Thankful that I grew up in a society (and the school) where Animal Farm and 1984 were actually on reading curriculum and discussed openly. learned how to consider- weigh possibilities & outcomes - alternate worlds- think. We discussed government, we discussed religion. No one blackballed the teachers pulled us from classes. No one tried to convert us. In fact, we were encouraged to voice our questions and our opinions (with our young minds & limited experiences) we discussed what led us to have discussions in differing thoughts. LEARNING . THINKING.
George Orwell especially 1984 is not only a must read but a must have for anybody's personal library. I will even to go as far as to say it is a must have in all high school history and government civics class. Sorry English lit of course you need it too.
1984 is highly overrated. The fact that you watch MSNBC and engage in your 2-minute hate of Donald Trump only shows that you are a citizen of Oceania; a Big Brother follower
In Canada, we did read it in high school as well as Fahrenheit 451…..it was scary then and now that it’s becoming a reality…throw in the Handmaid’s Tale and it’s the trifecta…
growing up in the 80s in germany at the height of the cold war, 'the day after' comes to mind, i decided to read '1984', 'fahrenheit 451' and 'brave new world' back to back. boy, did that freak me out, as if that aforementioned movie wasn't enough, right? but i'm glad i did, these books are ever so relevant these days! the fact that '1984' was or is banned in some places is frightening and also telling, it should be a MUST read! so is 'animal farm'!
Those books were required reading when I was in school. They really made you think. Now,they'd probably scare the crap out of kids,if they compared them to what is happening in real life!
*I RE-READ IT OVER CHRISTMAS* the shocking this was how NOT shocking it is in 2024 - its just a slightly different version of the reality we now live in...!!! A book that was a terrifying dystopia when I read it as a kid, is now just a descriptor of the life we live "alternative facts", "Alexa" in our living rooms, cars that report our travels to Big Brother", 200 security cameras within 100m of the house 1984 was written in...!!!
The act of writing 1984 was itself heroic, since Orwell was literally dying of tuberculosis at the time. in letters he describes the tremendous difficulty he had in maintaining concentration.
Power is the power to inflict pain. If you’re not inflicting pain, you do not really know if you have power. - George Orwell This explains the behavior of tyrants everywhere.
Thank you, Ali Velshi, for highlighting these banned books that were crucial to understanding the dangers of absolute government control. The banning of these books in high school libraries is distressing, but what is very disturbing is the banning of these books from public libraries. So much for the statement, if you want your children to read these books outside of school, you can do it yourself. Not if the books are banned from the public library--not everyone can afford to buy the ever accumulating stack of banned books. Are bookstores next? I fear for them.
I remember reading this book when I was in 8th grade. It fascinated me,and I'd shake my head at some of the 💩that was happening! Here we are,so many years later living the book! How prophetic Orwell was!
This book was banned..a sign of Big Brother looming overhead...I had read this in high school it was assigned reading and we had a debate about it..critical thinking !!!!!
"Then the face of Big Brother faded away again, and instead the three slogans of the Party stood out in bold capitals: WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. But the face of Big Brother seemed to persist for several seconds on the screen, as though the impact that it had made on everyone's eyeballs was too vivid to wear off immediately." --George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
Great segment. 1984 has stayed relevant since the day it was written. Totalitarianism is a constant factor in every nation and culture. The pull of surrendering one's will and thoughts to another. Its easy and simple. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is another book that intemately portrays the reality of totalitarianism.
The reason Orwell titled the book "Nineteen Eighty-Four" and NOT "1984" was that he was very adamant that people not take the book as a prediction, but as a _warning._ And he was right. The book got reprinted with "1984" as the title, and when the year came and went, everybody heaved a big sigh of relief and decided the danger was over. Big big big mistake.
@@oeokosko Yeah, I know that. It's why he didn't write the title as a date but rather as text. The date didn't matter at all. It could come at any time, anywhere. That was the point.
Same, but as far as I know, the book is required reading in ALL Catholic schools. I don't know why you think that's strange for a Church that owns the Hadron Collider.
You might want to read another novel by Sinclair Lewis written before 1984, "It Can't Happen Here." This depicts a populist takeover of America set in the 1930s. When there were a lot of fascist sympathizers among the very wealthy, including Henry Ford, who was also an anti-Semite. And really lays out a more realistic scenario for a MAGA takeover in America today than the unexplained takeover by Big Brother. But also lays out the collapse of that autocracy when people become dissatisfied and another equally autocratic group replaces the first one. I think given what Trump and MAGA have stood for, "It Can't Happen Here" is a more chilling and and accurate description of what MAGA and the Heritage Foundation plans ( which are getting very little publicity by news organizations) if Trump is elected than "1984" or "Brave New World" are. And shows how easy it can be for it to happen here if you have a complacent, poorly informed public.
When very young I lived in Spain during the last couple of years Franco was dictator. People who believe the USA would be better off ran as a dictatorship are foolish. Everyone loses their freedoms, themselves included. Freedoms such as speech, the press, right to peacefully protests, etc. Heck, women weren't allowed to wear shorts in public and were second class, baby factory, citizens. The Guardia Civil could shoot and ask questions later. No arrests warrants needed to enter homes. I could go on and on! When I'd come home I appreciated our freedoms more and more.
@@anarchodin Sorry, that is not an accurate, fair portrayal. POUM, the party Orwell joined, was Marxist but opposed to the authoritarian communism advocated by the Soviet Union and its allies. Orwell's affiliation with POUM reflects his alignment with a more libertarian socialist perspective rather than traditional communism. George Orwell was fighting against the communist forces in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. I agree that the situation is complicated.
@@winglift8156 A simple way to think of political ideologies is to think of a circle, ie. there is little difference between Authoritarian Extremists, whether Communist or Fascist, while Centrists are (ideally), exactly that, in the ideological centre.
*I RE-READ IT OVER CHRISTMAS* the shocking this was how NOT shocking it is in 2024 - its just a slightly different version of the reality we now live in...!!! A book that was a terrifying dystopia when I read it as a kid, is now just a descriptor of the life we live "alternative facts", "Alexa" in our living rooms, cars that report our travels to Big Brother", 200 security cameras within 100m of the house 1984 was written in...!!!
This. Exactly. This. Clear and Deliberate Language. We read Orwell's "1984" in high school in our literature course. Our politicians read it as a "how to" manual...Just sayin'. Banned books MUST be read!!! Orwell MUST BE READ! Language revisions occurring in today's world . . .Words are important. 12:30 TRUTH! 💥
"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." --- Orwell, 1984. George Orwell was a prophet. Vote Blue.
