Thursday, June 9, 2005

Thought Criminal and Proud of It

Or What We Still Haven't Learned from George Orwell. Go read it.
Throughout his life, Orwell fought unrelentingly against the conformist mentality, believing that it hindered the ability of citizens to think politically and behave socially. Orwell's presence on this front is still sorely needed. Take the two recent U.S. presidential elections.
For Orwell, "freedom" for a writer meant the freedom to criticize and oppose anyone and everyone, including those closest to you. Orwell was a socialist and so wrote, "paradoxically, in order to defend Socialism it is necessary to start by attacking it." Just the same, in order to defend the Democratic Party, one must identify what is wrong with it. Or, in order to defend a war in Iraq, integrity requires one to point out everything that has gone wrong. Applicable to all ideologies and allegiances, this is a principle you either understand, intellectually and intuitively, or you do not.
Not exactly Headline shit, but a good view of the guy who predicted our looming situation. Readin' makes ya smart.

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