Here are a few of my favorite quotes from George Orwell’s great novels, “Animal Farm” and “1984:”
“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
“The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth.”
And: “A society becomes totalitarian when its structure becomes flagrantly artificial — that is, when its ruling class has lost its function but succeeds in clinging to power by force or fraud.”
What George Orwell understood, via his exposes on socialism and the like, is that language can control thought, and subsequently, a manipulation or distortion of language can be used to control people.
For example, let’s start with “climate change.” This phrase replaced the term “global warming.”
Both phrases have to do with a theory that the use of fossil fuels is creating an abundance of greenhouse gas emissions in our atmosphere that is subsequently and deleteriously affecting earth’s temperature.
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why the phrase “global warming” was replaced by the concept of “climate change?”
The point here, as it refers to Orwell, is the simple truth that the only thing the climate does on a consistent basis is change.
Hence, as we are all too painfully aware, each and every weather pattern and phenomenon is now cited as proof positive that the climate changes. Ergo, we are supposed to believe a change in weather is proof of the original correlation between the use of fossil fuels and climate change.
However, correlation does not prove causation. It never has and it never will.
Next up, “Black Lives Matter.” The first thing we need to understand about this phrase is that it speaks of a value, an organization and a movement. As a value, no one would dispute that black lives matter except a bonafide racist.
Nevertheless, the organization by the same name has a Marxist agenda that has little to do with improving the lot of black lives. Subsequently, the movement has declared that looting is a form of reparations as store owners are guilty of hoarding wealth.
Moreover, violence and lawlessness are being described as “peaceful protests,” while the siege of Portland, complete with fire bombings and the like, have been described by public officials as “the summer of love.” How Orwellian is that?
Finally, values such as hard work, showing up on time and the nuclear family construct are now considered forms of white supremacy. Meanwhile, Joe Biden declared that “Republicans want to put black people back in chains”!
A few other significant phrases that have changed over time to influence how we think about things in our society? When was the last time you referred to somebody as a “derelict,” as in dereliction of duty?
We no longer speak of people who are poor and leading abject lives in terms of their own irresponsible choices as it pertains to drug and alcohol abuse or a lack of a work ethic. No, instead these people are victims of symptomatic circumstances beyond their control — namely, they are homeless. Similarly, we no longer refer to people who are incarcerated as criminals or felons. Instead, they are “justice-involved individuals”.
Hold on, things are about to get worse!
Young people today regard truth as an emotion — that is, truth is what they feel it is. Self-evident truths are no longer the bedrock of freedom.
Instead, the goal in life is to avoid being triggered — that is, the avoidance of having thoughts/feelings challenged. What that means in practical terms is that this age cohort isn’t primarily persuaded by “the facts of the matter.’ Their feelings are paramount, meaning they are easily the most beguiled generation in the history of America, easily predisposed to emotional manipulation, including the lure of socialism, despite Orwell’s prescient warnings.
