General Discussion

True Blue Door

(2,969 posts)

12. I'm not certain what's obvious to most people.

Sun Sep 14, 2014, 05:37 PM

Sep 2014

Most people don't enjoy thinking, so a lot of things fly way above or way below their radar.

And there are some legitimate misunderstandings to be had if you just read 1984 and don't think about it - like overemphasizing the fact that Oceania is specifically a Socialist state.

You run into some conservative-leaning...*cough*..."intellectuals"...who have read 1984 and see all the stuff about doublethink and torture as subordinate themes to a general warning against "Big Government," like there's some direct analogy between the Stalinist Soviet Union and Canadian healthcare, for instance.

And the natural paranoia of a lot of those types lends itself to the emphasis on surveillance over language and violence. Plus there's a movie which does a right hatchet-job of making it all about cameras and TV screens, so the semi-literate who don't read (or don't read closely) but are willing to watch movies based on good books have a certain skew on it.

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"Orwellian"...I do not think it means what you think it means. [View all] True Blue Door Sep 2014 OP

Kudos for reading Orwell, but now some darts for missing some context. Pholus Sep 2014 #1

Bullshit isn't doublespeak. True Blue Door Sep 2014 #6

It helps to understand that the NSA's operational mode CAME from the Bushies. Pholus Sep 2014 #23

It's because NSA is about control, not power. It's Kafkaesque. True Blue Door Sep 2014 #30

I don't think deciding a different aspect is more important in his work muriel_volestrangler Sep 2014 #2

Insisting that language be self-consistent is not "control." True Blue Door Sep 2014 #7

Who are you to tell others how they must use the word 'Orwellian'? muriel_volestrangler Sep 2014 #11

+1 There are many aspects of "Orwellianism." woo me with science Sep 2014 #22

Brawndo's got what plants crave. valerief Sep 2014 #3

That's "thought-terminating cliche." Also an example of Orwellian programming. True Blue Door Sep 2014 #9

I agree about Judge being a genius. And I knew this wasn't an example valerief Sep 2014 #31

Interesting observations. CJCRANE Sep 2014 #4

Well Done, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2014 #5

The misuse of the term Orwellian comes from people not reading the book Blecht Sep 2014 #8

I'm not certain what's obvious to most people. True Blue Door Sep 2014 #12

Um...vote? randome Sep 2014 #10

Huh? True Blue Door Sep 2014 #13

Like most of this country's problems, all can be solved if people simply band together and vote. randome Sep 2014 #17

We did vote the bastards out of office. True Blue Door Sep 2014 #18

And here I thought it meant a fear of rats.... Moonwalk Sep 2014 #14

I'm happy to see someone so excited about having read and understood a book. True Blue Door Sep 2014 #24

Authoritarian-Totalitarian (Abuser) rulerships are those who use full force Orwellian-speak. Dont call me Shirley Sep 2014 #15

Good analogy. I agree there's a parallel with domestic violence. True Blue Door Sep 2014 #25

Oppressor is a more accurate description of Abuser personality, I realized after I posted. Dont call me Shirley Sep 2014 #34

Yes. And cultivating these "higher" instincts will require more attention and focus. True Blue Door Sep 2014 #35

I must say Thespian2 Sep 2014 #16

Don't need to look very far to find examples of supposed Progressives embracing harun Sep 2014 #19

Indeed - only need to look as far as your avatar. True Blue Door Sep 2014 #26

Che didn't use that method. He was a grass roots peoples revolution guy. harun Sep 2014 #32

He spoke the rhetoric of people's revolution. What he brought was autocracy. True Blue Door Sep 2014 #33

Language that I find offensive and confusing shadowmayor Sep 2014 #20

"Enhanced interrogation." True Blue Door Sep 2014 #27

speaking of confusing language... deafskeptic Sep 2014 #28

Ethnic Cleansing Dont call me Shirley Sep 2014 #38

This Is One of the Best Things I've Ever Read on DU cer7711 Sep 2014 #21

Excellent post. K&R Louisiana1976 Sep 2014 #29

Almost as annoying as overused hyperbole and melodrama. LanternWaste Sep 2014 #36

Reek is born. Uncle Joe Sep 2014 #37