"The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from ordinary hypocrisy: they are deliberate.” — “1984” by George Orwell
Every American should read “1984.”
Written just after World War II, this chilling dystopia predicts – with stunning accuracy – what happens when free speech is obliterated, as well as the nightmare effects of censorship.
George Orwell was a committed socialist, so much so that he fought (and almost died) in the Spanish Revolution on behalf of the communists. However, he became deeply disenchanted, when communist dictators like Stalin and Mao “betrayed the revolution” with mass surveillance, brutal repression, systematic murder, and totalitarianism. Orwell stated that 1984, “was based chiefly on communism, because that is the dominant form of totalitarianism, but I was trying to imagine what communism would be like if it were firmly rooted in the English speaking countries, and was no longer a mere extension of the Russian Foreign Office.”
Yet, you and I don’t have to imagine anymore, as the White House just created their new “Disinformation Governance Board” inside the Department of Homeland Security.
Yes, you read that right. The bureaucrats who should be (but aren’t) protecting our southern border – armed with the militaristic might of the federal government – have become the new Ministry of Truth.
In “1984,” the Ministry of Truth was the propaganda arm of the government. By controlling the news, the media, entertainment, and education, they created a world where only one truth is allowed…that which was approved by the government. By rewriting past news accounts and books, the party literally remade history into what they wanted it to be. By militarizing the “Thought Police” to investigate “thoughtcrime,” they eliminated people who had opposing views. But perhaps the most devious attack was “Newspeak,” the deliberate culling of words, like freedom and democracy, from the English language, in order to make these “heretical” thoughts essentially impossible.
When I first read “1984” in the early ‘80s, I never dreamed any of it could ever happen here.
Then came political correctness.
Surprisingly, the term originated in 1917 Soviet Russia. Over the past few decades, freedom-loving people have allowed the woke crowd to use political correctness to control what you and I are allowed to think and say.
“Who among us thinks the government should add to its work list the job of determining what is true and what is disinformation?” writes Politico, “And who thinks the government is capable of telling the truth? Our government produces lies and disinformation at industrial scale…and always has.”
Yet the White House wants to double-down on the repression of free speech, giving the Woke PC Police a military arm to enforce their odious mind control.
In a separate but interrelated story, the Leftist mainstream media is furious that Elon Musk just bought Twitter.
The Left used to love Musk as the guy who built “green” electric cars and private spaceships. They used to applaud him when he enthusiastically supported Obama and sarcastically attacked the Right.
Now, Twitter executives cry at board meetings at the thought that the media giant might have to allow free speech back on their platform. Now, the media is accusing Musk of being a racist and a right wing ideologue for suggesting that Twitter shouldn’t censor opposing political views.
Remember, this is the same Twitter that suspended New York Post, Babylon Bee, and other media outlets in an attempt to silence them. It’s the same platform that quashed countless facts that were later proven to be true. In short: it is the same platform that censors free speech.
Which leads us to a horrible truth: people today would rather sit comfortably in their “safe space” than engage in free speech. People today would rather hide inside a plastic bubble, than hear opposing views. People today would rather be told what to think, than actually think for themselves.
This is how democracy dies. This is how dictatorships win.
If we are to remain a free people, we must listen to each other and respect each other’s positions, whether we agree with them or not.
Our goal should never be robotic agreement; but rather, curious empathy.
We should embrace our differences, rather than eliminate opposing voices.
And we should never allow any government to become the truth police.
State Rep. Dave Belton is a Republican representing District 112, which includes portions of Morgan and Newton counties, in the Georgia House of Representatives. He is not seeking reelection in the 2022 midterm election.
