Welcome to 1984, Jedi Fans

Welcome to 1984, Jedi Fans

Posted: November 29, 2016

It was March in 1984 when I snapped this photo of the terminal where I worked that spring.  I know the photo doesn't bring enough detail to read it, but after New Year's day, I had changed the message of the day on our multi-user PDP-11/780 to read:

"Welcome to 1984"

The allusion of course was to George Orwell's book, "1984" - a particularly biting political satire which was really about Orwell's own time, 1949.  His masterpiece was a dystopian outlook that didn't seem too removed from political forces of his day as history was propelling his own country (England) and the rest of the world deep into the cold war.

In my world then, 1984 wasn't at all dystopia -- somehow we humans had moved beyond Orwell's warning leaving his novel to be a "classic".  High school students all over the country might have had to read it for class, but "1984" really didn't hold any contemporary relevance.   In contrast, while the year 1983 had its share of crises, tragedies, and problems emanating from our television sets during the evening news, a number of remarkably progressive things were happening which shape our lives today -- from the beginnings of our modern Internet to Congress founding Martin Luther King day and criticizing Japanese internment.   Looking brightly to the future and calling it "Star Wars", the president was going to defend our country with space based technology that promised to make the inter-ballistic missile threat of the cold war obsolete.  His plan actually sounded feasible as we considered the technological and medical advances that seemed to be enthusiastically announced on the same screens almost every week.  Even "Return of the Jedi" figuratively ended the notion of political repression as the rebels of the Star Wars trilogy celebrated their victory leaving audiences to return home, feeling similarly triumphant and empowered.

I know that's my own picture of the year leading into 1984.  I realize I've ignored much in creating an image of the previous year in this essay that highlights the year with Ewok song and dance rather than something like the dark cold war vision of the TV series "The Day After".  In my picture, Darth Vador smiles happily on the audience in his posthumous transfiguration, ultimately reformed and renewed for the moviegoers of '83.     But I think many at that time would have agreed that Orwell's book just didn't seem that relevant when the year 1984 finally arrived.

Jumping way ahead to 2016, I have found myself reading 1984 again -- finding not just insight into Soviet style totalitarianism of the 40's and 50's, but themes that reflect against those of the most recent election.

One of the book's themes is that of "truth".  Orwell's "Ministry of Truth" deals with art, education, literature, and journalism.  But of course it's obvious, even to readers of today, that his Ministry of Truth is a propaganda machine like that of Joseph Goebbels.  Moreover,  the ministry is an instrument used to repress the free will of the people.  There is no "truth" in the "Ministry of Truth".  Inconvenient newspaper articles about people who were once favored by the party but who were later ousted aren't just hidden away.  They are physically destroyed in "Memory Holes" and replaced with articles that revise "history", demonstrating that the party's position had never changed after all.    The manufactured "truth" of 1984 is carried to the people by technology -- an information overload of pervasive screens that are always on and that have a Skype-like ability to see back into people's homes and workplaces, always manipulating their very thoughts.  Winston and other protagonists in 1984 had a sense that their "truth" was manufactured, but to oppose the party's nonsensical slogans (e.g., "Freedom is Slavery") even in one's inner thoughts was pretty much unthinkable.

The President elect's campaign rallies now live on YouTube  -- "two minutes of hate" as something similar was described in Orwell's book.  Take a look at one of them -- if the video doesn't end with riled up masses chanting "Lock her up!" then the candidate was having an off day.

The "memes" of the victorious party will similarly live on in web archives, perhaps to be resurrected and shared once in a while in the midst of heated emotion on social media.   George Orwell's "slogans" in 1984 were never out of sight, even though social media hadn't yet been invented in 1949.

Our 2016 election is finally over.

This last week, though, has been highlighted by one story after another about "fake news" -- web sites and Facebook pages that were set up during the election that manufactured "news" that would engage a certain conservative audience.  Sometimes the stories were real enough -- headlines and language were simply added to elicit an emotional reaction.  Writers knew how to manipulate their audience with emotion.  If through its emotional embellishment a story reinforced a reader's world view, the story would get shared -- carried en-masse to the people at large and gratefully accepted and shared with satisfying outrage to still more readers.  It would go instantly "viral" -- and throughout 2016 I saw hundreds of these cross my feed.   Advertisers were overjoyed -- their ads which were pinned to these stories would almost immediately get viewed by millions.  Even the President elect ended up participating in that "sharing" as fake news stories slid easily through his Twitter account on their way to his fans.   A group in Macedonia discovered readily enough that they could bring the profitability of supermarket tabloids to a much larger audience via the Internet.   Alex Jones and other conspiracy theorists end up thriving in a climate where legitimate journalism doesn't seem to stand a chance.

