GEORGE BUSH OR GEORGE ORWELL
“Eurasia is the enemy. Oceania is at war with Eurasia. It is the only enemy. Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia. Oceania has never allied with Eurasia”
“Eastasia is an ally. Eastasia has always been an ally. Oceania has never been at war with Eastasia. “
Sound familiar? Readers of George Orwell will recognize these as the slogans of the “Ministry of Truth” of the mythical country Oceania from his highly acclaimed 1984. The book is a futuristic novel (written in 1949) about a government that enforces complete control over the masses by spreading propaganda, cracking down on any deviations from the ideology and manipulating history as it pleases.
For instance, consider the slogan a few months down the line:
“Eastasia is the enemy. Oceania is at war with Eastasia. It is the only enemy. Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia. Oceania has never allied with Eastasia”
“Eurasia is an ally. Eurasia has always been an ally. Oceania has never been at war with Eurasia.” (The author won’t blame the readers if they are unable to spot the differences.)
And this cycle of switching allies and enemies went on endlessly. In "1984," the state remained perpetually at war against a vague and ever- changing enemy. Whether the war was really happening is anyone’s guess, but it provided the perfect justification for an all-controlling despotic government promoted by an atmosphere of fear from the unknown (and probarbly non-existent) enemy. Now, in the real world, consider the statements by the American Government, along the following lines:
In 1980, “Saddam Hussein is the good guy. He is an ally. He has always been an ally. Nothing before it is the truth” (An official from the Reagan administration has been quoted as saying, “He maybe an SOB, but he is our SOB.”)
Back then, Saddam was an “Angel of God” waging war on “democratic and free” America’s arch enemy Iran. Never mind the fact that he was busy bombing his own Kurd population with nerve gas. Then, in 1991, Saddam decided to invade Kuwait which was a no-go for the oil guzzling American economy. And so began:
“Saddam Hussein is Evil. He is the enemy. He has always been the enemy. Nothing before it is the truth.”
Or consider the even more interesting case of good ole Osama. In 1979, when Osama and his pals were being “assisted” by the CIA in the “liberation” of Afghanistan from the Soviet invasion (never mind the chaos they left behind), well:
“Osama is good. He is an ally. He has always been an ally. Nothing before it is the truth.”
However, along came 2001 with Osama and his cronies ramming planes into America’s pride. So, now the lines read:
“Osama is evil. He is an enemy. He has always been an enemy. Nothing before it is the truth.”
Thus, an interesting question would be, can George Bush or for that matter the United States be charged with plagiarism from the works of George Orwell? (Along with the other minor infractions such as human right violations of course.)
In true Orwellian style, Bush's (or supposedly America’s) war against terrorism has become almost as ambiguous. Although we are told that the resolve is steady and the mission clear, we seem to know less and less about the enemy being fought. What began as a war against Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda quickly morphed into a war against Afghanistan, followed by dire warnings about an "Axis of Evil," the targeting of terrorists in some 50 to 60 countries, and now the misadventure in Iraq with over 1000 body-bags and counting.
Of special significance for India is America’s Orwellian legacy with respect to Pakistan. Musharraf has been described as an ally. He has always been an ally. You know the drift. One just has to wait for a terror attack directly linked to Pakistan. The enemy will change again and obviously, he was always the enemy. We never funded him. We never provided his jehadis with Patriot missiles. We never ignored his nuclear ambitions. On a lighter note, to be fair to the Republicans, remember Democrat President Clinton? “I never had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky.” “I had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky.” Oh brother.
In conclusion, one can only wonder what Orwell would have said had he been around today. It is rather ironic that the works of Orwell, who was a staunch anti-communist, were a satire against all forms of extreme leftism. And yet, in the form of George Bush, it is in fact a far-right Government that is actually bringing his work to life. Orwell might well turn in his grave. Or for that matter, so will all the soldiers who died in Iraq when a few years down the line they hear:
“Saddam Hussein is an ally. He has always been an ally…………………….”
