Who Governs Your Life?
Had we lived in a police state, this essay probably would not exist. Although many may have begun to think otherwise especially after recent events with regards to one 's privacy or the sudden need for censorship, I assure you, we do not live in a police state. In the contemporary world, the only parallel to the dystopian world George Orwell depicts in his book would be North Korea. Fortunately, the majority of the world have progressed past this form of government to a government with laws that protect our civil liberties. Our right to speak freely, our access to the world around us, and our right to privacy, these are just three of the many reasons why we do not live in a police state.
Our ability to say what we what; our freedom of speech, is an important factor as to why our society is not a police state. The primary reason way our freedom of speech is so crucial is because it keeps the truth afloat. In Oceania, there is no "truth" as it is always changing. 2 + 2 = 4, although that may seem obvious to us since we do not live in a police state, the same logic does not apply to places completely controlled by the government, like Oceania. Despite Winston 's determination to resist the party 's brainwashing, he was eventually tortured to such an extent that the "truth" was whatever the party wished to be the truth. Winston had believed that 2 + 2 = 5. In a police state, we would not be able to differentiate the actual truth with what the government wants us to believe. However, since we are able to express our opinion as well as state definite facts freely, the world we live is antithetical to that of the police state in 1984. In addition, the only reason we were capable of making so many advancements in technology is because of this civil liberty. It gives us the opportunity to share different opinions and creates a breeding ground for new inventions and ideas that are not regulated or limited to such an extent by the state. Contrast this to the situation in Oceania, where technology is only improved should it help the government control the masses more effectively as stated, "In Oceania at the present day, Science, in the old sense, has almost ceased to exist. In Newspeak there is no word for 'Science '. The empirical method of thought, on which all the scientific achievements of the past were founded, is opposed to the most fundamental principles of Ingsoc. And even technological progress only happens when its products can in some way be used for the diminution of human liberty." (193, Orwell) Recently, there has been an uproar of how people should be politically correct, in essence, this is incredibly similar to the notion of newspeak in Oceania, "Don 't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow …show more content…
Unlike the most of us, the people of Oceania are completely unaware of the world around them. Totalitarian governments like that of Oceania control the flow of information and ensure that the people in their territory remain oblivious, "The problem is the same for all three super-states. It is absolutely necessary to their structure that there should be no contact with foreigners... forbidden the knowledge of foreign languages. If he were allowed contact with foreigners he would discover that they are creatures similar to himself and that most of what he has been told about them is lies. “(196, Orwell). Consequently, their control is entirely based on lies. Take North Korea for example, their propaganda brainwashes the people to believe that they are the greatest country whereas we have access to virtually any information in the world. As a result, the world we live in is not a police state because governments do not control the activities and information to such an extent that they would be on par with exceptions like North Korea. Unfortunately, in reality, many people do not think much about media biases and will then accept them as facts without any sort of confirmation. This could eventually be very detrimental to our society as the misinformed can be easily influenced to serve those in power; in 1984, lower and middle class serving the upper
Had we lived in a police state, this essay probably would not exist. Although many may have begun to think otherwise especially after recent events with regards to one 's privacy or the sudden need for censorship, I assure you, we do not live in a police state. In the contemporary world, the only parallel to the dystopian world George Orwell depicts in his book would be North Korea. Fortunately, the majority of the world have progressed past this form of government to a government with laws that protect our civil liberties. Our right to speak freely, our access to the world around us, and our right to privacy, these are just three of the many reasons why we do not live in a police state.
Our ability to say what we what; our freedom of speech, is an important factor as to why our society is not a police state. The primary reason way our freedom of speech is so crucial is because it keeps the truth afloat. In Oceania, there is no "truth" as it is always changing. 2 + 2 = 4, although that may seem obvious to us since we do not live in a police state, the same logic does not apply to places completely controlled by the government, like Oceania. Despite Winston 's determination to resist the party 's brainwashing, he was eventually tortured to such an extent that the "truth" was whatever the party wished to be the truth. Winston had believed that 2 + 2 = 5. In a police state, we would not be able to differentiate the actual truth with what the government wants us to believe. However, since we are able to express our opinion as well as state definite facts freely, the world we live is antithetical to that of the police state in 1984. In addition, the only reason we were capable of making so many advancements in technology is because of this civil liberty. It gives us the opportunity to share different opinions and creates a breeding ground for new inventions and ideas that are not regulated or limited to such an extent by the state. Contrast this to the situation in Oceania, where technology is only improved should it help the government control the masses more effectively as stated, "In Oceania at the present day, Science, in the old sense, has almost ceased to exist. In Newspeak there is no word for 'Science '. The empirical method of thought, on which all the scientific achievements of the past were founded, is opposed to the most fundamental principles of Ingsoc. And even technological progress only happens when its products can in some way be used for the diminution of human liberty." (193, Orwell) Recently, there has been an uproar of how people should be politically correct, in essence, this is incredibly similar to the notion of newspeak in Oceania, "Don 't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow …show more content…
Unlike the most of us, the people of Oceania are completely unaware of the world around them. Totalitarian governments like that of Oceania control the flow of information and ensure that the people in their territory remain oblivious, "The problem is the same for all three super-states. It is absolutely necessary to their structure that there should be no contact with foreigners... forbidden the knowledge of foreign languages. If he were allowed contact with foreigners he would discover that they are creatures similar to himself and that most of what he has been told about them is lies. “(196, Orwell). Consequently, their control is entirely based on lies. Take North Korea for example, their propaganda brainwashes the people to believe that they are the greatest country whereas we have access to virtually any information in the world. As a result, the world we live in is not a police state because governments do not control the activities and information to such an extent that they would be on par with exceptions like North Korea. Unfortunately, in reality, many people do not think much about media biases and will then accept them as facts without any sort of confirmation. This could eventually be very detrimental to our society as the misinformed can be easily influenced to serve those in power; in 1984, lower and middle class serving the upper