Thats another book that has and will stay relevant like 1984 has. The thing I found so compelling, and disturbing, about the The Handmaid's Tale was the feel it gave that Gilead could happen and day. That it was happening every day. It's so real that it feels almost inevitable. 1984 starts under the totalitarian regime with no real back story or history of how it began. Handmaid's Tale does give the story, although not in much detail. And showed how once the pieces were in place how fast and direct the total take over is Offred went to bed a citizen of the United States with full civil rights and woke up as property
Someone Said years ago how Russian PM Viktor Tchernomyrdhin while visiting a military submarine did it while being on the flloor the whole time , moving
I read 1984 back in the 1970's and it effected me throughout my life. It made me not accept uncritically "facts". I always thought China was the reference, but I never realized it could come to The United States. I recognized Trump's danger immediately.
Russia was the reference! Orwell was imprisoned by the Russian backed communists in the Spanish civil war. He managed to escape, but could easily have been executed. Trump and Bannon learned all about lies and propaganda from Putin. The Russian pedigree for state terror goes way back.
@@RatZapTshirt Thanks for asking. Because I read 1984 and I recognize totalitarians like Putin and Trump, when I see them. I could see right through Trump in 2016. Every time he opened his mouth it was obvious. Lies, conspiracy theories, glorifying violence, scapegoating and fear-mongering - classic Fascist tactics. And Trump's fawning after Putin and Kim! Wow! It doesn't get more obvious than that!
Because I read 1984! Trump and Putin show all the signs of fascism - embracing violence, intolerance of criticism, spreading lies and conspiracy theories. Stoking fear and hatred. Biden is an old fashioned middle-of-the-road politician, in fact they don't make em like that anymore. He understands the importance of democracy. Trump just sees democracy as an obstacle to his seizing power. @@RatZapTshirt
I feel sorry for you. Very overrated book. Bit yiu engage in two-minute hate of Goldstein (Trump) every single day, so you learned nothing from the book
The book "Sleep, 2,3,4!" by John Neufeld had a great impact on me when I read it when I was around 10. (I read everything I could get my hands on, including books for adults) It depicts the danger of complacency too. It no doubt would be banned in several states as well for some of the scenes, as well as the message.
Huxley’s book of nonfiction essays Brave New World Revisited might be more important to read than Brave New World; ESPECIALLY chapter 5: Propaganda Under a Dictatorship. I kept having to remember to breathe. And this was written in 1958!
Think whatever you want. Just do it critically and with genuine intellectual honesty. The 5 Steps to Critical Thinking: What is critical thinking? In general, critical thinking refers to actively questioning statements rather than blindly accepting them. Critical thinking results in radical free will. 1. The critical thinker is flexible yet maintains an attitude of healthy skepticism. Critical thinkers are open to new information, ideas, and claims. They genuinely consider alternative explanations and possibilities. However, this open-mindedness is tempered by a healthy sense of skepticism (Hyman, 2007). The critical thinker consistently asks, “What evidence supports this claim?” 2. The critical thinker scrutinizes the evidence before drawing conclusions. Critical thinkers strive to weigh all the available evidence before arriving at conclusions. In evaluating evidence, critical thinkers distinguish between empirical evidence versus opinions based on feelings or personal experience. 3. The critical thinker can assume other perspectives. Critical thinkers are not imprisoned by their own points of view. Nor are they limited in their capacity to imagine life experiences and perspectives that are fundamentally different from their own. Rather, the critical thinker strives to understand and evaluate issues from many different angles. 4. The critical thinker is aware of biases and assumptions. In evaluating evidence and ideas, critical thinkers strive to identify the biases and assumptions that are inherent in any argument (Riggio & Halpern, 2006). Critical thinkers also try to identify and minimize the influence of their own biases. 5. The critical thinker engages in reflective thinking. Critical thinkers avoid knee-jerk responses. Instead, critical thinkers are reflective. Most complex issues are unlikely to have a simple solution. Therefore, critical thinkers resist the temptation to sidestep complexity by boiling an issue down to an either/or, yes/no kind of proposition. Instead, the critical thinker expects and accepts complexity (Halpern, 2007). Critical thinking is not a single skill, but rather a set of attitudes and thinking skills. As is true with any set of skills, you can get better at these skills with practice. In a nut shell, critical thinking is the active process of minimizing preconceptions and biases while evaluating evidence, determining the conclusions that can reasonably be drawn from evidence, and considering alternative explanations for research findings or other phenomena. CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS >Why might other people want to discourage you from critical thinking? >In what situations is it probably most difficult or challenging for you to exercise critical thinking skills? Why? > What can you do or say to encourage others to use critical thinking in evaluating questionable claims or assertions?
a good way to practice this, if you can get past the woo-woo factor, is 'the work' by byron katie... getting past any fluff (there =is= fluff) the basis is questioning =everything= you think, and it's enlightening... if you engage in a practice of asking yourself about =everything= you believe or assert, 'is that true?' and really examining it from different angles, it becomes second nature after awhile. just a vehicle for practicing this in real life. she has some worksheets that are very simple, you can start just practicing with one simple worksheet and your own mind... you dont need anything else.
It's fun waking up and wondering what dystopia we're reenacting today: "Will it be Fahrenheit 451? A Handmaid's Tale? It Can't Happen Here? Idiocracy?"
I realize you're likely being sarcastic, but this is far too serious for that. Save for a handful of conscientious people, we nearly lost our country permanently in 2020. Should the hideous monster win again, it may be tens or hundreds of years before our precious freedoms can be recovered, if ever.
Missed opportunity to discuss the effects of generative AI on objective truth moving into the future. Orwell’s thoughts on this matter today would have been fascinating.
This line from their how-to manual applies to both the people *and* the publicist-journalists in our media: “It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grammes a week. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be REDUCED to twenty grammes a week. Was it possible that they could swallow that, after only twenty-four hours? Yes, they swallowed it.”
I see parallels from both the left and right with 1984, they just go about it in a different way. No side can claim 1984 in their rhetoric. 1984 should make one question the left , the right, religious leaders and whoever has power. What I will say is thank god for Orwell and his intellect and his ability to write something that appeals to peoples across nations, language and culture. Just remember, think for yourselves.
