Are we destined to end up in an Orwellian future?

As we come to a closing on 1984, the question remains: Are we next? Our world heavily revolves around technology similar to 1984, and one can argue the class distinctions are almost worse than what Orwell depicted. So as we think about the future, post-pandemic, how can we avoid becoming another Orwellian horror story?

I think realistically, as people who don't have a lot of power, there isn't all that much we can do for some parts of this potential nightmare. Since so much relies on technology there's not a lot we can do to avoid getting sucked into that part of 1984, which we partly already have. Although most of us like to ignore it, all our information has already been taken down and passed around the internet. The government could watch us (maybe they already do) if we became interesting enough, and our complete "freedom" on the internet could change with government restrictions. So for this portion, we don't have a lot of control.

However, I don't think we will end up like 1984. Our class distinctions are a huge societal issue, one that many are aware of and are actively trying to change. As we continue to fight to rebuild the corrupt system we live under, we stray farther and farther from the regime of control the Party illustrated. 

Moreover, one freedom we can keep and will continue to pass down is the legend of history. In a lot of ways, we have been repressed of the true stories of the US and its history. Slowly more people are coming to learn about hidden truths, and for some, these truths have always been recognized. Though it's taking some time, the learning of true history is one of the biggest ways we differ from 1984. Additionally, as long as we have storytellers who pass down these truths to the next generations, we will always have people keeping us from losing sense of the truth in the way 1984 did. 

In some ways, we are incredibly close to mirroring 1984, and in others, we stray far away. I want to know what you think of where we are headed; do you think 1984 like life is scarily close? or far enough away that we shouldn't worry?


enjoy these images, I couldn't find a relevant enough comic this week. 



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