Op-Ed: George Orwell predicted “Newspeak” and the Rewriting of History
By Steve Levy
A short time ago, I reacquainted myself with George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984. It was my first read since high school, but its impact was so much more profound, having experienced years of “Newspeak” (banning some words in favor of others) promulgated by the current woke culture.
In my second read, I could not believe how incredibly prescient Orwell’s horrifying predictions were.
The crux of the novel is that the totalitarian state (such as the Marxist states popping up in his time) would endeavor to control its subjects through relentless, unchallenged propaganda.
They rewrote history and even changed the meaning of words to ensure that the individual would conform to the will of Big Brother. The state in 1984 realized “The Revolution will be complete when the language is perfect.”
In essence, it is a story of whether a stifling and powerful government can so subjugate its citizens through fear, misinformation and thought control that the brainwashed masses will eventually agree with the false statement that 2+2 = 5.
The main character, Winston, and his new girlfriend, Julia, become entangled in a tryst that is forbidden by Big Brother. They do their best to meet secretly, away from the roving eyes of the cameras that are omnipresent.
They seek out remote areas where they can talk freely and discuss whether the relentless propaganda from Big Brother is real or imaginary. And, of course, they get to laugh at the concept that 2+2 = 5, knowing darn well that it’s incorrect.
But at some point, the two lovers are discovered and hauled away into separate torture chambers. Winston holds out for a short period, but eventually collapses when he’s forced by his captors to confront his biggest fear…being attacked by rats.
All along, the Big Brother monitor asks Winston whether 2+2 = 5. When he responds in the negative, he gets a heavy electric shock. When he tries to placate his tormentor and agrees that 2+2 does indeed equal five, he is shocked to an even greater degree, if the moderator feels that Winston is simply lying to avoid another dose.
Eventually, after one too many shocks, Winston succumbs. He begs with his guards to unleash the rats on his beloved Julia so that he can be spared.
And in the end, he concedes that 2+2 = 5, even believing it in his core.
Interestingly, Winston’s job for Big Brother was to rewrite history and to change the meaning of words. People not beloved by the state were simply erased via Winston’s rewrite.
In fact, Big Brother’s mantra was:
“Who controls the past controls the future.”
The meaning of words was shifted upside down.
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
If you had asked me a decade ago if Orwell’s prediction could come true in America, I would have laughed. But then I saw what started to happen when progressives got control of various states and cities and sought to create a new woke utopia.
They started by changing, and even erasing, history. Our founding fathers who created the greatest Constitution in the history of man were now castigated as racist patriarchs. Even statues of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt were tarred or torn down.
And then there was the torturous changing of word meaning to shape the beliefs and behavior of the American people.
“Illegal alien” became “undocumented immigrant” which became “asylum seeker.” (Note how the first implies a law breaker, while the last implies a sympathetic victim.)
“Pedophile” became “person with interest in minors.”
“Rioting” became “social justice expression.”
And of course, our own Big Brother government began to pound into our brains, with all the force of its seismic powers, that there are potentially dozens of genders. Big Brother repeatedly stressed: “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.”
Saying that there were only two genders could get you in a heap of trouble - somewhat equivalent to saying 2+2 = 4 in Orwell’s universe. It might not be electro-shock therapy that you would receive, but the punishment was severe: termination from your job, being ostracized from your social network, getting doxxed at your home, or being canceled from your platform.
In Orwell’s novel, the all powerful deep state prevailed. Fortunately, this past election sent a message to the progressive woke that we will not sit by and quietly acquiesce to the concept of 2+2 = 5.
We will not buy into your nonsense that men can breast-feed or menstruate. We will not submit to your ridiculous conclusion that men do not possess physical advantage in the sporting arena.
Back in 1947, Orwell was sending us a warning, and this past November, our nation seems to have heeded it well. But, there’s still a long way to go to ensure his form of dystopia is never allowed to take root in our free country.
So the next time a progressive demands you lay down and roll over as they claim there is a vast variety of genders, fight back by confidently proclaiming there are in fact only two genders. And by the way…2 + 2 = 4.
---------------------------------------
Steve Levy is President of Common Sense Strategies, a political consulting firm. He served as Suffolk County Executive, as a NYS Assemblyman, and host of "The Steve Levy Radio Show." He is the author of “Solutions to America’s Problems” and “Bias in the Media.” www.SteveLevy.info, Twitter @SteveLevyNY, steve@commonsensestrategies.com