The Left doesn't allow themselves to be questioned. They attack anyone who questions their opinions. What makes the Left Orwellian is that they oppose democracy by rigging their primary, yet they virtue signal about their love of democracy. They say the most outrageously racist things, yet see themselves as the champions of race. They shut down all scientific opinions they disagree with and then claim to believe in science. The Right doesn't do that. Virtue signaling is unique to the Left (for the most part)
I reread 1984 when 45 seized power. It was required reading when I was in high school, and we read it and thoroughly discussed it in class. I had reread it several times since. Now it is banned in many schools in the US.
Don’t worry. That empty pretense of balance was axed right away. MSNBC knows its viewers; you don’t want to hear alternative viewpoints, even from a RINO. Orange man bad, eh?
I had to read it as a freshman at Penn State in 1980....and we laughed at the coming 1984......so imagine NOW....but in that original moment and living through Ronnie RAYGUNS and the StarWars Defense System....and the unleashing of technology....and then the Home PC's just starting to be marketed to the masses. I remember distinctly when it was publicly announced that the new satellite systems can read the newspaper over your shoulder if you are sitting outside ! ! !
Every year fewer words and the range of consciousness smaller. In the end we shall make thought crime literally impossible for there will no words in which to express it.
@@aishabintabubakr4944 Peace. Nope, that ain't me. cancelling is, like, double-plus-ungood. but come to think of it, seems like the Republican front runner been tryna cancel a bunch a conservatives, them that value the Republic over the Republican front runner.
George Orwell - real name Eric Blair, was going to call the book 1948. He was a man of the left until he fought in the Spanish Civil War when he came across areas that were run by the left and he realised that they were just as brutal and oppressive as areas run by the fascists. He also wrote Animal Farm which is a warning about what happens when people revolt and put in a Communist regime which then corrupts their ideals.
Orwell was, and remained, a socialist for the rest of his life. He actively supported and fought for the Anarchists in Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War.
I remember people talking about George Orwell's 1984, IN 1984. I remember people saying, well, it's 1984 and it didn't happen. Of course it did. On its own schedule.
George Orwell is my favorite author. Animal farm was the first book I read that made me realize you could use a child’s fairy tale to say serious things. I tell everyone to read 1984 as an adult it’s transformative.
How ironic that MSNBC is parsing the meaning of 1984 - one of the legacy outlets of today’s Ministry of Truth, interpreting for a modern audience how we should think about 1984.
Thank you for this timely prod. I’ve been struck lately by chill parallels tw/ us today & 1984. Forgot many details (read it 60+ years ago) which your discussion refreshes. Now of course, to the chase! l will reread
Thank you, all three of you. Books you might want to talk about: Ayn Rand; Atlas Shrugged. Naomi Klein; No Logo. And the forever controversial book: Salmon Rushdie; Midnight's Children.
Back in the sixties whenthe library shelved with books that were written to educate, challenge and open your mind to ruminating on new ideas. I was so fortunate to grow up in that era. I read Orwell in high school. Ever since then I gift 1984 to every young person for their sixteenth birthday. Year after year it became more appropo. And scarily closer to Orwell’s projections.
Another very insightful book is 'The Dictator's Handbook'. It has taught me a lot about how the politcal world works (really, how it works is very basic and easy to understand) and I am 67, British and have read '1984', 'Animal Farm' and other Orwell books, 'Brave New World', 'Player Piano', even Machiavelli's 'The Prince' but not yet Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' (in my reading pile), and yet 'The Dictator's Handbook' gives a totally, and I think logical, new perspective on why things are as they are, always were and always will be.
There is zero ambiguity here, there are no "sides", there is right, and there is wrong, criticize "wrong", you should apprehend the difference, choose wisely. The people banning books are _never_ on the right side of history, never....
I’m sorry, as a tax paying member of society, I am not comfortable with stupid , unqualified people choosing what books children get to read. Some of them can’t pass a basic Reading, Math, Science exam. So PLEASE! Parents who want to choose, find alternatives to my tax dollars!
Beware of false equivalency. There is a world of difference between increasing rights and equality for those without power, and taking away rights of the powerless to preserve existing power.
Here’s the thing: the reason why the book-banning side has such a strong argument is feasibility. It is literally not feasible in terms of time or money resources to curate a selection of books made available to each child, withholding access to books that are inappropriate either because of the child’s age or parental preferences. So, because it is not feasible, therefore, they claim, banning is the only option. I know something about this because, as part of my job (and countless hours worked outside of my paid time) for a private school I attempted to accomplish this for the very small group of students that I served-it is a huge undertaking beyond the resources or capacity of public schools or libraries. Here’s the thing, though, this is a FALSE dichotomy. If either or both sides wanted to resolve these issues, there is a very simple solution already at hand: implement a parental guidance rating system for books the same as we currently do for movies. This is a very feasible solution because we already have the infrastructure in place (because of movie ratings system)-the laws, funding, roles and responsibilities of various entities, government agencies, policies and procedures, and so forth are already written, so any objection that it cannot be done because of this or that difficulty has already been answered-there is a solution already in place that has been established in the movie ratings apparatus that can easily be applied to books ratings. If books were rated as movies are, then libraries could easily stock books serving a variety of age ranges and for a variety of thresholds of personal or parental preference on content. Just as movie ticket personnel are not allowed to admit younger viewers without parental consent, it would be so easy to code library checkout scanners to flag books with certain ratings for children under age or with parental restrictions-that simple-no longer is the librarian to blame for stocking or lending books outside appropriate boundaries for their youngest or most sensitive constituents. But here is the catch in my opinion: despite an obviously easy solution, neither side WANTS to solve the problem-they both want the problem to stay in play because then they can performatively argue and wrestle over it. I appreciate the content of this video clip in terms of exploring the value of this book in context of our political climate and the dangers of banning it. But where I disagree is in presenting a false all-or-nothing approach: either banning or making available to all. That is wrong, when there is a ready-made solution available that no one wants to propose, consider, or discuss because they prefer the festering problem.
"We" - Yevgeny Zamiatin - 1921 You should not speak of "1984" and "Brave New World" without mentioning the original distopian novel "We" by Yevgeny Zamiatin. Written originally in 1921, it was denied publication in Zamiatin's native Russia and was first published in English in 1924 by Harper-Collins of New York. Check it out.
I would say that a pea do file with dementia getting 96 percent of the primary vote when over 3/4 of the country doesn't think he should run again and having the temerity to run on 'saving democracy' would qualify as Orwellian.
