1984 and the US Government Essay

Panopticism is the word to use to describe the events that occur in Orwell’s 1984. In this expression is found the harrowing acts of violence that pervade the novel, and that allow the government to define the parameters of human existence: That is to say, the autocratic control of the government with regards to the populace is omniscient. It is within the US government that the comparisons between 1984 and that other democratic state are diabolically similar. There is no clear dichotomy between Orwell’s fictitious imaginings of a super power and that of the United States government. In all branches of a democratic society where control can be exploited it is, in both 1984 and the US government. This means that in the media, the news broadcasts, the home, the police force, every percentage where capital is invested there lies a nefarious underbelly of judiciary, legislative, and executive corruption. In 1984 there is extreme use of privacy extortion; wiretaps are habitual, and in Winston’s home this remains supremely true. The most oppressing of events that occur in 1984 is the chronic changing of the dictionary. Winston works at the Ministry of Truth. See more: Experiment on polytropic process Essay His job consists of changing the past, rewriting history as it were so that the politics of Oceania are aligned in harmony with all existing present political persuasion. This means that Oceania can rewrite history so they are the victors in history and that means they can commit no evil. In the US history the omitting of certain historical facts from history texts has been numerous; the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War Two was hidden; Japanese Americans were taken from their homes and put into concentration camps so that their political or cultural heritage wouldn’t jeopardize the American’s fight against Japan. This omission was just one of many facts of horrendous inhuman actions the US has committed and tried to cover up. Even in Orwell’s fictitious wanderings there exists the slogan â€Å"Who controls the past, controls the future†, which is true in many US government cover-ups; it is in the belief that to keep the public ignorant of governmental activity is what keeps the public supporting their government, because if they don’t know something exists, then they can’t have an opinion for or against it, like the concentration camps. In Orwell’s novel there are secret arrests that happen during the night. People are arrested for any number of ‘crimes’, for having freedom of speech, for having thoughts other than in support of Oceania (for which the thought police will have one arrested), for going against Big Brother in any fashion, there were arrests made and the person simply disappeared. In the US government’s history such arrests have occurred. The US government, now with the War on Terror campaign has aligned itself with that of Orwell’s thought police, and they have done this with Project Carnivore. Project Carnivore is the US government’s Justice Departments initiative to keep surveillance on private citizens, as Ventura et al (2005) in their article Government and the War on Terror, â€Å"Perhaps the most intrusive web-based technology ever developed, Carnivore possesses the ability to essentially wiretap individuals’ computers, accessing every piece of datum flowing to and from a Central Processing Unit (CPU), provided the data were moved on a network connection†. This type of surveillance is cunningly similar to what happens to Winston Smith. Winston Smith, though working at the Ministry of Truth remembers history as it was, not as it is written. In Orwell’s dystopia, media control is essential. The US government, and especially during the Bush administration is controlling the media in every capacity. Currently in the media there exists little or no dissent in the political views, especially views against the war; by controlling the media the US government controls the publics view on the outside world and the government’s interaction with that world. At Winston’s job, he rewrites history, and by rewriting history, he is covering up a sordid past that if the public new that’s how government was in reality, there would be a mass wave of protest against Big Brother and the government would dissipate with so many of its citizens in alliance against autocratic control. The US government, during their war on terror, and under Project Carnivore, has done its own share of secret arrests, in detaining people they believe are affiliated with the Taliban based on their culture. The same stultifying fear that forfeits justice in 1984, is the same fear that exists in the reality of the United States, with their policies on protecting the American people by forcing certain parties to vacate the country, or by simply holding them in detention centers without cause. On December 6, 2001, then Attorney General John Ashcroft addressed the Senate Judiciary Committee in praise of this act, and it’s restructuring of the NSA, CIA and FBI. (Ashcroft 524) His rhetoric was patriotic and concise, and his views of the USA PATRIOT act and its changes seemed sincere. This was supported with the passage of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373, which paved the road for the Patriot act itself. Eric Rosand wrote about the resolution in 2003. His response to its necessity was one of sympathy to the government, for having to face such a difficult challenge. However, not everyone who has commented on the alterations of the US governmental policy has done so with such reverence. David Cole compared the investigations into possible terrorist cells in the United States, to the â€Å"Palmer Raids† of 1919 – where, following a series of bombings, J. Edgar Hoover led a series of â€Å"round ups† of immigrants across the country and held them without trial or charge in â€Å"unconscionable conditions, interrogated incommunicado and in some cases tortured†. (529) This attitude has spread throughout the country, as the appearance of impropriety has permeated the government’s handling of the terrorist investigations. Mary Jacoby brings up the question of the legal definition of â€Å"Detainee†. This is in response to the holding of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba. The prisoners of this facility have been acquired from around the world – from the war in Afghanistan, and from arrests done in dozens of countries around the world. However, the problem arises when the soldiers fighting for the Afghan military are brought in as detainees, rather than prisoners of war. While the Guantanamo prison has its apologists, such as Charles Krauthammer – who states that freeing of these men would be â€Å"lunacy† (537) – the fact remains, that in strict terms, the United States is in break of the Geneva Convention by holding POWs. Orwell’s totalitarian society bears witness to the fact that the Party controls Oceania, and every citizen residing there. In thought, in emotion, in sexual expression, there is no force greater than that of the Thought Police. Winston himself, when tortured by O’Brien, is forced to see five fingers instead of four. That is how controlling the Party is in 1984, they cause even a simple truth as seeing four fingers false; their manipulation is purely ingenious and inhumane. 1984 is similar to the US government in the scotching of human rights. Thoughts are controlled; lives are public domain because privacy doesn’t exist if even emotions are controlled. The media is the main link between Oceania and America. Dystopia exists in how the news is presented and how the truth is slanderous and causes a person very quickly to be an unperson, to speak Newspeak. Though the simple act of ridding the nation of human rights and through secret arrests and detaining individuals without giving them proper due process of the law, 1984 and the US government could almost be one and the same. There is a symbolism here that cannot be ignored. It is in war that the two nations converge. War is good for the economy, and war makes peace. That is also the belief of the war on terror; war must exist first so that peace can follow. War creates jobs and the therefore raises the standard of living in Oceania and in America. The US government has used this type of propaganda to influence the citizenry to support war. War equalizes the economy and every person benefits monetarily from such deeds. That is the similarity between Orwell’s 1984 and the US government. War is Peace. With the thought police and with Project Carnivore there can be no deviation from the norm, no freedom of which to speak. That is panopticism; the government keeping an eye on everyone and everything constantly controlling. Work Cited Orwell, George. 1984. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. New York. 1983. Goodwin, Amy & David. Why Media Ownership Matters. Seattle Times. Sunday, April 3, 2005.