July 2002 Archives
The first book I’ve picked up in awhile is 1984 by George Orwell. Written in 1949, I’ve found startling references to society today. Not to just one aspect of society, but many different parts of it. From references to socialism, the Catholic Church, and classism they apply to things like the modern gay rights movement and the current war on terrorism. It truly amazes me that a book written over a half century ago is so relevant today.
Mind you I haven’t finished it yet – I’ve only forced myself to put it down as my eyes grow tired at this late hour. Not only that, but I want to read it with the clearest of mind so that I can think through each innuendo and prediction. And since I have not completed the book, I will focus for now only on some of the interesting points I have encountered.
The “telescreen.” In 1984 it is a device resembling a television, but with the added capability that it also transmits picture and sound the other way. To who you may ask… The government. The government has these things all over the place, and if you are in front of one, you may also be under surveillance. And this is not Cable TV you are watching. It’s more along the lines of Hitler’s use of media during Nazi Germany when his voice boomed over megaphones, telling the nation how they were the masters of the earth and of all those on it. Well, in the book, they serve much the same purpose. The government broadcasts announcements to keep everyone in the same state of patriotic frenzy. So if you are ignorant, you keep ingesting the government’s messages, but if you have a shred of intelligent thought the government can use them to watch over you. Now for some reason I’m thinking of our government and the “War on Terror.” (More references to war in the book as well…) People seem to not think about how much our liberties are being eroded at this moment because they are more concerned with this war we have upon us now. “Well, we need to be able to see if someone’s about to blow up a building…” While this may be true in some people’s minds, this is a scary proposition. What happens when the government begins to suspect you? Will they simply detain you as an enemy combatant, subject to the will of a military court? Will you then be “vaporized” as happens in 1984? While this may sound preposterous to many, look at the future of what this could become if not kept in check. So will the internet become the “telescreen” of our present? Will the government be watching us from our online actions? Is this something we really want to give them broad powers to continue?
Another interesting feature is that the country of Oceana is always in a state of war. The reasons for this I will leave the book for you to read, but it has some interesting insights. One of them is about how in war a country needs to vilify its enemy, otherwise the citizens would protest against the war. So Orwell makes this statement:
“If he were allowed contact with foreigners he would discover that they are creatures similar to himself, and that most of what he has been told about them is lies. The sealed world in which he lives would be broken, and the fear, hatred, and self-righteousness on which his morale depends might evaporate.”
This rings true to me on many levels. Again, the “War on Terror”. What do we as Americans really know about our enemy? We know what is told to us by our government and the media. They just plain hate Americans and want to kill us. I ask why is that? What has led them to that point? What has our country done to them to put them in this position? I don’t see the answers to those questions very often. And now I wonder why. Would I begin to see their plight? Would I begin to see their point of view? And would I see what America’s leaders have done wrong?
I also see this in my life as a gay person here at home. This time it is from the other side of the fence. I can see how leaders, such as those leading the religious right movement, want to blind their followers with lies. They say gay people prey on children to continue the gay lifestyle. They say gay people are more likely to abuse children. They say we are against the fabric of society and therefore pose a threat to civilization as we know it. You name it, they’ve probably said it no matter how ridiculous it may seem. They don’t want their followers to meet a gay person because then they might see how similar we really are, and it’s much more difficult to hate someone with whom you identify. And it’s more difficult to support a person that you know lies. Of course that’s money and power out of the hands of the leaders of the religious right.
These thoughts I’ve written are not really in any particular order, nor do they represent the one and only message of 1984. Perhaps an essay about the overall meaning of the book will come later. But at this point in the novel, these are the points that have jumped out at me that I can put into words. And in direct fashion, I have reaffirmed to myself that my freedom of expression is still intact.
Just watched How to Make an American Quilt for about the 5th time. If you've never seen it, it's a movie about love and how it's found, kept, and lost. The stories of the quilters brings home the fact that love comes in many forms, not just the stereotypical Hollywood romance. One of the best scenes is when Finn is picking up her lost thesis and her aunt comes out onto the porch. Finn says she's giving up, that she's not going to try to put it back together. The aunt replies does she think it's really easier to start all over. The comment is a metaphor for her relationship with Sam, who she's about to marry but has cold feet. She's been wondering about whether it's really time to settle down and if she's settling with the right person. Well, she replies to her aunt that she can't go back and research everything again and put it all back together. The aunt says, "Well, it must be nice to be so unattached to something." And that's it - how can you let go of something unless you're really not attached? There's also the metaphor of the crow. One of the quilters says in her family, there is a story about the crow that leads them to the love of their lives. Well, not all of us end up following a crow to the wedding chapel, but in some form or another we do. We all have a certain series of events that leads us to where we are now, and also to those who we love.
I don't think I can really summarize this movie for you. I wish I could. I bet I could come up with something very profound for you to think about. But instead, I would recommend watching the movie for yourself, because what you get out of it may be more meaningful to you than anything I could say. Relationships come in all forms - don't compare yours to a Hollywood matchup.
"Young lovers seek perfection.
Old lovers learn to stitch things together and see beauty in the patchwork of colors."
I just read a story about John Walker Lindh and his sentancing. I have to wonder if he really knew what he was getting himself into when he did. True, he still has to pay for aiding a group that was responsible for September 11, but I think his sentence is fair - to a point. I read that as part of his punishment the goverment will retain the right to arrest him at any point after he has served his 20 years in prison. He will be labeled an "enemy combatant" if the government suspects him of any kind of terrorist activity, and he will be picked up if the goverment wants to. This to me is frightening. It's almost as frightening as the power FEMA has to revoke our civil liberties at any point in time if they feel a situation warrants it. Mr Lindh will have absolutely no recourse if he is picked up because he is being tried in a military court, not a civilian one. My point here is, if the government is going to do this to one person, what will stop them from using it on you or me? Hypothetically, let's say I'm a patriotic American yet sympathetic to Islam. Say I start researching topics related to Islam and the situation in the middle east. Will the government begin to suspect me of something? Let's say I make friends with someone who later turns out to have connections to something I knew nothing about. Will I be detained with no recourse.
I love my country. It gives me the freedom to be who I am and to write what I do here. At this point in time, I would rather be no where else. But I fear the movements within the govenment to restrict my rights without recourse. I hope that Americans will look further into the future when shaping the present, because unless we keep sight of where we're going, we may not like what we become.