I think i would have to say that books like 1984, Animal farm, and Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" had a semi negative effect on my early school years in the early 60s. I read Orwell for the first time when i was in the 4th grade in 1965/66 school year. I know my comphrension skills were not as they were as an adult but with any book i liked i would read often more than once. Lol by the time i was griping about Nixon in 68 i was thouroughly uninterested in school as a whole and looked at the world in a "not so innocent" light. So books like those and having parents and grandparents that fought against Fascism in Europe, and understanding what they and the world endured that was certainly not an accurate account of things being taught in school in that era. I have watched this slow walk for 5 decades or more and now this coming November will be the most significant democratic vote in the history of mankind. We know the stakes even though many have not yet discerned the fine details that seep into the mainstream of public conscience and most if not all this disinformation the right is trying to sell as gospel is very disturbing. So Vote Blue from school boards to the White House!!! Tell at least one person you know!! Read "1984" if you have not allready!! It is like Orwell wrote the blueprint! He did not. He just reported on future events and that outcome that follows a society under Authoritarian rule...
![Digital Circus Episode 4 [TRAILER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/abZtsmMUbJo/mqdefault.jpg)
Thankful that I grew up in a society (and the school) where Animal Farm and 1984 were actually on reading curriculum and discussed openly.
learned how to consider- weigh possibilities & outcomes - alternate worlds- think.
We discussed government, we discussed religion. No one blackballed the teachers pulled us from classes. No one tried to convert us. In fact, we were encouraged to voice our questions and our opinions (with our young minds & limited experiences) we discussed what led us to have discussions in differing thoughts. LEARNING . THINKING.
Always question authority. Always consider a different POV. Always challenged your own beliefs. Read banned books.
Reported!!!! JK. This is not the site for original thought.
@@winstonsmith6607 👈🤡
Am glad Americans are reading this essential book. The similarities of what is occurring today are scarily true.
And be sure to censor "disinformation "!
Weirdly the most stolen book in Russia, wouldn't want a record of having bought one! "1984!" 😅
George Orwell especially 1984 is not only a must read but a must have for anybody's personal library. I will even to go as far as to say it is a must have in all high school history and government civics class. Sorry English lit of course you need it too.
1984 is highly overrated.
The fact that you watch MSNBC and engage in your 2-minute hate of Donald Trump only shows that you are a citizen of Oceania; a Big Brother follower
Some states have banned it. Most schools don't have civics classes anymore. Think that's part of the problem with youth,too.
In Canada, we did read it in high school as well as Fahrenheit 451…..it was scary then and now that it’s becoming a reality…throw in the Handmaid’s Tale and it’s the trifecta…
@@janicemackie611
Lol.....Trudeau is Big Brother
@@aishabintabubakr4944lol at least Trudeau isn't out on bail in four jurisdictions 😂
growing up in the 80s in germany at the height of the cold war, 'the day after' comes to mind, i decided to read '1984', 'fahrenheit 451' and 'brave new world' back to back. boy, did that freak me out, as if that aforementioned movie wasn't enough, right? but i'm glad i did, these books are ever so relevant these days! the fact that '1984' was or is banned in some places is frightening and also telling, it should be a MUST read! so is 'animal farm'!
Read Ernst Junger
control what people read and keep them stupid ....authoritarianism 101, watch out America you are already on the slope
Those books were required reading when I was in school. They really made you think. Now,they'd probably scare the crap out of kids,if they compared them to what is happening in real life!
*I RE-READ IT OVER CHRISTMAS* the shocking this was how NOT shocking it is in 2024 - its just a slightly different version of the reality we now live in...!!!
A book that was a terrifying dystopia when I read it as a kid, is now just a descriptor of the life we live "alternative facts", "Alexa" in our living rooms, cars that report our travels to Big Brother", 200 security cameras within 100m of the house 1984 was written in...!!!
I loved these three books and also animal farm! I read these four as well as A Handmaid's tale in one year of dystopian novel reading.
The act of writing 1984 was itself heroic, since Orwell was literally dying of tuberculosis at the time. in letters he describes the tremendous difficulty he had in maintaining concentration.
Weirdly the most stolen book in Russia, wouldn't want a record of having bought one! "1984!" 😅
What a hero!
He lived in England away from Stalinistd
Power is the power to inflict pain. If you’re not inflicting pain, you do not really know if you have power.
- George Orwell
This explains the behavior of tyrants everywhere.
It also explains the Israeli IDF and the far right in Israel. Netanyahu is drunk with power.
Orwell was holding a mirror up to you.
The CCP Chinese Criminal Party uses 1984 as an instruction manual.
Cigarettes, yes. Mushrooms, no. He probably had fried mushrooms (not the ones you think), as part of an Full English Breakfast@@TraderRobin
@@joeegg90 You've completely missed my point!
Don't forget, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury...
And Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Ray Bradbury sucks.
That book was terrible
This Perfect Day by Ira Levin
Another book I read in grade school and loved!
Bravo
Thank you, Ali Velshi, for highlighting these banned books that were crucial to understanding the dangers of absolute government control. The banning of these books in high school libraries is distressing, but what is very disturbing is the banning of these books from public libraries. So much for the statement, if you want your children to read these books outside of school, you can do it yourself. Not if the books are banned from the public library--not everyone can afford to buy the ever accumulating stack of banned books. Are bookstores next? I fear for them.
Weirdly the most stolen book in Russia, wouldn't want a record of having bought one! "1984!" 😅
@@j.dunlop8295 Somehow that doesn't surprise me--but thanks for the info.
I remember reading this book when I was in 8th grade. It fascinated me,and I'd shake my head at some of the 💩that was happening! Here we are,so many years later living the book! How prophetic Orwell was!
This book was banned..a sign of Big Brother looming overhead...I had read this in high school it was assigned reading and we had a debate about it..critical thinking !!!!!
I read it in high school as well
"Then the face of Big Brother faded away again, and instead the three slogans of the Party stood out in bold capitals: WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. But the face of Big Brother seemed to persist for several seconds on the screen, as though the impact that it had made on everyone's eyeballs was too vivid to wear off immediately." --George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
I , liked , the word , PNEUMATIC , to describe , the movements of his girl friend when they Are alone , Inn love
Big Brother's face would be TRUMP today
"War is peace" sound like Putins invasion.
Freedom is Slavery illustrates the maga “patriots” quite well.
@@robertcampomizzi7988 war , Is politics , using , other means , other tools
I was in 6th grade when I read “animal farm”, I learned everything I needed to know about government, and how some move toward authoritarianism!!
All governments move towards authoritarianism. That was the point.
That's you!
You deny your political opponents the right to speech
You're on the Big Brother executive committee.@@aishabintabubakr4944
Four Legs..........
I enjoyed that book,too. So many books I read in my youth that are relative now!
