Book club meeting discussing 1984 for the final time, with a slight digression at the end
Thursday, Jun. 12, 2003 - 09:37

Greetings, friends and lovers. This morning we will be finishing up our discussion of 1984. Let's begin, shall we?

You: I really don't have anything at all to say about this book. These book club meetings are excrutiating. I hate them, in fact. I don't even read them because they're so boring.

Me: Please stop complaining so much. It's okay that you don't have anything to say. I'll say it all.

You: Don't take long, okay? Seriously, it's boring.

Me: Okay. There are really only two things that I want to bring up. One is fear, and the other is privacy.

You: Didn't we already talk about fear once? Fear of the unknown and all that crap?

Me: Yes. But I think that's one of the most important points in the book. The way the Party uses fear to keep people in line. No one can trust anybody else, because no one knows who's in the Thought Police. They never know who might turn them in. They're even afraid of their own children. And it makes me think about the U.S. government's propaganda about Al Quaida and Saddam Hussein and stuff. All the Terror Alerts... they're always raising the "terror level" based on some sort of vague unsubstantiated report that somewhere, somehow, someone might do something bad. And it gets reported in all the news sources and people freak out and they have no idea what they're freaking out about. It's silly.

You: But there is definitely something to fear. It's not entirely unsubstantiated.

Me: Yeah, but you can't live your life always afraid of everything. And besides that, I do think much of it is unsubstantiated. Remember when they told us that They were going to attack Us underwater in scuba gear? Or in cropdusters? I know there are people who don't like the U.S., but I think the U.S. government takes that, blows it out of proportion, and uses the fear it creates in people to support otherwise unjustifiable attacks by the United States on other countries.

You: ...

Me: And with the Patriot Act, the government is putting itself in a position to be very Big Brother-like. They can spy on us, put us away for however long they like for whatever reason they like, and if we try to say anything against it, we'll be labelled anti-American or traitors.

You: Okay, blah blah.

Me: Blah blah. Okay, that was fear, and now I want to talk about privacy. The people in 1984 have none. And I already mentioned the Patriot Act, and it also applies to this issue of privacy. Did you know that the FBI can get your library records without you knowing?

You: Yes, everyone knows that.

Me: Give up your freedom in order to protect your freedom. So the issue of "national security" vs. personal freedom... um, something. I want to end with this quote from the May-June 2003 issue of Utne Reader, from "The Unbearable Lightness of Choosing" by Jon Spayde:

Our president insists that terrorists and other enemies wish us ill because of their blind hatred of freedom. We are told--and not for the first time in our history--that the only way to safeguard our freedom is to give up substantial portions of it.

So that's all. Now go read the next book. Thank you.

You: This book really wasn't that bad when Julia and Winston were getting it on.

Me: That really wasn't the point of the book, and there was all the stuff before that and after that.

You: I know, but that stuff was boring.

Me: Yeah, anyway, go read the next book.

You: You don't even know the name of the next book.

Me: I do too, it's The Melancholy Death of Oyster-Boy and Other Stories by Tim Burton.

You: You couldn't remember that yesterday.

Me: That's because yesterday I was still sort of sick.

You: Poor baby, are you feeling better?

Me: Yes, I sort of am, thank you. But I'm all full of snot now, and still coughing a little. But I slept for 8 full hours last night again. That makes two nights in a row!

You: Congratulations.

Me: You know, this is the first intimate conversation we've had. I think this book club thing is a really good way to get people together. I really feel like I'm getting to know you.

You: Awww, I'm beginning to feel all warm inside.

Me: Awww!

You: Muahh.

Me: Muahh.

You: Bye bye.

Me: Bye bye.