A Party member…is supposed to live in a continuous frenzy of hatred of foreign enemies and internal traitors, triumph over victories, and self-abasement before the power and wisdom of the Party. The discontents produced by his bare, unsatisfying life are deliberately turned outwards and dissipated by such devices as the Two Minutes Hate, and the speculations which might possibly induce a sceptical or rebellious attitude are killed in advance by his early acquired inner discipline…called, in Newspeak, crimestop. Crimestop means the faculty of stopping short, as though by instinct, at the threshold of any dangerous thought. It includes the power of not grasping analogies, of failing to perceive logical errors, of misunderstanding the simplest arguments if they are inimical to Ingsoc, and of being bored or repelled by any train of thought which is capable of leading in a heretical direction. Crimestop, in short, means protective stupidity.Hmmmm. I wonder if there is any group of people we know that fits this description. Seems like I keep seeing them on my TV and hearing them on my radio and reading them as they troll the blogs I frequent. Also it’s always amazing to me how hardcore wingnuts really have no idea what I’m saying when I talk to them or they leave a comment on my blog or send an e-mail indicating they have completely missed the point.
I read 1984 in high school. I’m afraid to read it again today.
1 comment:
Dave,
One of the main areas which people in power first try to control is public perception via the media. Clearly, the mainstream media is controlled by the liberal left and the right must then take to alternative means in order to get their voices heard. They have successfully carved out a little niche on talk radio. Now, we have that one area under attack by the left in the form of the so called "fairness" doctrine.
So, in reference to 1984, the main antagonist in that book controlled the media. Hitler's first act in his rise to power was to control the media. And now we have the liberals trying to control all of the media. It is one thing to make your arguments, it is another thing to stifle speech.
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