Conghaileach
31st July 2002, 02:05
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-
bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/07/28/IN244190.DTL
------------------------------------
Sunday, July 28, 2002 (SF Chronicle)
Learning to love Big Brother / George W. Bush channels George Orwell
Daniel Kurtzman
Here's a question for constitutional scholars: Can a sitting
president be charged with plagiarism?
As President Bush wages his war against terrorism and moves to
create a huge homeland security apparatus, he appears to be borrowing
heavily, if not ripping off ideas outright, from George Orwell. The
work in question is "1984, " the prophetic novel about a government
that controls the masses by spreading propaganda, cracking down on
subversive thought and altering history to suit its needs. It was
intended to be read as a warning about the evils of totalitarianism --
not a how-to manual.
Granted, we're a long way from resembling the kind of
authoritarian state Orwell depicted, but some of the similarities are
starting to get a bit eerie.
PERMANENT WAR
In "1984," the state remained perpetually at war against a vague
and ever-changing enemy. The war took place largely in the abstract,
but it served as a convenient vehicle to fuel hatred, nurture fear and
justify the regime's autocratic practices.
Bush's war against terrorism has become almost as amorphous.
Although we are told the president's resolve is steady and the mission
clear, we seem to know less and less about the enemy we are fighting.
What began as a war against Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda quickly
morphed into a war against Afghanistan, followed by dire warnings about
an "Axis of Evil," the targeting of terrorists in some 50 to 60
countries, and now the beginnings of a major campaign against Iraq.
Exactly what will constitute success in this war remains unclear, but
the one thing the Bush administration has made certain is that the war
will continue "indefinitely."
MINISTRY OF TRUTH
Serving as the propaganda arm of the ruling party in "1984," the
Ministry of Truth not only spread lies to suit its strategic goals, but
constantly rewrote and falsified history. It is a practice that has
become increasingly commonplace in the Bush White House, where
presidential transcripts are routinely sanitized to remove the
president's gaffes, accounts of intelligence warnings prior to Sept. 11
get spottier with each retelling, and the facts surrounding Bush's past
financial dealings are subject to continual revision.
The Bush administration has been surprisingly up front about its
intentions of propagating falsehoods. In February, for example, the
Pentagon announced a plan to create an Office of Strategic Influence
to provide false news and information abroad to help manipulate public
opinion and further its military objectives. Following a public
outcry, the Pentagon said it would close the office -- news that would
have sounded more convincing had it not come from a place that just
announced it was planning to spread misinformation.
INFALLIBLE LEADER
An omnipresent and all-powerful leader, Big Brother commanded the
total, unquestioning support of the people. He was both adored and
feared, and no one dared speak out against him, lest they be met by the
wrath of the state.
President Bush may not be as menacing a figure, but he has hardly
concealed his desire for greater powers. Never mind that he has
mentioned -- on no fewer than three occasions -- how much easier things
would be if he were dictator. By abandoning many of the checks and
balances established in the Constitution to keep any one branch of
government from becoming too powerful, Bush has already achieved the
greatest expansion of executive powers since Nixon. His approval
ratings remain remarkably high, and his minions have worked hard to
cultivate an image of infallibility.
Nowhere was that more apparent than during a recent commencement
address Bush gave at Ohio State, where students were threatened with
arrest and expulsion if they protested the speech. They were ordered to
give him a "thunderous ovation," and they did.
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING
The ever-watchful eye of Big Brother kept constant tabs on the
citizens of Orwell's totalitarian state, using two-way telescreens to
monitor people's every move while simultaneously broadcasting party
propaganda.
While that technology may not have arrived yet, public video
surveillance has become all the rage in law enforcement, with cameras
being deployed everywhere from sporting events to public beaches. The
Bush administration has also announced plans to recruit millions of
Americans to form a corps of citizen spies who will serve as "extra
eyes and ears for law enforcement," reporting any suspicious activity
as part of a program dubbed Operation TIPS -- Terrorism Information and
Prevention System.
