1984 Report

[stjimmyskater]

For my independent study, I was asked to write a paper on George Orwell's 1984 and explain two things that I find frightening about the book and why those things would go against people's beliefs in government responsibility. I liked the paper I wrote, so I'm posting it.

 

One thing that terrifies me in 1984 is the complete lack of privacy from Big Brother. Every movement is potentially being watched and listened to. The thing that worries me most about this scenario isn't that I would hate for it to happen, but rather because I currently see it happening. More and more I see this premonition that privacy isn't necessary and that if you have done nothing wrong then you have nothing to hide. That notion is ripe for abuse, and I find it terrifying. This should go against people's beliefs regarding government responsibility because it shouldn't be the business of the government to monitor the affairs of its people so long as they are within legal rights. People should value their privacy because it's one of this country's greatest freedoms. It seems like every time a government offers more 'protection' more freedoms are sacrificed. This seems to be true both in 1984 and in our world today. The more 'protected' we are, the less free we become. Personally, I value my freedom far more than my protection, but it seems like that is a value that is shrinking more and more. It seems like people just accept things like the Patriot Act that violate basically every freedom we have as an American with the excuse of 'protection' from terrorism. To me, this goes right along with "WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH." Another thing that frightens me about 1984 is the Big Brother's ability to mask and alter facts as they please. This means that the government can produce any version of the truth that they want to please any purpose that they want. In 1984, it's used for things like changing who Oceania's allies are, here it might be used for something like covering up a mistake made by the government, or an outbreak of a disease or a tragic event. I have noticed that this has also happened in today's society, to an extent. No one is changing facts around, however, it does seem like certain portions of some stories seem to get 'left out' or looked over. There is no penalty for learning the whole, true story, unfortunately, however, most people won't take the time to read into something and instead just accept the story that's given to them. This should be found horrifying, because if a government is able to absolve any misdeeds they commit, they can literally get away with murder and pin it to something else or say that it was necessary for some greater good. The scariest thing that I see in 1984 is its resemblance to the world we live in today. No, I do not think that we will ever live in an Orwellian society, but at the same time, it does frighten me that people are so willing to give up their freedoms in exchange for 'protection' from their government, and that they blindly trust that these things are being done for their benefit. That is what's frightening about 1984, and that is what's frightening about the world today.

[Spy]

tl;dr

[nedthehead]

Conspiracy theorist

[kevipapo1]

Never read the book, but I dig the report. I completely agree with the first point, especially the way you put it: "[m]ore and more I see this premonition that privacy isn't necessary and that if you have done nothing wrong then you have nothing to hide." Plenty of people have done nothing wrong, but they let their opinions float around freely on the internet, as if they don't understand what privacy is. Even I do it. I post things that will possibly haunt me in the future. It's nothing major, like a death threat or how I hate someone, but it's opinions about things that people may take the wrong way, posts that people can use to judge me.

As for the rest, can't say I fully agree, but it's well written. Good job!