Focused read in 3-5 minutes
"How '1984' can decode
Trump's first 100 days
By Alexander J. Urbelis
January 31, 2017
... Donald Trump and
doublethink
In everything from his
Cabinet appointments to the rationale for destabilizing executive
orders, President Trump appears to have taken a cue directly from
"1984's" fictional ministries, whose purposes are
diametrically opposed to their names. Orwell's Ministry of Truth
("Minitrue" in newspeak), for example, had nothing to do
with truth but was responsible for the fabrication of historical
facts.
In that vein, President
Trump has provided us, in the name of security, with a travel ban on
immigrants and refugees from countries whose citizens have caused the
terrorism deaths of no Americans, while leaving out countries whose
citizens have caused the terrorism deaths of thousands of Americans.
He has provided us with
Betsy DeVos, a secretary of education nominee who is widely believed
to oppose public education, and who promotes the truly
Orwellian-sounding concept of "school choice," a plan that
seems well-intentioned but which critics complain actually siphons
much-needed funds from public to private education institutions.
Andy Pudzer -- named to
head the Labor Department, which is charged with promoting and
protecting the welfare of wage earners -- has a checkered past with
workers' rights and has actually praised the efficiency of
robots over humans on account of automatons' inability to take
vacation and file discrimination complaints.
And we cannot fail to
mention that Scott Pruitt -- nominated to head the
Environmental Protection Agency, which has responsibility to protect
health and the environment -- as Oklahoma attorney general devoted
his office to battling the EPA, actively sought deregulation of air
pollution requirements, and spearheaded the attack on Obama's efforts
to reduce global warming, the Clean Power Plan.
One week into Trump's
presidency, the parallels with "1984" are more than
surface-level, and this portends an ominous future for the United
States, regardless of your political persuasion. We among all the
species are gifted with language, with thought, with the ability to
freely express every singular emotion we experience with sincerity
and honesty. We have today what Winston and Julia of Orwell's
dystopia lost, fought so hard to reclaim, and failed to achieve: free
speech.
At once cautionary and
foreboding, certain passages of "1984" eloquently remind us
to hold onto the ideals of truth and equality, because simple truths
that bind us are stronger than complex lies that divide us:
... I sincerely hope that
every newly bought copy of "1984" is read through and
through, and, as my mother admonished, read again and again, because
that novel shows us that what is at stake right now is nothing short
of the legitimacy, confidence and honesty of our republic."
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Curated by Gail Mountain, Network For #StrongerTogether ! is not affiliated with The Democratic Party in any capacity. This is an independent blog and the hope is you will, at a glance, learn more about the Democratic Party and you will, with a click or two, also take action on its behalf as it is provided! You can read more Network For #StrongerTogether posts here: https://networkstrongertogether.blogspot.com/
( You can also find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GKMTNtwits )
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