1984 and 2004

“War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.” This is the mantra of Big Brother, the imaginary head of the Oceana in the grim world that George Orwell painted on his death bed. Doublethink was the process in which Big Brother controlled his subjects, wherein people willfully forgot what they knew was true in order to be spoon fed a new lie, a faux reality. Beginning three years ago this week, I feel this is becoming a creeping reality beyond the literary world of 1984.

What else but doublethink explains a draft dodger having his campaigners criticize his opponent for receiving only minor wounds in Vietnam while he himself was out on a cocaine binge unable to report for National Guard duty? How else could you have “No Child Left Behind” without funding the bill, name a bill “Clear Skies” that leaves out greenhouse gases, or have a “Healthy Forest Initiative” which excludes environmental impact studies and hands our forests over to the timber industry to sell back to us? You’d almost think he hired a mining industry lobbyist as Secretary of the Interior.

Over 1,000 US troops and at least 12,000 Iraqi civilians have died since Bush invaded Iraq to destroy Saddam’s WMD program, bombs that have never been found - try telling that to the 80% of Fox News viewers who wrongly believe that we’ve either found direct evidence linking Hussein and al Qaida, an active WMD program, or believe world opinion supported the invasion. We’re all safer now that our entire defense structure, including the Army reserves, are fighting insurgents that never existed prior to March of last year rather than the enemy whose bite we felt in September two years prior. I certainly feel safer knowing a month ago we had more detailed plans for raiding the sacred Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf than hunting bin Laden in Peshawar.

Terrorists are attacking our freedom (I wasn’t aware that my freedom was dependent on the structural integrity of a potential target), so our liberties must be recessed. Makes sense to me. Forget habeas corpus; let’s give the President the power to indefinitely detain anyone he chooses, that’s what Jefferson intended. In 1984, when a citizen simply disappeared on executive order they were called an “unperson.” In America, we know that at least one of their names is José Padilla. He’s never been charged with a crime, nor does he need to be because our President neither understands nor cares about his constitutionally limited powers. He is now judge, jury, and executioner because of a war on terror he admitted can never be concluded.

Ignorance is strength. Forget that the Nobel laureates in economics have gathered to condemn Bush for his dismissal of inconvenient facts and embarking on a “reckless and extreme course that endangers the long-term economic health of our nation.” Forget that under his administration, we vote alone alongside Saudi Arabia & Co on women’s issues in UN. Forget about ozone holes, deforestation, desertification, rising sea water temperatures and climate change. Forget that CEO’s salaries have risen 23% last year alone the median annual household income fell, while the poverty level rose to 12.5%. Forget all this and believe what he tells you: that we’re stronger, safer, and better off. Try to forget all this and maybe you can vote for Bush with a clear conscious.