I recently reread George Orwell's "1984" and "Animal Farm". I wonder what Orwell would think of events in 2013. The USSR, which was the subject of his parody in "Animal Farm", and the basis of his apocalyptic vision in "1984" is no more. Orwell's theories of why regimes fall was stated thusly:
"All past oligarchies have fallen from power either because they ossified or because they grew soft. Either they became stupid and arrogant, failed to adjust themselves to changing circumstances, and were overthrown, or they became liberal and cowardly, made concessions , when they should have used force, and once again were overthrown. They fell, that is to say, either through consciousness or through unconsciousness."
It seems to me that the last socialist regime in the USSR was neither as ruthless as Stalin, nor able to adjust to changing times, so maybe a bit of both reasons. But you have to keep in mind that Orwell was a socialist, and viewed Stalin's USSR as a betrayal of liberal socialist principles. But curiously, his "1984" presents a vision of a perfectly ruthless government that is able to survive because it has abandoned all goals except to pursue power for power's sake.
"We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship."
Still, though the USSR is gone, many of the principles used by Big Brother in "1984" are alive and well; constant surveillance, double-think, elimination of traditional families, etc. Some of these are even more sophisticated than Orwell could imagine in 1949. Big Brother's telescreens were all in fixed locations, they didn't follow you around in your pocket, and they could only do video and audio, not the many text, GPS and other apps on our modern devices. And then Big Brother enforces the policy that telescreens could not be turned off, but we voluntarily keep our smart phones on and with us at all times. What would Orwell think?
Big Brother's regime in "1984" was actually the perfect description for the world's worst nightmare, as far as government is concerned. Though Orwell would not have admitted it, as he was not a believer in God, his vision of Big Brother's government lines up nicely with the kingdom of Satan described in the Bible. It's too bad that he died in his ignorance, and did not realize that there is an alternative in the Kingdom of God. What would Orwell have made of the fact that the USSR is gone, but the USA, originally established on godly principles is still standing? And what would he think of the surveillance, double-think and attack on families that we allow here in our free society? Would he warn us that Big Brother can come take our freedoms in more than one way; through the revolutions and ruthlessness of Hitler, Stalin and Mao, but also be the deceptive promises of the progressive politicians?
It's the fourth of July, when we celebrate the Declaration of Independence here in the USA. Our forefathers fought and won independence from King George, but will we voluntarily surrender our God given freedoms for empty promises? Read "1984" and the Bible and think about it...