Great segment. 1984 has stayed relevant since the day it was written.
Totalitarianism is a constant factor in every nation and culture.
The pull of surrendering one's will and thoughts to another. Its easy and simple.
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is another book that intemately portrays the reality of totalitarianism.
In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.
close the border
Orwell made 1984 to criticise the left-wing
@@supersuit5790 No, not really.
@@u2mister17 the border is closed, an open border means that any one who crosses is NOT illegal
@@psycobleach46uh are we watching the same border videos? I just saw feds clipping OPEN barbed wire fences which is immediately flooded by aliens 😂
The reason Orwell titled the book "Nineteen Eighty-Four" and NOT "1984" was that he was very adamant that people not take the book as a prediction, but as a _warning._ And he was right. The book got reprinted with "1984" as the title, and when the year came and went, everybody heaved a big sigh of relief and decided the danger was over. Big big big mistake.
this is why precision in language is so so so important.
He finished writing it in 1948 (published in 1949), swapped the last two digits around. Could have been 1994...
@@oeokosko Yeah, I know that. It's why he didn't write the title as a date but rather as text. The date didn't matter at all. It could come at any time, anywhere. That was the point.
Nobody heaved a sigh of relief. Nobody decided the danger was over. If you did, you were the only one.
@@mynameisworld LOL. Yeah, right. Go home, little boy.
'The lie passed into history and became Truth Social.'
- George Orwell
IMO, a Trump rally is an extended Two Minutes Hate.
@@Rashas63 Right! Why limit it to just two minutes?
like a man can be a woman
@@crispincoque
Omg....you're commenting on here and:
Don't get the reference
Act like the people Orwell was criticizing
It's so strange but I graduated from an all girls Catholic High School and 1984 was part of my required reading. The Right has gone off the rails
Delightful 😊
Same, but as far as I know, the book is required reading in ALL Catholic schools. I don't know why you think that's strange for a Church that owns the Hadron Collider.
It’s a masterpiece. It’s scary what’s happening now.
Carmen, read it again. The LEFT has gone off the rails.
What about the “left” ?
You might want to read another novel by Sinclair Lewis written before 1984, "It Can't Happen Here." This depicts a populist takeover of America set in the 1930s. When there were a lot of fascist sympathizers among the very wealthy, including Henry Ford, who was also an anti-Semite. And really lays out a more realistic scenario for a MAGA takeover in America today than the unexplained takeover by Big Brother. But also lays out the collapse of that autocracy when people become dissatisfied and another equally autocratic group replaces the first one. I think given what Trump and MAGA have stood for, "It Can't Happen Here" is a more chilling and and accurate description of what MAGA and the Heritage Foundation plans ( which are getting very little publicity by news organizations) if Trump is elected than "1984" or "Brave New World" are. And shows how easy it can be for it to happen here if you have a complacent, poorly informed public.
What's hilarious is that you're an anti-semite because you deny Israel the right to protect itself because they're of a certain religion
1984 was written before 1984.
There was an attempted coup against FDR in the 1930s. Thankfully, it ran out of steam before it could really get started.
@@two-sense; 1984 was published in 1949, It Can't Happen Here was published in 1935.
Bravo
Orwell didn’t just fight fascism in his books. He picked up a rifle and went to Spain to battle Franco. Took a bullet in the neck for his troubles.
He did so, incidentally, as part of a communist militia, which surprises a lot of people who've been told Animal Farm is anti-communist.
When very young I lived in Spain during the last couple of years Franco was dictator.
People who believe the USA would be better off ran as a dictatorship are foolish. Everyone loses their freedoms, themselves included. Freedoms such as speech, the press, right to peacefully protests, etc.
Heck, women weren't allowed to wear shorts in public and were second class, baby factory, citizens.
The Guardia Civil could shoot and ask questions later. No arrests warrants needed to enter homes.
I could go on and on!
When I'd come home I appreciated our freedoms more and more.
@@anarchodin Sorry, that is not an accurate, fair portrayal. POUM, the party Orwell joined, was Marxist but opposed to the authoritarian communism advocated by the Soviet Union and its allies. Orwell's affiliation with POUM reflects his alignment with a more libertarian socialist perspective rather than traditional communism. George Orwell was fighting against the communist forces in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. I agree that the situation is complicated.
@@winglift8156 A simple way to think of political ideologies is to think of a circle, ie. there is little difference between Authoritarian Extremists, whether Communist or Fascist, while Centrists are (ideally), exactly that, in the ideological centre.
@@JaniceNZ1001 Hurray for milquetoast mediocrity.
“The truth is treason in an empire of lies”
Weirdly the most stolen book in Russia, wouldn't want a record of having bought one! "1984!" 😅
Velshi's Banned Book Club is a valuable resource, reminder, and wake-up call.
Only tyranny fears truth.
You hate truth
You’ll find no truth on MSNBC, that’s a fact.
Yes sleep my little sheep SLEEEEEEEEP.............
Truth. They don't want people to know the truth, so they ban books.
@@aishabintabubakr4944can you give examples?
*I RE-READ IT OVER CHRISTMAS* the shocking this was how NOT shocking it is in 2024 - its just a slightly different version of the reality we now live in...!!!
A book that was a terrifying dystopia when I read it as a kid, is now just a descriptor of the life we live "alternative facts", "Alexa" in our living rooms, cars that report our travels to Big Brother", 200 security cameras within 100m of the house 1984 was written in...!!!
Those who don’t study history…….
Istoria ( history ) est maguistra vitae
Tempus Testorum
..have more time to Party!!! /s
Are doomed to repeat it
This. Exactly. This. Clear and Deliberate Language. We read Orwell's "1984" in high school in our literature course. Our politicians read it as a "how to" manual...Just sayin'. Banned books MUST be read!!! Orwell MUST BE READ! Language revisions occurring in today's world . . .Words are important. 12:30 TRUTH! 💥
"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." --- Orwell, 1984.
George Orwell was a prophet. Vote Blue.
Orwell made 1984 to criticise the left-wing
Lol
"There is no crisis at the border"
Just ignore the 8 million criminal aliens
@@supersuit5790 Wrong. He made it to criticize the Authoritarianism of Stalinism. Orwell was a leftist through and through.
@@supersuit5790 he did not write it to critise the left wing since Orwell himself was a democratic socialist,
@@sappysuds4545 STALIN WAS LEFTIST COMMUNIST.
I recommend everyone read this book! It’s happening today in so many facets.
and don't forget the handmaid's tale
Thats another book that has and will stay relevant like 1984 has.