And thanks to the hastily passed USA Patriot Act, the Justice
Department has sweeping new powers to monitor phone conversations,
Internet usage, business transactions and library reading records. Best
of all, law enforcement need not be burdened any longer with such
inconveniences as probable cause.
THOUGHT POLICE
Charged with eradicating dissent and ferreting out resistance, the
ever-present Thought Police described in "1984" carefully monitored all
unorthodox or potentially subversive thoughts. The Bush
administration is not prosecuting thought crime yet, but members have
been quick to question the patriotism of anyone who dares criticize
their handling of the war on terrorism or homeland defense. Take, for
example, the way Attorney General John Ashcroft answered critics of his
anti-terrorism measures, saying that opponents of the administration
"only aid terrorists" and "give ammunition
to America's enemies. "
Even more ominous was the stern warning White House Press
Secretary Ari Fleischer sent to Americans after Bill Maher, host of the
now defunct "Politically Incorrect," called past U.S. military actions
"cowardly."
Said Fleischer, "There are reminders to all Americans that they need
to watch what they say, watch what they do, and this is not a time for
remarks like that; there never is."
What would it take to turn America into the kind of society that
Orwell warned about, a society that envisions war as peace, freedom as
slavery and ignorance as strength? Would it happen overnight, or would
it involve a gradual erosion of freedoms with the people's consent?
Because we are a nation at war -- as we are constantly reminded --
most Americans say they are willing to sacrifice many of our freedoms
in return for the promise of greater security. We have been asked to
put
our blind faith in government and most of us have done so with
patriotic fervor. But when the government abuses that trust and begins
to stamp
out the freedom of dissent that is the hallmark of a democratic
society, can there be any turning back?
So powerful was the state's control over people's minds in "1984"
that, eventually, everyone came to love Big Brother. Perhaps in time we
all will, too.
_______________
Daniel Kurtzman is a San Francisco writer and former Washington
political correspondent.
---------------
Copyright 2002 SF Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com
bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/07/28/IN244190.DTL
------------------------------------
Sunday, July 28, 2002 (SF Chronicle)
Learning to love Big Brother / George W. Bush channels George Orwell
Daniel Kurtzman
Here's a question for constitutional scholars: Can a sitting
president be charged with plagiarism?
As President Bush wages his war against terrorism and moves to
create a huge homeland security apparatus, he appears to be borrowing
heavily, if not ripping off ideas outright, from George Orwell. The
work in question is "1984, " the prophetic novel about a government
that controls the masses by spreading propaganda, cracking down on
subversive thought and altering history to suit its needs. It was
intended to be read as a warning about the evils of totalitarianism --
not a how-to manual.
Granted, we're a long way from resembling the kind of
authoritarian state Orwell depicted, but some of the similarities are
starting to get a bit eerie.
PERMANENT WAR
In "1984," the state remained perpetually at war against a vague
and ever-changing enemy. The war took place largely in the abstract,
but it served as a convenient vehicle to fuel hatred, nurture fear and
justify the regime's autocratic practices.
Bush's war against terrorism has become almost as amorphous.
Although we are told the president's resolve is steady and the mission
clear, we seem to know less and less about the enemy we are fighting.
What began as a war against Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda quickly
morphed into a war against Afghanistan, followed by dire warnings about
an "Axis of Evil," the targeting of terrorists in some 50 to 60
countries, and now the beginnings of a major campaign against Iraq.
Exactly what will constitute success in this war remains unclear, but
the one thing the Bush administration has made certain is that the war
will continue "indefinitely."
MINISTRY OF TRUTH
Serving as the propaganda arm of the ruling party in "1984," the
Ministry of Truth not only spread lies to suit its strategic goals, but
constantly rewrote and falsified history. It is a practice that has
become increasingly commonplace in the Bush White House, where
presidential transcripts are routinely sanitized to remove the
president's gaffes, accounts of intelligence warnings prior to Sept. 11
get spottier with each retelling, and the facts surrounding Bush's past
financial dealings are subject to continual revision.
