Summer has officially started and I hope that you have your reading list already established. If you are a fan of fiction, then you know the classics are a must on your list. May I suggest George Orwell’s 1984, especially this election year and also the fact that the uncertainty of our future, as a nation, is a concern to most Americans—this book could be an eye-opener. When you read 1984, what is happening now in our country is eerily similar in the story-- war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength.

Just the other day, the House approved the wiretap law by updating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). This is “Big Brother” at work. They can listen in on phone conversations and read emails, after all they want to make sure you’re not a terrorist and/or you’re not talking to one. President Bush says this is necessary because of the War on Terror. And, this law supposedly will keep us safe and protect us from the terrorists—war is peace.

How about if our troops were home protecting our borders instead of the 130 nations that we now occupy? Why not just have our fine U.S. spies and Special Forces look for Osama bin Laden and his crew, instead of invading countries that had nothing to do with 9-11? I do not see how having our finest troops deployed all over the world and in some countries causing resentment towards the United States will keep us safe. But, thanks to the Bush Administration’s propaganda machine (mainstream media), which has done a fine job of enslaving our minds; we are conditioned to think that we’re in a constant state of terror. We, also, have to sacrifice our liberties and privacy in order for the government to keep us “safe;” and of course we do have to “defend our freedoms” is an argument I often hear—freedom is slavery.

From what I have observed thus far, is that most people are content in their surroundings and they don’t want to “rock the boat,” probably because of fear, apathy, and ignorance (it could be a combination of all three). I do believe there is strength in numbers, and the more people who are indifferent to what is going on, the worse it’s going to be—ignorance is strength. Albert Einstein has said, “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.”

Erich Fromm, who wrote an Afterword of 1984, states: “Orwell, like the authors of other negative utopias, is not a prophet of disaster. He wants to warn and awaken us.” This book was written in 1948 but it is truly a timely novel, only to those who aren’t a victim of doublethink.

The protagonist in 1984, Winston Smith, reads a book that is against Big Brother. He perceives that the best books are those that tell you “what you already know.” You know something is not right in our current government—have the courage to read about it.