The thing I found so compelling, and disturbing, about the The Handmaid's Tale was the feel it gave that Gilead could happen and day. That it was happening every day.
It's so real that it feels almost inevitable.
1984 starts under the totalitarian regime with no real back story or history of how it began.
Handmaid's Tale does give the story, although not in much detail. And showed how once the pieces were in place how fast and direct the total take over is
Offred went to bed a citizen of the United States with full civil rights and woke up as property
We read Nineteen Eighty Four in highschool, now it's seems we are in a real life fictional novel.....
MAGA don't read.
"1984" that taught me not to use facebook, X/Tweet, TikToc etc. !!!
X feels more Orwelian than TikTok or Facebook
@@pe137isf X? 😅😂 the Media is the enemy
This is probably a good idea for sure
Don't forget MSNBC and CNN.
People know they're being tracked but don't seem to care or know what to do.
Animal Farm is pretty good too.
You see Bo Jo there , i mean , with the pigllits
Norman Lamont too , mister Lamont , ( the pigllits ) , Andrew Bailley ....
Four legs good, two legs bad.
Someone Said years ago how Russian PM Viktor Tchernomyrdhin while visiting a military submarine did it while being on the flloor the whole time , moving
As the US legal system has proven, some people "are more equal than others."
I read 1984 back in the 1970's and it effected me throughout my life. It made me not accept uncritically "facts". I always thought China was the reference, but I never realized it could come to The United States. I recognized Trump's danger immediately.
The CCP Chinese Criminal Party uses 1984 as an instruction manual.
Russia was the reference! Orwell was imprisoned by the Russian backed communists in the Spanish civil war. He managed to escape, but could easily have been executed. Trump and Bannon learned all about lies and propaganda from Putin. The Russian pedigree for state terror goes way back.
Then why don’t you recognize the danger of Biden?
@@RatZapTshirt Thanks for asking. Because I read 1984 and I recognize totalitarians like Putin and Trump, when I see them. I could see right through Trump in 2016. Every time he opened his mouth it was obvious. Lies, conspiracy theories, glorifying violence, scapegoating and fear-mongering - classic Fascist tactics. And Trump's fawning after Putin and Kim! Wow! It doesn't get more obvious than that!
Because I read 1984! Trump and Putin show all the signs of fascism - embracing violence, intolerance of criticism, spreading lies and conspiracy theories. Stoking fear and hatred. Biden is an old fashioned middle-of-the-road politician, in fact they don't make em like that anymore. He understands the importance of democracy. Trump just sees democracy as an obstacle to his seizing power. @@RatZapTshirt
I just finished reading 1984 for the first time and then this came up
I feel sorry for you.
Very overrated book.
Bit yiu engage in two-minute hate of Goldstein (Trump) every single day, so you learned nothing from the book
@@aishabintabubakr4944 no I enjoyed it and this is way more than just a book. It is a warning.
It's the only book I have bothered to read twice.
The book "Sleep, 2,3,4!" by John Neufeld had a great impact on me when I read it when I was around 10. (I read everything I could get my hands on, including books for adults) It depicts the danger of complacency too. It no doubt would be banned in several states as well for some of the scenes, as well as the message.
On the marble cliffs, too
Huxley’s book of nonfiction essays Brave New World Revisited might be more important to read than Brave New World; ESPECIALLY chapter 5: Propaganda Under a Dictatorship. I kept having to remember to breathe. And this was written in 1958!
Think whatever you want. Just do it critically and with genuine intellectual honesty.
The 5 Steps to Critical Thinking:
What is critical thinking?
In general, critical thinking refers to actively questioning statements rather than blindly accepting them.
Critical thinking results in radical free will.
1. The critical thinker is flexible yet maintains an attitude of healthy skepticism.
Critical thinkers are open to new information, ideas, and claims. They genuinely consider alternative explanations and possibilities. However, this open-mindedness is tempered by a healthy sense of skepticism (Hyman, 2007).
The critical thinker consistently asks, “What evidence supports this claim?”
2. The critical thinker scrutinizes the evidence before drawing conclusions.
Critical thinkers strive to weigh all the available evidence before arriving at conclusions. In evaluating evidence, critical thinkers distinguish between empirical evidence versus opinions based on feelings or personal experience.
3. The critical thinker can assume other perspectives.
Critical thinkers are not imprisoned by their own points of view. Nor are they limited in their capacity to imagine life experiences and perspectives that are fundamentally different from their own. Rather, the critical thinker strives to understand and evaluate issues from many different angles.
4. The critical thinker is aware of biases and assumptions.
In evaluating evidence and ideas, critical thinkers strive to identify the biases and assumptions that are inherent in any argument (Riggio & Halpern, 2006). Critical thinkers also try to identify and minimize the influence of their own biases.
5. The critical thinker engages in reflective thinking.
Critical thinkers avoid knee-jerk responses. Instead, critical thinkers are reflective. Most complex issues are unlikely to have a simple solution. Therefore, critical thinkers resist the temptation to sidestep complexity by boiling an issue down to an either/or, yes/no kind of proposition. Instead, the critical thinker expects and accepts complexity (Halpern, 2007).
Critical thinking is not a single skill, but rather a set of attitudes and thinking skills. As is true with any set of skills, you can get better at these skills with practice.
In a nut shell, critical thinking is the active process of minimizing preconceptions and biases while evaluating evidence, determining the conclusions that can reasonably be drawn from evidence, and considering alternative explanations for research findings or other phenomena.
CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
>Why might other people want to discourage you from critical thinking?
>In what situations is it probably most difficult or challenging for you to exercise critical thinking skills? Why?
> What can you do or say to encourage others to use critical thinking in evaluating questionable claims or assertions?
Are you agreeing or disagreeing with 1984 reflecting the current state of affairs?
Wonderful..thank you..took me back to college for awhile..
a good way to practice this, if you can get past the woo-woo factor, is 'the work' by byron katie... getting past any fluff (there =is= fluff) the basis is questioning =everything= you think, and it's enlightening... if you engage in a practice of asking yourself about =everything= you believe or assert, 'is that true?' and really examining it from different angles, it becomes second nature after awhile. just a vehicle for practicing this in real life. she has some worksheets that are very simple, you can start just practicing with one simple worksheet and your own mind... you dont need anything else.
Thank you, Ali. I've been hoping that someone in the media would start talking about Orwell's warnings given current events.
It's fun waking up and wondering what dystopia we're reenacting today: "Will it be Fahrenheit 451? A Handmaid's Tale? It Can't Happen Here? Idiocracy?"
