Oh, The Land Of The Free & The Home Of The Brave.
Is your road leading to Room 101? It depends on your actions (or inaction) today. Under the guise of protection from terrorism, our government is using its power to spy on people. So what? If you're not doing anything illegal, why worry, you ask? Those crazy pinkos, the ACLU, launched a campaign to expose and limit the government's spying on people and groups for practicing their freedom of speech and exercising their faith. Well, calm down now! They're doing this to protect us! Sometimes you have to limit your freedom to be safe! Right on, brother! How does this apply to you? Click here if you dare!
"The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live - did live, from habit that became instinct - in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and except in darkness, every movement scrutinized." Excerpt from George Orwell's, 1984.
This just in, from the Ministry of Truth: WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.
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Civil Liberties-Democracy
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2 comments:
When I first read "1984" back in high school, I didn't really understand it; didn't appreciate it enough either. As I grew up, I became an avid reader and was fortunate to come upon great books that opened my eyes and increased my sensitivities towards freedom, liberty and personal responsibility.
I realized that freedom is not only a physical expression, but it originates in the mind as well. I do not reduce the importance of physical freedom, but I think too many people are not free because they either don't appreciate freedom or don't know what to do with it. They're also afraid of others' habits and beliefs.
Of course you have to be safe to exercise freedom, but life is risky and freedom is not free. We have to have a balance, but if we end up giving up our civil liberties then I wonder if this is a society worth being part of....
Besides, if history is a guide, the freer societies were the ones to prosper, advance the overall conditions of its citizens and bring progress to all humanity. Too bad, that there are so many people building prisons of body and mind nowadays.
I wish, oh, I wish that people realized that this life is meaningful because we give meaning to it, though our personal growth and freedom to realize our potential!
Lisa Simpson
Springfield, USA
PS. I don't understand those who attack the ACLU--an organization which fights for our (everyone's) civil liberties....
It's difficult to care when you haven't developed certain sensibilities. Also, the less you know about the world, the easier it is to ignore others, and to fear them, and to hate them.
If you don't have the aesthetics of the finer things, anything crude appears pretty nice to you!
My heart races, my mind produces powerful endorphines, I feel a natural high when I see a beautiful piece of art, hear a unique and uplifting point of view, when I see people smile in happiness!
My eyes fill with tears when I see the the misery, the death and destruction of human lives, the torture inflicted on people by other human beings....
Of course, I can reduce my world view, eliminate lots of unpleasantness, and care only about mundane, trivial matters of a boring life. I can drive my SUV and drown all other noises and thoughts by blasting my music. I can put my head in the sand as many Americans have done so already. I can wave the flag and feel taller by self-deception. "We're number one!"--as vague as this is, but it works. It works for others...
But, "I" need to breathe. I need to care, I need true compassion, I need the exhiliration of discovery, and of the psychological reward one gets by doing something good, for others.... I am and American, but I also feel that I'm part of a greater sum, and that I have the strength and the resolution to defend the ramparts, but, like you said, I want America to lead, not by military strength (can't have enough of it anyway), but by example.
We've been the beacon of hope, and of freedom (even if imperfect), and our diverse people and culture was the metropolis that gave birth to great achievements in the arts and sciences. We're losing our relevancy, we're losing our edge, because too many of us are afraid.
People who are afraid are looking backwards and inwards. We're becoming reactionary and medieval in our perspective and our attitudes and public policies reflect that regressive mode.
I have hope but also great worries about my country. Everyone who cares about keeping this a cosmopolitan society should do his/her part. Every effort, big or small, makes a big difference. Let's keep this the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Anne,
Westbury, LI, NY
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