Even before the fake news phenomena, we had what many have called the "Fox News" effect -- but it could also be the "MSNBC effect".  These are feeds that do bring legitimate news, but alongside plenty of commentary, opinion spots, and editing, making them, as a podcast at Fivethirtyeight.com described, "activist" content rather than "journalist" content.

In 2016 the Ministry of Truth is alive and well -- even with Orwellian newsspeak-like phrases like "alt-right" (really "bigoted") and "post truth" (really "willfully ignorant").

But we live in an advanced age and an advanced culture -- so why has our modern Ministry of Truth taken hold?

A clue comes from this Gallop survey which I discovered after listening to a FiveThirtyEight podcast:

• http://www.gallup.com/poll/1597/confidence-institutions.aspx  

As you read through, look at the trends -- Maybe you can start with the year 1984 as you examine how we Americans trust our institutions.     Many institutions which were once more highly respected, now have diminished confidence.  Government is the obvious example, but it's also Schools, Science, Organized Religion, Banks, Labor, Journalism, and even Medicine.  We live in a very "anti-institution" age compared to 1984, and many have turned to our new ministry of truth and to a populist candidate like Donald Trump, out of their disappointment with these institutions.

That's half of the story about the survey -- the other half which goes back to Orwell's totalitarian vision are the institutions that haven't suffered drops in confidence.  These include the military (authority), the police (authority), and small business.

The Orwellian interpretation might be that more than before, people only trust authority.  (The commentator at FiveThirtyEight points out they also trust their local community -- hence "small business" being included above)   Donald Trump uses very authoritarian rhetoric -- not only is "Make America Great Again" his slogan, but he says things like he knows more than the generals, and is otherwise the only man who can lead us to this future of greatness.     Institutions that are about truth (Science, Education, Journalism, and Medicine) aren't trusted nearly as much as a man who can make emotional appeals to glory and greatness, and is supported by manufactured news which uses fear and patriotism in very much the same way Orwell's protagonists experience the products of the Ministry of Truth in their world.

Looking at the 2016 election while I read "1984", it makes sense that educated demographics tended to vote against Trump's populist movement.   They have confidence in institutions that are about truth.  Those who have been most disillusioned by the institutions of truth are left to trust authority instead.  Truth ends up having less influence than a populist running for office who promises to shake up these institutions.

Of course, this essay is just one point of view -- my own musings.   But right now,  I have been fascinated by "1984".   Whether it is to appreciate good literature or to examine Orwell's insights reflected on a modern age, I highly recommend the book.

I wish I could be more optimistic about these times, but we seem to have encountered a major setback in our culture.  In the light of failing journalism, empowered billionaires, climate denial, and struggling schools, this seems to me to be the "meme" of our times as much as of Orwell's fictional world:

"Ignorance is Strength"

Maybe somewhere further down the path of history, the tides of public opinion will shift, and we can once again be in a progressive age.  We might still find a time were we can feel good walking out of the theater, celebrating a future rebel alliance victory in the same vein as George Lucas's film of 1983.

Post Election Essay: HOPE

I have another "essay" -- this one I struggle with because the timing never seems right. In the last few days the news has been dark, both from the media and people on my FB feed who are personally experiencing hate directed at them or at people they love. So I don't know if this will resonate with you or not -- but know that whatever you are experiencing, my heart goes out to you.

HOPE

November 14, 2016 

Back in my InterVarsity days, I was in a group that had a discussion about the spiritual gifts. As we attempted to name each other's gifts (e.g., wisdom, counsel, understanding, fortitude, etc.) someone told me that I had a gift of "hope".

My reaction was "hmmm - that's odd". I couldn't really accept that at the time. I struggled with depression, stress, and anxiety, and during my darker times, hope seemed vaporous and elusive.

But it gave me something to think about over the years. I know there's a ton of theological and philosophical thought about what "hope is". I don't deny any of those right now -- this is just one thought swirling around in my own head.

What if hope isn't passive? What if it develops in a sequence like this?

• Hope is a thought.
• Hope is a choice.
• Hope is an embrace.
  

In today's political context, it works like this for me. It begins with a thought that within the complexity of history there's something better. There always is. The Black Plague accelerated the Renaissance. The 20th Century had Hitler, but it also had Einstein. Might whatever our demons of today also be outshone by something better?

Then it's a choice. People mostly voted or didn't vote out of their "world view", highly influenced by their locality and their culture. But "world view" is rarely absolute. I'm a liberal, but my world view is constantly being challenged and changed, the stream of my thoughts changing course often as a result of wise things you all say or pretty much any new information. It's a choice of mine whether to staunchly hold onto a world view when it doesn't work any more, or whether to consider something new.