"All of the Above". With "Loony Tunes" as the preface.
I realize you're likely being sarcastic, but this is far too serious for that. Save for a handful of conscientious people, we nearly lost our country permanently in 2020. Should the hideous monster win again, it may be tens or hundreds of years before our precious freedoms can be recovered, if ever.
We are here now. The resistance must go under ground back to analog disconnect from the internet. Time is running out. The answer is in the book.
Wonder if Ted read 1984? Too late to ask him now. Just asking for a friend who lives off-grid.
Missed opportunity to discuss the effects of generative AI on objective truth moving into the future. Orwell’s thoughts on this matter today would have been fascinating.
Read George Orwell's Animal Farm.
Terrific segment. I hope a lot of teachers see this and show their pupils.
If the book isn't banned in their state!
I read terrific as terrible and was very confused
MSNBC quoting 1984. Doublespeaking on the book itself. The peak irony.
we are in 1984 now lol i had to read that in high school. Big Brother is watching
And your GirLfriend moves , pneumatikelli , too
This line from their how-to manual applies to both the people *and* the publicist-journalists in our media:
“It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grammes a week. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be REDUCED to twenty grammes a week. Was it possible that they could swallow that, after only twenty-four hours? Yes, they swallowed it.”
Sounds like North Korea
I can't believe this great book is banned in some places. They just don't want people to know the real world.
Florida : ) : )
I see parallels from both the left and right with 1984, they just go about it in a different way. No side can claim 1984 in their rhetoric. 1984 should make one question the left , the right, religious leaders and whoever has power.
What I will say is thank god for Orwell and his intellect and his ability to write something that appeals to peoples across nations, language and culture. Just remember, think for yourselves.
The Left doesn't allow themselves to be questioned. They attack anyone who questions their opinions. What makes the Left Orwellian is that they oppose democracy by rigging their primary, yet they virtue signal about their love of democracy. They say the most outrageously racist things, yet see themselves as the champions of race. They shut down all scientific opinions they disagree with and then claim to believe in science. The Right doesn't do that. Virtue signaling is unique to the Left (for the most part)
Agreed. 1984 was about totalitarianism. And described the manifestations of it.
Communism, fascism, oligarchy, absolute monarchy, or theocracy.
I think a lot of writers & artists are prophets
I reread 1984 when 45 seized power. It was required reading when I was in high school, and we read it and thoroughly discussed it in class. I had reread it several times since. Now it is banned in many schools in the US.
We love these segments of Velshi's show.
Ali Velshi is the best.
Great Sarcasm 😂
The Canadian passport in his back pocket probably makes it easier for him to be matter-of-fact about the current American nightmare.
I just heard msnbc has hired Ronna McDaniel as an analyst!??!! Hey MSNBC, if you put her on this decades viewer is gone. Where is your integrity?
NBC. The parent company.
Rachel Maddow spoke up about it on her show. Ronna McD is not welcomed on MSNBC.
Don’t worry. That empty pretense of balance was axed right away. MSNBC knows its viewers; you don’t want to hear alternative viewpoints, even from a RINO. Orange man bad, eh?
"Down and Out in Paris and London," by George Orwell,
is another look at where we've been
and where were going.
I had to read it as a freshman at Penn State in 1980....and we laughed at the coming 1984......so imagine NOW....but in that original moment and living through Ronnie RAYGUNS and the StarWars Defense System....and the unleashing of technology....and then the Home PC's just starting to be marketed to the masses. I remember distinctly when it was publicly announced that the new satellite systems can read the newspaper over your shoulder if you are sitting outside ! ! !
Great topic and guests, Ali. Well done.
I find it hilarious that you and Ari think you're against Big Brother, when you actually support him.
Both of you had your two minute hate today
Every year fewer words and the range of consciousness smaller. In the end we shall make thought crime literally impossible for there will no words in which to express it.
Aren't you the one who calls to cancel conservatives and the Republican frontrunner?
@@aishabintabubakr4944 Peace. Nope, that ain't me. cancelling is, like, double-plus-ungood. but come to think of it, seems like the Republican front runner been tryna cancel a bunch a conservatives, them that value the Republic over the Republican front runner.
George Orwell - real name Eric Blair, was going to call the book 1948. He was a man of the left until he fought in the Spanish Civil War when he came across areas that were run by the left and he realised that they were just as brutal and oppressive as areas run by the fascists. He also wrote Animal Farm which is a warning about what happens when people revolt and put in a Communist regime which then corrupts their ideals.
He became very discouraged with Stalin and his communist party. He remained a socialist his entire life. Read "Homage to Catalonia"
Orwell was, and remained, a socialist for the rest of his life. He actively supported and fought for the Anarchists in Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War.
The author's real name was Eric Arthur Blair and he died in 1950 at the age of 46. He also wrote "Animal Farm", a similarly themed story.
The term " memory hole" also came from 1984. It is the hole Winston threw documents down after he "fixed" them.
Excellent way to present the lessons of 1984 for our times and the past.
I remember people talking about George Orwell's 1984, IN 1984. I remember people saying, well, it's 1984 and it didn't happen. Of course it did. On its own schedule.
This book should be required reading for all
THE IRONY RUNS DEEP HERE 😅
I tried to point out the same thing, but of course they censored it.
Oh man! Prescient.
Life imitates literature..
And vice versa ironic huh
Baldie's Banned Books will be good reading for geriatric joe brandon while in prison.
You're just mad that Biden kicked Trump's butt in the 2020 election @@josephsonora3787
"War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength".. the democrats should officially adopt that as their slogan
@@josephsonora3787😒🙄
Did he say that Putin and Ping realize the greatest give you can give to people who value freedom is to ban books like 1984???
George Orwell is my favorite author. Animal farm was the first book I read that made me realize you could use a child’s fairy tale to say serious things. I tell everyone to read 1984 as an adult it’s transformative.
How ironic that MSNBC is parsing the meaning of 1984 - one of the legacy outlets of today’s Ministry of Truth, interpreting for a modern audience how we should think about 1984.
That’s the reason I watched it! Wasn’t disappointed, sad to say.
Don't miss, 2016 is 2000+16 while 1984 is 2000-16.
George has got a clear insight and a strange way to hide it !
Thank you for this timely prod. I’ve been struck lately by chill parallels tw/ us today & 1984. Forgot many details (read it 60+ years ago) which your discussion refreshes. Now of course, to the chase! l will reread
It's funny that MSNBC of all platforms, would do a feature on 1984
Thank you, all three of you. Books you might want to talk about: Ayn Rand; Atlas Shrugged. Naomi Klein; No Logo. And the forever controversial book: Salmon Rushdie; Midnight's Children.
