When I see atrocity after atrocity committed against the people of Gaza I think of the future we live in. It’s as George Orwell described in 1984, “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — for ever.” Every day is a like a boot stamping on a human face, and it goes on forever. At this point 1984 isn’t a prediction, it’s a predicament.
1984 As Confession
First a bit of throat-clearing, lest I throw up in my own mouth. Orwell was, himself, Orwellian. Despite 1984 being critical of an oppressive state, Orwell was a literal colonizer and snitch himself. Orwell was a colonial cop in Burma and though he criticized the “unbreakable tyranny of the Raj” he was the one implementing it. He also said, “with another part I thought that the greatest joy in the world would be to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s guts.” Hence, before reading 1984 as a critique of totalitarianism, you have to consider the source.
Despite the Ministry of Truth being an obvious object of scorn in the book, Orwell himself was a snitch to Britain’s propaganda department, called the ‘Information Research Department’ in a bit of doublespeak. Orwell certainly didn’t like thoughts about communism, and his works were translated by the…
