Notes for Remarks to Carleton University – September 5, 2012
By Allan R. Gregg
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities†– Voltaire
In his novel 1984, George Orwell paints a portrait of a nightmarish future where rights that we now take for granted – the freedom of assembly, speech and to trial – have all been suspended. Acceptance of this totalitarian state is justified by the interests of stability and order, and by the needs a perpetual war. But what makes 1984 endure where other dystopian novels have been forgotten is that Orwell removed one more right that is even more unimaginable in a modern context – the right to think.
Instead of reason and rational discourse, Oceania is ruled by doublethink – “to know and not to know. To be conscious of complete truthfulness, while telling carefully construed lies … to use logic against logic: to repudiate morality while laying claim to itâ€. As Orwell summarizes…. “In Oceania the heresy of heresy was common senseâ€.
Emblematic of the regime is Big Brother’s slogan, repeated constantly as a means of thought control….
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength
Even by the standards of the time in which he was writing, the juxtaposition of these concepts is so ludicrous, many believe that Orwell was using satire to wage his war against authoritarianism and the assault on reason. Anyone who has been to war knows it is anything but peaceful. Anyone who has been enslaved is more than aware that they are not free. But what about those who are ignorant? Do they feel weak … or strong?
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