But ultimately, hope is an active verb, not a passive one. It's not something you have, it's something you do. It's an embrace. If your world view is that Government has done little to make your life better, your hope is the act of voting for a populist candidate. If your world view is that we in the majority are ethically obligated to protect, include, enable, and uphold those who don't have a voice, then you are at least figuratively embracing them. In my liberal world, the populist will fail us -- he will disappoint. Those who hate in his name will eventually go back into obscurity. To empower myself, I'm practicing hope by writing these essays. And I'm about to write a letter to Senator Gardner. I signed a petition, and I've had a few conversations with friends. Really for me, hope doesn't exist in its fullness until I do these things.

We see fear and hate being practiced around us -- even in our own county. It's awful, sickening, and demoralizing.

But there's hope being practiced as well, and it is from younger people. I wish the media focused more on it. Our neighbor across the street is in high school and at his school the students organized a demonstration and walkout. His own poster read "Love and Unity, not Hate and Diversity" and it was painted all over with symbols of various religions, nationalities, people holding hands, and the rainbow flag. I saw a photo and as he prepared to march, he had the biggest grin on his face. He was practicing hope, even at his young age.

To those that choose to build their world view around disdain you'll find plenty of examples to reinforce that. Incidents of hate among students have occurred at my son's high school and at another school in a nearby town. Hate is a dark world view you choose to build. For myself, I know some pretty impressive kids and young adults in their 20's -- they did not as a rule support Trump, and because they are a generation with sophisticated social awareness and political savvy, a more connected and global generation, a generation that is better educated, and a generation with a stronger work ethic, there are an abundance of examples of people who inspire me to hope. And they themselves are more ready to practice hope than my generation ever was.

My own hope comes and goes, usually with each new FB post. But I know I can choose hope, and I know that I can embrace where that choice leads me.

Mostly the high school students who made a choice to express love and unity warmed my heart -- and even in these dark days, I'm encouraged by their serious but optimistic efforts to change the world they will inherit.

Post Election Essay: POWER

Power

November 12, 2016

I wanted to send this out as an encouragement, but I understand if in the midst of anger, grief and despair you aren't ready for this. If that's the case for you, my thoughts are very much with you. There will be a time to come back to this in the future.

Every four years we go through an election cycle where the marketing is intense and unrelenting. Even if you like political discussion as much as I do, 18 months from beginning to end is a dysfunctionally exhausting process. I say that even if you like the candidate that won. The overwhelming "marketing" teaches us that politics is power and encourages us to vote for the person that will wield that power in the way we most agree with. Through whatever flaws we have in our electoral system and through surprising support for Trump from the disempowered among us, we ended up with who I think is the worst and most morally deficient candidate as our executive chief in modern times and a continuation of the worst Congress of my lifetime.

Trump himself rallied on themes of power. On YouTube I watched his appearance in Pueblo and as he rattled off one authoritarian statement after another from his stump speech, the audience became more and more "energized". They felt their own power rising as they chanted "Lock her up!" at the end. Their combined voices were truly terrifying to witness if you didn't support their candidate. I have every reason to believe that Trump will wield as much power as our system allows. The fact we have this particular Republican congress puts a magnifying glass on that power.

But a wise friend of mine posted on his Facebook recently this: "See reality: power comes from the bottom, not the top. It's the way of nature". He gave the example of a herd of cattle giving their power to the rancher even though the animals are large and powerful. He continued on "Even the world's ancient spiritual traditions tell us the Ruler is at the bottom, not the top!"

If we're feeling powerless, it means that campaign marketing has succeeded. It's not reality, though. The reality is that power flows all around us. In my world, there is no greater power and influence than from someone who practices even the smallest acts of compassion. I'm inspired too by people that have acted to empower themselves by going to demonstrations, by signing petitions, by supporting charities and social causes, and by planning on next steps to keep visions of clean energy, environment, and social welfare alive.

For Christians, there is a type of power that is camaraderie with God. We misuse the word "blessing" all the time, but it's a word that's not about happiness. It's a word that means to be holy. I look at that as a type of power. At least it means that one is on the right path, less encumbered by what is not "holy" in order to be powerfully compassionate.

That we think power is in politics and not among and around us is what is surprising about what Jesus says in Matthew "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth" - a theme that's reflected throughout the sermon on the mount. Or if you prefer the old testament, the words the Psalmist uses to comfort in Psalm 37 "Do not fret because of the wicked . . . the meek shall inherit the land". This type of power (for the meek) comes from refusing to wield power for oneself even when the temptation exists. In practice, I think it is power that comes when one instead takes action to make someone else's life better (compassion).