Milan Kundera by Emilia daughter to Božo Radulović From Berane Montenegro
"Peguy" by Alain Fienkielkraut
I read the book in high school - 1982. I didn't get it then, it was confusing. Oh man do I get it now.
Yep we are almost there😢
This is unfortunate, being broadcast on MSNBC....
Back in the sixties whenthe library shelved with books that were written to educate, challenge and open your mind to ruminating on new ideas. I was so fortunate to grow up in that era. I read Orwell in high school. Ever since then I gift 1984 to every young person for their sixteenth birthday. Year after year it became more appropo. And scarily closer to Orwell’s projections.
The irony of MSNBC doing this is palpable. 😂😂😂
Another very insightful book is 'The Dictator's Handbook'. It has taught me a lot about how the politcal world works (really, how it works is very basic and easy to understand) and I am 67, British and have read '1984', 'Animal Farm' and other Orwell books, 'Brave New World', 'Player Piano', even Machiavelli's 'The Prince' but not yet Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' (in my reading pile), and yet 'The Dictator's Handbook' gives a totally, and I think logical, new perspective on why things are as they are, always were and always will be.
"Envision a boot stamping on a face- forever."
There is zero ambiguity here, there are no "sides", there is right, and there is wrong, criticize "wrong", you should apprehend the difference, choose wisely. The people banning books are _never_ on the right side of history, never....
Excellent interview!
I’m sorry, as a tax paying member of society, I am not comfortable with stupid , unqualified people choosing what books children get to read.
Some of them can’t pass a basic Reading, Math, Science exam.
So PLEASE! Parents who want to choose, find alternatives to my tax dollars!
Beware of false equivalency.
There is a world of difference between increasing rights and equality for those without power, and taking away rights of the powerless to preserve existing power.
MSNBC doing a piece on 1984 is comedy gold. Now I'll push "Comment" and I'm sure it'll be censored. It's definitely a thoughtcrime.
Everyone should also read ' It Can't Happen Here' by Sinclair Lewis. It is happening here right now. Great book.
Banning books is similar to Prohibition, demand goes underground and may increase demand.
Such a public service! Way to be Velshi & company!
Orwells 1984 was his way of describing what a world ran by people like hitler would be like.
Orwell believed in Hope
Read the Epilogue - NewSpeak iz talked about as History
Power to the People !🇨🇦
Please read Octavia Butler Parable of the Talents and Parable of the Sower. Its dystopian themed and sheds light on religious conservative extremism.
Here’s the thing: the reason why the book-banning side has such a strong argument is feasibility. It is literally not feasible in terms of time or money resources to curate a selection of books made available to each child, withholding access to books that are inappropriate either because of the child’s age or parental preferences. So, because it is not feasible, therefore, they claim, banning is the only option. I know something about this because, as part of my job (and countless hours worked outside of my paid time) for a private school I attempted to accomplish this for the very small group of students that I served-it is a huge undertaking beyond the resources or capacity of public schools or libraries. Here’s the thing, though, this is a FALSE dichotomy. If either or both sides wanted to resolve these issues, there is a very simple solution already at hand: implement a parental guidance rating system for books the same as we currently do for movies. This is a very feasible solution because we already have the infrastructure in place (because of movie ratings system)-the laws, funding, roles and responsibilities of various entities, government agencies, policies and procedures, and so forth are already written, so any objection that it cannot be done because of this or that difficulty has already been answered-there is a solution already in place that has been established in the movie ratings apparatus that can easily be applied to books ratings. If books were rated as movies are, then libraries could easily stock books serving a variety of age ranges and for a variety of thresholds of personal or parental preference on content. Just as movie ticket personnel are not allowed to admit younger viewers without parental consent, it would be so easy to code library checkout scanners to flag books with certain ratings for children under age or with parental restrictions-that simple-no longer is the librarian to blame for stocking or lending books outside appropriate boundaries for their youngest or most sensitive constituents. But here is the catch in my opinion: despite an obviously easy solution, neither side WANTS to solve the problem-they both want the problem to stay in play because then they can performatively argue and wrestle over it. I appreciate the content of this video clip in terms of exploring the value of this book in context of our political climate and the dangers of banning it. But where I disagree is in presenting a false all-or-nothing approach: either banning or making available to all. That is wrong, when there is a ready-made solution available that no one wants to propose, consider, or discuss because they prefer the festering problem.
"We" - Yevgeny Zamiatin - 1921
You should not speak of "1984" and "Brave New World" without mentioning the original distopian novel "We" by Yevgeny Zamiatin. Written originally in 1921, it was denied publication in Zamiatin's native Russia and was first published in English in 1924 by Harper-Collins of New York. Check it out.
Rachel Maddow's Ultra, available on her personal website is about a movement like this during the WWII era in the U.S.A.
Read it in 1983 and multiple times throughout the years. Changed my life.
It'll be more _Brave New World_ than _1984._
Brave New World first. Once power is attained, 1984.
Keep these conversations going. Thanks.
I would say that a pea do file with dementia getting 96 percent of the primary vote when over 3/4 of the country doesn't think he should run again and having the temerity to run on 'saving democracy' would qualify as Orwellian.
Loved that book. Need to reread.
I think i would have to say that books like 1984, Animal farm, and Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" had a semi negative effect on my early school years in the early 60s. I read Orwell for the first time when i was in the 4th grade in 1965/66 school year. I know my comphrension skills were not as they were as an adult but with any book i liked i would read often more than once. Lol by the time i was griping about Nixon in 68 i was thouroughly uninterested in school as a whole and looked at the world in a "not so innocent" light. So books like those and having parents and grandparents that fought against Fascism in Europe, and understanding what they and the world endured that was certainly not an accurate account of things being taught in school in that era. I have watched this slow walk for 5 decades or more and now this coming November will be the most significant democratic vote in the history of mankind. We know the stakes even though many have not yet discerned the fine details that seep into the mainstream of public conscience and most if not all this disinformation the right is trying to sell as gospel is very disturbing. So Vote Blue from school boards to the White House!!! Tell at least one person you know!! Read "1984" if you have not allready!! It is like Orwell wrote the blueprint! He did not. He just reported on future events and that outcome that follows a society under Authoritarian rule...
Don’t know how you see Republicans as more authoritarian than Democrats, especially in 2024. Maybe you get all your news and opinion through MSNBC?
…cannot be _overstated_ …