Is Big Brother In Our Immediate Future?

In 1949 George Orwell wrote 1984, a political prophecy that portrayed a Progressive Party’s ultimate achievement of its totalitarian goals in a Utopian State of complete oligarchy. This chilling account of a Utopian Dream that evolved into a Dystopia was titled, 1984. So frightening was the premise of the novel that the number 1984 became a part of our language, along with the nebulous figure of “Big Brother.”

Many who read the book breathed a sigh of relief when the year came1984 came and passed without the realization of the dreaded situations described in the book. Perhaps Orwell’s only flaw with 1984 was to predict the Progressive political ascendancy a few decades prematurely. The Chinese and Russian oligarchies were in full bloom by the late 1940s; it was within reason to assume the Totalitarian Progressive control of the United States and England in 35 years.

To accomplish this type of Oligarchy, it is necessary to have control over a certain segment of society, a segment that swears allegiance to a common cause and is willing to die for that cause, presumably for the benefit of the society as a whole. This has actually been happening for thousands of years; for the ancient Hebrew, it was only necessary to know that all other nations worshiped false Gods. This was reason enough to put other nations to the sword and to obliterate any trace of their existence.

Mao and Stalin became charismatic leaders of Totalitarian Oligarchies and obtained a celebrity status that approximated that of the Hebrew Jahweh and promptly killed over a hundred million of their own people in order to achieve a Progressive Utopia or a perfect Socialist Society.

In the novel 1984 there were many tactics revealed that were necessary to achieve the perfect Socialist State in the Western World during the second half of the twentieth century. Although Castro succeeded in Cuba, there was never a serious threat to the United States despite the federal government being riddled with Soviet spies. The presence of Soviet spies during the 1940s was proven by the release of the Verona Cables, the declassification of KGB files and the confession of former spy, Whittaker Chambers.

In the novel, 1984, Big Brother was known only to exist on posters and by the presence of his melodic and soothing voice. No one saw Big Brother, but doubting his omnipotence was reason enough for arrest by the Thought Police. It was essential to be enthusiastic about every broadcast by Big Brother and the ongoing war against either Eurasia or Eastasia, or risk being picked up by the dreaded Thought Police.

In Orwell’s world of 1984 there were two catalysts within Oceania, an area that theoretically combined England and the United States. These catalysts were Big Brother with his troubling reports of overproduction in a land of shortages, and the unending wars of attrition waged in far off lands. All conscious thought, away from work, was to be directed toward these situations. The eyes of Big Brother were always observing your behavior, as were all children, for they were all members of the Young Spies.

The wars of 1984 kept the lower party members and the non-party members, the Proles of Oceania focused toward a universal direction, in much the same way as the fanaticism of Global Warming keeps a huge segment of contemporary society focused in a collective tunnel vision. Within the Democratic Party and on the university campus there is no deviance allowed; grants are withdrawn and promotions withheld. Dubious computer models and questionable scientific data are considered sacrosanct. Conflicting data is considered contemptible and unworthy of consideration. To quote Al Gore, “The debate is over.”

Oceanic Society was designed in a pyramid structure; Big Brother was at the apex, he was credited with being all-powerful and infallible. Success, achievement, victory, scientific discovery, knowledge, wisdom, and virtue are all attributed to the leadership and inspiration of Big Brother.

Today’s Democratic Party has managed to elect their version of a Big Brother persona. Implementation of an Oligarchy has been an ongoing situation for the past seven months. Whether Barack Obama is actually in charge is a point of contention. He is flanked by several who could actually be pulling the strings. Just as Big Brother was a persona, our president may be controlled by George Soros, Bill Ayers, or David Axelrod, or a combination of the three.

Big Brother relied on the telescreen, a two-way communication screen to communicate with each citizen individually. No one was sure who was really speaking, but it was against the law to wonder. Obama uses the teleprompter to simulate actual speech delivery, and no knows who writes the message. In effect, the new president is a message deliverer, not unlike the poster image of Big Brother delivering his daily messages.

In Orwell’s 1984 there existed three political groups: The Aristocracy, the Middle Group, and the Proles. Beneath Big Brother is the Inner Circle of the party, the Aristocracy, made up of bureaucrats, scientists, technicians, trade union organizers, publicity experts, sociologists, teachers, journalists, and professional politicians. These people, who were members of the salaried middle class and upper levels of the working class, were chosen and molded into an elite political class. Picked for being less tempted by luxury and driven more for the acquisition of power, they became the nucleus of a monopoly industry and a centralized government. Control of education, media, and health is paramount for the complete installation of an oligarchy; an aware citizenry is difficult to delude and manage. The education system must be degraded to the point that the citizens are barely literate and only vaguely aware of history and current events. The media machine programs the news so that it relates in a positive manner to the party line. The leader is always portrayed in a glorious light and there is never negative news from within the country, only from without. This inner core of loyal and fawning sycophants provide the means to accomplish these goals.

Obama is aggressively building this same elitist group (aristocracy) of loyalists, a “Big Brother” court of obedient followers who are more than ready to toe the party line and kow-tow to the leader for their share of power. The appointment of czars, or dictators as they were designated by FDR (positions not designated in the Constitution), is a tightening and consolidation of power by Obama.

The second group in Orwell’s political hierarchy is the Middle Group. These people are members of the party and perform various menial functions that are necessary in any society. Within our own society, these people include government workers, teachers, bureaucrats, police, Community Organizers and Acorn. These party members are on the periphery of power and have limited access to the perks of inner party membership. However, steadfast dedication to the party line and unwavering fanaticism in the role of a Useful Idiot can guarantee a position at the front of the line for party benefits and even entry into the Inner Party in the future. Thus, party loyalty is woven into the fabric of the Orwellian society.

Orwell’s third political group represents the non-party members, the Proles as Orwell designated them. Insignificant, inconsequential, and oppressed, the Proles are largely ignored by the party. They live, work, eat, breed, and die in squalor and poverty without the scrutiny or privilege of the party member. Their homes are the targets of the occasional but dubious “Bottle Rockets” supposedly launched by Oceana’s eternal enemies from thousands of miles away. If the Obama agenda is allowed to run its projected course, the Proles are now, us, the common man.

We know that Obama is a real person, although the definition of “real” in reference to a cult-like celebrity, like Obama, may be argued with authority. Consider the cult-like celebrity status of the un-convicted, but alleged criminal, Michael Jackson. The adoration and affection shown to this celebrity might have been enough to insure the election of Michael Jackson to the Office of President.

Reader, your first reaction to this scenario is to say, impossible, yet if we analyze the meteoric rise of a freshman senator from Illinois, a senator with the bare minimum of qualifications and a close association with the infamous Chicago Political Machine, a lifetime spent with radicals and domestic terrorists, it becomes clear that if enough of the educated and ill-educated, uncouth, and politically faithful become smitten with a celebrity, a stage persona can indeed be elected to the presidency of the United States. If that personality is surrounded by politically savvy power brokers hungering for control over the masses, it is conceivable that an Orwell 1984 scenario can, and will be played out in our near future.

We see the California power monopoly promoting its “Green” efforts towards combating Global Warming and thereby allegedly reducing the incidence of crop failures, water shortages, severe weather conditions, hurricanes, famine and disease. While Big Brother stands in the shadows, it’s hard not to admire a company that strives to alleviate these natural disasters. Is Big Brother in our immediate future? That’s the question I leave you with today.

Epilogue: This article was written soon after Obama was elected. I lost the article and never published it until now. It is useful to show how some of us recognized the potential for tyranny.