George Orwell’s prescient view of western civilization was published 70 years ago this weekend. Penning his famous satirical novel, predicting future living norms, words, and deeds, “1984” introduced the world to Winston and his struggles against Big Brother in the land called Oceana.
Big Brother reeked of totalitarianism. It’s sole purpose (Big Brother was not a person.) was to regiment the masses. Everyone would think the same, dress the same, speak the same. I suppose today we would classify that as politically correct behavior.
Ponder the words of George Orwell. America has been at war somewhere in the world for my entire lifetime, yet we claim to be living in peace. America offers freedom to its citizens on an unparalleled level, yet so many people feel enslaved. People claim that America’s schools are dumbing people down yet we claim to be the most educated generation that America has ever seen.
I am not a book critic and certainly wiser people than me have reviewed and analyzed Orwell’s satire, but I can’t help but recognize some of the strange and ironic connections between our lives today and those of Winston in “1984”.
We’ve all been exposed to mentions of “fake news” by politicians and pundits. Recently, with the advent of technology, a new social media foe has arisen in what is called the “deep fake” video, wherein the viewer is unable to distinguish between what is real and what has been presented to them. It is all because new software allows us to clone someone else’s voice! Take a look, and a listen!
I know you’re here for the weather, but somehow sharing these videos seems appropriate today. I worry that we’ll lose sight of the truth or ever be able to recognize it again. Everyday seems to offer new reports of Trump said, Nancy said, he said, she said, they said, we said, Mueller said, Barr said, Democrats said, Republicans said.
I guess the only constant is still the weather. You need only look out your window!
Today should be cloudy and cool with temperatures reaching the lower 70’s. Rain seems likely at times today, especially in the afternoon and evening. Don’t expect the temps to change much heading into Monday, either as it should be another typical day in Oceana.