America in 1984

'There is a Party slogan dealing with the control of the past,' he said. 'Repeat it, if you please.'

'"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past,"' repeated Winston obediently.

'"Who controls the present controls the past,"' said O'Brien, nodding his head with slow approval. 'Is it your opinion, Winston, that the past has real existence? George Orwell 1984

The problem of the Republican Party is not that it has the wrong goals or that they have failed to convey their ideas to the American people in a palatable way. The problem is that they have become the party of newspeak. Newspeak was a language created in George Orwell’s novel 1984. This language was a derivative of English that was created with the purpose of making its speakers forget history. This allowed the political party in power to always maintain its dominance and avoid being called to task for their failures.

As the Republicans attempt to regain power, they often attempt to reframe facts to make themselves look better to the public. This extends to an attempt to ignore the physical facts of our universe. Climate change is a scientific fact. It is not a matter of opinion, and while scientist may debate the severity of climate changes impact, they are in agreement that it is taking place. In Orwell’s 1984, the members of the dominant political party stated that they could literally suspend the laws of gravity if they wished to. The Republicans are pretending that reality is mutable and that history can be shaped to please them. They are using the tactics of Orwell’s fictional government in ways that harm themselves and the rest of the world. They must not be allowed to regain power until they reengage the Democrats in sensible debate.

Electing Obama has not destroyed the threat to our democracy represented by those who would use propaganda to subdue the American people. Faux news stations, such as Fox cable news, continue to distribute false information and cable news stations, such as CNN and MSNBC, continue to fail to ask probing questions as to the role of our government in the financial and war time failures of the past and present. We stand on the precipice of a failed democracy unless we ask more of our elected officials, our media, and ourselves.