Nineteen Eighty-Four

[Editor's note: The following article was written for the Southside Mirror (Peoria, Illinois) and published January 1, 1984.]

In 1949 George Orwell published his futuristic novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four. Now that year has come and gone, and as yet none of the dire predictions is a reality. Orwell's novel is a very powerful one and mostly political. Some of the elements include Big Brother, who is always watching every “comrade” by means of telescreens in public and in each apartment. These telescreens possess the unnerving ability to watch and listen to you; they may not be turned off. Everyone's life can be closely monitored by the Thought Police.

Unlike other political systems which desire to control the actions of its citizens, the leaders of this society want to control the mind, and the chief offense against the state is Thoughtcrime. How can anyone control the mind of man?

According to the novel, there are four ways:

1. The first method is through language. The official language of 1984 is Newspeak. Those who work on developing Newspeak seek to eliminate words from the common vocabulary of the people. Orwell explains all about it in an appendix of 12 pages, but one character makes an interesting observation about it. On page 53 Syme (who is working on the definitive edition of Newspeak) excitedly proclaims, “Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?” The philosophy is that the fewer words there are, the fewer concepts there will be and less potential for Thoughtcrime.

2. The second method is through the abolition of sex. The theory is that the less time and energy devoted to that endeavor, the more effective one can be for the Party. Children are indoctrinated against sex (even in marriage, but marriage itself is not encouraged). In fact, there is a Junior Anti-Sex League. (Needless to say, there is no present danger of this Party plank becoming a reality.)

3. The third means of control is through propaganda, in which anything may be taught whether truth, lie, or even if it contradicts reality; some of the slogans are:

War Is Peace
Freedom Is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength

Later, the chief character, Winston Smith, is painfully taught that 2+2=5 if the state so wills it.

4. The final means and perhaps the most insidious of all is through the eradication of the past. Newspaper stories are rewritten. Historical figures are created or removed at will. If the country switches allies in a war, it matters not. They have always been at war against their current enemy. There is no historical record except what the state invents. The Party philosophy is, “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past” (35).

If all these techniques fail to control the individuals in the 1984 society, then that stubborn individual is either vaporized (guess what that means!) or worked with until he becomes sane—sane enough to realize that 2+2=5. There is no religion in the novel to speak of. Neither the main character nor the state (nor Orwell?) believes in God.

In the novel, the state takes elaborate measures to insure the obedience of its subjects, to control even their thoughts. In reality, God has all the power. How do the two compare? God has a much better system than Big Brother for monitoring the lives of people. He is omni-present and needs no one to make reports to Him. Furthermore, there is nowhere that anyone could hide and nothing that anyone could say or even think of which God is unaware (Ps. 139:7-8; Heb. 4:13). But the difference between God and Big Brother is that the latter uses the full extent of his power to force citizens to conform to his will while God pleads. God has all power, but He reasons with us (and not in Big Brother fashion, either.)

1. God does not restrict our language or our thoughts, except to tell us what is harmful to us (Eph. 4:29; Phil. 4:8; Matt. 15:18-20).

2. God is the author of sex; He has therefore never sought to eliminate it—only to keep it within the confines of marriage. (Outside of marriage, it creates problems for all concerned.)

3. God never deals with propaganda; He deals in reality. That reality involves more than meets the eye. There exist certain spiritual truths which cannot be naturally discerned. We must admit, however, that “freedom is slavery.” What man calls freedom usually refers to the absence of restrictions or laws: The man who is free from all law and restraint, however, becomes a slave to his passions.

But there is reality, not “doublethink.” Whereas Big Brother distorts and perverts reality, God establishes it. Big Brother calls the organization which rewrites the past and distorts the present the Ministry of Truth; the Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war; the Ministry of Love handles Law and Order (not to mention torture); and the Ministry of Plenty deals with economic affairs (Plenty was what they perennially lacked).

God presents reality. He calls sin, sin. He tells us the spiritual consequences of our actions. He needs no propaganda. Truth is sufficient.

4. Far from rewriting the past, God records it for us, so that we may learn from it (Rom. 15:4). The past is important; God wills that we learn from, not forget, the actions and events of yesteryear. Our continual problem is that we seem to forget the lessons of the past almost as soon as they happen.

Throughout the history of the world, one regime after another has sought power. Empires such as Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome have risen and fallen. Some, such as Russia, have used techniques #3 and #4 to maintain their control. No world power that forgets God survives long.

Power in the hands of men is dangerous. Man is rarely ever able to handle such power. Fortunately, the Creator of all is completely just, incapable of being corrupted, and tells us exactly what we need to do to enjoy eternity. If we fail to make it into the heavenly kingdom, we have only ourselves to blame. God has shown us the way and granted us the liberty to decide.

2014 COMMENTS

Gary W. Summers

Being a high school student in the early 60's, reading the futuristic 1984 was a tremendous thrill. Those reading the novel today will still find it fascinating—but possibly for additional reasons. One cannot support traditional marriage without it being a Thoughtcrime—at least according to the Politically Correct Police. Just as the CEO of Firefox was made to resign, now two brothers have been ousted from a new series that was to have aired on the Home and Garden Network. It seems that citizens of this country are only free to think the way that certain people approve (Groupthink). Condoleezza Rice was prevented from giving the Commencement Speech at Rutgers University by a few students who were not interested in free speech—in hearing views that differed from their own.

Something close to the last technique is being used, also. Some (namely, college professors) are adept at re-writing history or communicating only the information they think students need to hear. Many newspapers and news networks overlook newsworthy stories, and a large portion of the population remains ignorant of certain things that have happened. Oh, yes, and some want to destroy any network that does air the stories that the others won't touch. In the spirit of Orwell's third principle, they call their efforts to rid themselves of troublesome competition, “The Fairness Doctrine.” Right, the fair thing to do is to stifle the one voice that dares to be different. We have not reached 1984 status, but we are far closer to it now than we were thirty years ago.