Seen in this way, a smile, a conversation with someone "different", a meal, or a hug are all more powerful than the types of power we believe the President wields.

Back to politics, I really didn't like the slogan "I'm with her" although I thought about attaching it to my car. It just seemed weak compared to a lot of inspiring slogans throughout the history of elections. The English major side of me sees those words and thinks, "I'm giving power to her". To this day, I feel the reasons for doing so were sound. Clearly, now that the election is over, those slogans will gradually disappear from yard signs and vehicles.

Expanding from a thought I encountered reading an editorial, what if we had a slogan "I'm with them" (referring to those who are frightened, who are hurting, and who may be hurting as government turns against them)? That wouldn't be giving power -- that would be recognizing that there's power to act. What if we had a slogan "we're with them"? That would be collectively working on behalf of our neighbor, doing things for them that help them realize that they have power as well. From what Clinton has said, and from what Sanders has said, I'm willing to bet that "We're with them" would resonate positively. Best of all, it's a slogan that wouldn't disappear with a political loss.

Fortunately we live in a political system where power is distributed and checks and balances are in place. A number of those were removed but a few remain (like the filibuster). It is an illusion, as my friend seemed to be saying, that all of the power is in one man, even constitutionally. That man does not affect all or even most of what goes on in each of our lives. We do have power, and if we can honestly say "We're with them" then that power is also a blessing.

Post Election Essay: COMPASSION

Compassion
November 11, 2016 

I've tried to talk myself into not looking at Facebook or the news these last couple of days as my blood pressure rises with each post. As you know, it's not really in my nature to turn away from either one.

I wish I could design a "compassion filter", though -- in my own grief over the election of Trump at this moment in my walk through history, compassion can be the one thing that stands up against the ugly formidable forces of fear and rage. It comes in the form of our school principal sending out a letter reaffirming that our High School does not tolerate hate and will actively stand up for students no matter their gender identity, race, religion, or political belief. It comes in the form of our institution's president gently reminding those of us who fear losing our jobs to the force of Republican anti-science rhetoric that we actually do have people on both sides of the aisle in Washington who take our research seriously. For me I tried to use it to counter my anger by renewing my contribution to the IRC - a rescue organization that assists refugees in crisis.

My own little world is safe, but the fear that is out there is palpable. A friend posted that someone he knows attempted suicide and as he was being helped said that he feared being subjected to gay conversion therapy by Trump and Pence. A myriad of stories are out there as Latinos and Muslims also express the fear they are living through.

My own little world is safe, but the anger that is out there is palpable. It is what elected Trump against all reason. The Democrats failed to see it and what a powerful force it is. There are also a myriad of stories and Facebook posts about hate crimes and hate messages. And in news headlines, the KKK is celebrating.

I don't always think People realize they are practicing hate when they call people they don't agree with "libtards" on Facebook, or when they claim Republicans only voted for Trump because of bigotry. They don't realize they are practicing hate when they post spiteful comments about protesters or when they fan the flames of fear.

But compassion is something one knows when they practice it, because an act of compassion diminishes fear, rage, and hate all at once -- for both the giver and recipient. If you are "liberal" like me, check what you say before posting. Is there a message of compassion in there? Will your post effect change as a result of compassion? Even if you are posting something critical of Trump or the Republicans, are you making it clear you're also advocating healing for someone who is currently hurting? If you are Conservative or Republican are you giving us a chance to grieve? Are you reassuring us with something other than mildly condescending platitudes? Are you recognizing that when people protest or cry out in anguish that their fear and anger is real to them and even justified?

To me, this week is my "9/11" -- when all of my culture around me seems to have toppled. Healing comes slowly. One man was given power who tends to say very authoritarian things. He could help a great deal by delivering a simple speech opposing the violence and hatred that is being practiced in his name. I'm still waiting . . .

I was very critical of his Presidency, but in our first "9/11" President Bush was quick to give a number of public statements in the months that followed, making it clear that we do not hate Muslims, and that it was not okay to practice that hatred within our own borders. It was his act of compassion to try to heal a culture that had toppled -- and for people like me who listened to that message, it was much needed encouragement opening a path to hope and closing a door to despair.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer

 These blog posts are my opinions -- please consider other sources and verify "facts" using reliable sources and remember that my opinions are my own and may even be confined to a particular time.  These posts are primarily meant for friends and family as I try to write up what thoughts or "essays" I might like to share.  No matter what my opinion, there will always be those who are more expert in the areas about which I write.  I am not enabling comments at this time.