who ***** "enemy" is ***** year, Winston knows. He knows none of it ***** true.

Is there any of 1984 in our ***** ***** how our government does things? When World War II ended in 1945, "we" the "good guys" had beaten ***** Axis powers, "the bad *****." Germ*****, Italy and Japan and t heir fascism had ***** stopped. The world was now safe and we would be able to ***** in peace. By the time Orwell wrote 1984, four years later, there ***** a new enemy. Our former allies, the Soviet Union, Ch*****a and Communism ***** the ***** threat to decent people everywhere. We went through ***** Korean "Police Action," (to quote a character from MASH, "What do they think we're doing over here, giving out parking tickets?") and the long years of the "Cold *****." *****