Orwell and dictatorship

Last time we had the opportunity to hear and read about George Orwell's 1984.

Shame on me, it was the first time I took a closer look into the story and the first time when I took it off my shelf. More precisely, the library's shelf. Determined to make my deficiency right, I started to read it and experienced a surprisingly positive disappointment- the book is VERY readable and unbelievably thought-evoking. Maybe it is only me bearing too much empathy, but I could almost feel the terror around me, the horror of being watched and controlled all the time, having all the joys taken away, but first of all, even lacking the liberty of thinking, because the necessary linguistic devices are maimed, and this way the human spirit is locked up in darkness. (Honestly, I had nightmares the first evening after reading the book.)

Horrifying idea, isn't it? Not only because it means that we cannot express –or even think- ideas if we do not have a right –or any- word for it, but because it also implies the question: how many things might be uncovered before us because our language does not provide space for it? If we do not know about something we do not have a word for, we do not even realize its missing- thus, the next generation speaking the ‘new language’ will not perceive being in a jail of mind. And supposing someone would have a dim bad feeling of missing liberty –an expression he does not even have a word for- he would not have the chance to share it and this way try to recreate it.

What really sent chills down my spine was that it could actually happen. Of course, I would like to believe that people of today would not let politics reach such extremes because there had been examples from which we can learn. But the form and system of our thinking is very vulnerably – it is enough to have a negative association attached to a perfectly ‘innocent’ word (like ‘brigád’) and it will never be neutral again. The symbols we use, the arbitrary signs for objects, ideas, phenomena, are so dependent on the feelings and experiences we connect them to that we become very easy to influence. With careful and well-planned work, it is even possible to make it obvious for people that war is peace, freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength.

Well, I’m not absolutely sure what this blog should be about, but let’s call it a day and I’ll make it more next time, if necessary.