The Bush administration has been surprisingly up front about its
intentions of propagating falsehoods. In February, for example, the
Pentagon announced a plan to create an Office of Strategic Influence
to provide false news and information abroad to help manipulate public
opinion and further its military objectives. Following a public
outcry, the Pentagon said it would close the office -- news that would
have sounded more convincing had it not come from a place that just
announced it was planning to spread misinformation.
INFALLIBLE LEADER
An omnipresent and all-powerful leader, Big Brother commanded the
total, unquestioning support of the people. He was both adored and
feared, and no one dared speak out against him, lest they be met by the
wrath of the state.
President Bush may not be as menacing a figure, but he has hardly
concealed his desire for greater powers. Never mind that he has
mentioned -- on no fewer than three occasions -- how much easier things
would be if he were dictator. By abandoning many of the checks and
balances established in the Constitution to keep any one branch of
government from becoming too powerful, Bush has already achieved the
greatest expansion of executive powers since Nixon. His approval
ratings remain remarkably high, and his minions have worked hard to
cultivate an image of infallibility.
Nowhere was that more apparent than during a recent commencement
address Bush gave at Ohio State, where students were threatened with
arrest and expulsion if they protested the speech. They were ordered to
give him a "thunderous ovation," and they did.
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING
The ever-watchful eye of Big Brother kept constant tabs on the
citizens of Orwell's totalitarian state, using two-way telescreens to
monitor people's every move while simultaneously broadcasting party
propaganda.
While that technology may not have arrived yet, public video
surveillance has become all the rage in law enforcement, with cameras
being deployed everywhere from sporting events to public beaches. The
Bush administration has also announced plans to recruit millions of
Americans to form a corps of citizen spies who will serve as "extra
eyes and ears for law enforcement," reporting any suspicious activity
as part of a program dubbed Operation TIPS -- Terrorism Information and
Prevention System.
And thanks to the hastily passed USA Patriot Act, the Justice
Department has sweeping new powers to monitor phone conversations,
Internet usage, business transactions and library reading records. Best
of all, law enforcement need not be burdened any longer with such
inconveniences as probable cause.
THOUGHT POLICE
Charged with eradicating dissent and ferreting out resistance, the
ever-present Thought Police described in "1984" carefully monitored all
unorthodox or potentially subversive thoughts. The Bush
administration is not prosecuting thought crime yet, but members have
been quick to question the patriotism of anyone who dares criticize
their handling of the war on terrorism or homeland defense. Take, for
example, the way Attorney General John Ashcroft answered critics of his
anti-terrorism measures, saying that opponents of the administration
"only aid terrorists" and "give ammunition
to America's enemies. "
Even more ominous was the stern warning White House Press
Secretary Ari Fleischer sent to Americans after Bill Maher, host of the
now defunct "Politically Incorrect," called past U.S. military actions
"cowardly."
Said Fleischer, "There are reminders to all Americans that they need
to watch what they say, watch what they do, and this is not a time for
remarks like that; there never is."
What would it take to turn America into the kind of society that
Orwell warned about, a society that envisions war as peace, freedom as
slavery and ignorance as strength? Would it happen overnight, or would
it involve a gradual erosion of freedoms with the people's consent?
Because we are a nation at war -- as we are constantly reminded --
most Americans say they are willing to sacrifice many of our freedoms
in return for the promise of greater security. We have been asked to
put
our blind faith in government and most of us have done so with
patriotic fervor. But when the government abuses that trust and begins
to stamp
out the freedom of dissent that is the hallmark of a democratic
society, can there be any turning back?
So powerful was the state's control over people's minds in "1984"
that, eventually, everyone came to love Big Brother. Perhaps in time we
all will, too.
_______________
Daniel Kurtzman is a San Francisco writer and former Washington
political correspondent.
---------------
Copyright 2002 SF Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com