Orwell’s 1984 is not what it seems

First time I read it, I didn’t get it. I was too young maybe.
This man was a genius. Contrary to the mainstream opinion, Orwell’s 1984 is not a critic of communism. Or totalitarian regimes. It’s a vision of the gruesome, but inevitable future. And by that I don’t mean we’re all gonna be in blue overalls, standing in line at the canteen. I’m talking about Google.

Remember last week when there was this massive media (well, some of the media) outbreak about how Google deleted Palestine from it’s map? They later said it’s a “bug” and that they’re gonna fix it. But that the bug only refers to the removal of Gaza and West Bank, not Palestine!

“There has never been a ‘Palestine’ label on Google Maps, however we discovered a bug that removed the labels for ‘West Bank’ and ‘Gaza Strip,’ ” the company said in a statement. “We’re working quickly to bring these labels back to the area.”

The thing is, the facts seem to not really matter anymore.

For those of you who haven’t read “1984”, I urge you to do it as soon as possible. You will understand what I’m saying here, and so much more.

Winston Smith, the main character of the book, starts to compare the party’s reality with his own memory. Oceania is at war with Eastasia today. Tomorrow, Oceania is at war with Eurasia, and it has always been so. The technique of rewriting history in Orwell’s book is an elaborate actual rewriting, reprinting of books, remaking of movies, retouching of photographs. Your own memory remodels its-self, in a mass brainwashing. It shifts in accordance to the party’s changing reality. 2+2 can as well make 4, 5 or 8. Orwell calls it “doublethink”.

source
What is actually happening though, is not this elaborate system, but a much simpler one, that Orwell hadn’t envisioned. It’s based on indifference. There’s no need to delete archive records, nor is there any use in assassinating unwanted opinion makers (though it’s still a practice). You just ignore them and a shower of kitties, boobs and pokemons will wash them way in no time. People have access to all the information they need. But the trouble of filtering and judging is too damn…. Hey look! Kim just got a new boob job!

source

Orwell’s “doublethink” takes self-discipline. Google’s needs only your indifference.

And yes, by Google I don’t mean just Google.