“Eastasia is an ally. Eastasia has always been an ally. Oceania has never been at war with Eastasia. “
Sound familiar? Readers of George Orwell will recognize these as the slogans of the “Ministry of Truth” of the mythical country Oceania from his highly acclaimed 1984. The book is a futuristic novel (written in 1949) about a government that enforces complete control over the masses by spreading propaganda, cracking down on any deviations from the ideology and manipulating history as it pleases.
For instance, consider the slogan a few months down the line:
“Eastasia is the enemy. Oceania is at war with Eastasia. It is the only enemy. Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia. Oceania has never allied with Eastasia”
“Eurasia is an ally. Eurasia has always been an ally. Oceania has never been at war with Eurasia.” (The author won’t blame the readers if they are unable to spot the differences.)
And this cycle of switching allies and enemies went on endlessly. In "1984," the state remained perpetually at war against a vague and ever- changing enemy. Whether the war was really happening is anyone’s guess, but it provided the perfect justification for an all-controlling despotic government promoted by an atmosphere of fear from the unknown (and probarbly non-existent) enemy. Now, in the real world, consider the statements by the American Government, along the following lines:
In 1980, “Saddam Hussein is the good guy. He is an ally. He has always been an ally. Nothing before it is the truth” (An official from the Reagan administration has been quoted as saying, “He maybe an SOB, but he is our SOB.”)
Back then, Saddam was an “Angel of God” waging war on “democratic and free” America’s arch enemy Iran. Never mind the fact that he was busy bombing his own Kurd population with nerve gas. Then, in 1991, Saddam decided to invade Kuwait which was a no-go for the oil guzzling American economy. And so began:
“Saddam Hussein is Evil. He is the enemy. He has always been the enemy. Nothing before it is the truth.”
Or consider the even more interesting case of good ole Osama. In 1979, when Osama and his pals were being “assisted” by the CIA in the “liberation” of Afghanistan from the Soviet invasion (never mind the chaos they left behind), well:
“Osama is good. He is an ally. He has always been an ally. Nothing before it is the truth.”
However, along came 2001 with Osama and his cronies ramming planes into America’s pride. So, now the lines read:
“Osama is evil. He is an enemy. He has always been an enemy. Nothing before it is the truth.”
Thus, an interesting question would be, can George Bush or for that matter the United States be charged with plagiarism from the works of George Orwell? (Along with the other minor infractions such as human right violations of course.)
In true Orwellian style, Bush's (or supposedly America’s) war against terrorism has become almost as ambiguous. Although we are told that the resolve is steady and the mission clear, we seem to know less and less about the enemy being fought. What began as a war against Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda quickly morphed into a war against Afghanistan, followed by dire warnings about an "Axis of Evil," the targeting of terrorists in some 50 to 60 countries, and now the misadventure in Iraq with over 1000 body-bags and counting.
Of special significance for India is America’s Orwellian legacy with respect to Pakistan. Musharraf has been described as an ally. He has always been an ally. You know the drift. One just has to wait for a terror attack directly linked to Pakistan. The enemy will change again and obviously, he was always the enemy. We never funded him. We never provided his jehadis with Patriot missiles. We never ignored his nuclear ambitions. On a lighter note, to be fair to the Republicans, remember Democrat President Clinton? “I never had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky.” “I had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky.” Oh brother.
In conclusion, one can only wonder what Orwell would have said had he been around today. It is rather ironic that the works of Orwell, who was a staunch anti-communist, were a satire against all forms of extreme leftism. And yet, in the form of George Bush, it is in fact a far-right Government that is actually bringing his work to life. Orwell might well turn in his grave. Or for that matter, so will all the soldiers who died in Iraq when a few years down the line they hear:
“Saddam Hussein is an ally. He has always been an ally…………………….”
posted by Vikram Poddar at 10:26 AM
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