NEWSPEAK AND THE DEMISE OF FREEDOM

Back in 1984, I remember discussing how close we were to the apocalyptic changes forecast in Orwell’s book. It didn’t seem we had much to worry about. That was then; a lot changes in 20+ years.  Over the past few years, NewSpeak has replaced free speech; people have become increasingly virulent on what is acceptable.

College Safe Spaces

My memory is that the first major changes to 1st Amendment rights began at the universities, a surprise to me, as I remember the Free Speech Movement, led by Mario Savio, at the school I attended—UC Berkeley.  Still, some censorship existed.  I didn’t feel comfortable identifying as an Objectivist, the forerunner to the Libertarian Party.  But speakers of all types found a welcome there and vibrant “discussions” filled Sproul Plaza. 

The first word I remember not immediately understanding was the concept of “safe spaces.”  We had safe walking areas, open areas where women felt comfortable walking at night.  But this was different.  Students demanded the right to be exempt from hearing things that made them uncomfortable.  But wasn’t that what school should be?  Having your ideas challenged every day, forcing you to defend your arguments and in the process, learn, grow and expand your personal universe?  Then came the concept of “microaggressions.”  To me, if something is micro, you should be able to shrug it off.  I remembered two precepts of my childhood.  Don’t take seriously anything said by someone you don’t know or respect.  And if something you hear bothers you, maybe there’s some truth in it. 

Life is tough.  Snowflakes melt in any but the most optimal conditions and the real world isn’t like that.  Words became equivalent to violence?  Get over it.  Your little psyche can handle it.  And why adhere to student’s demands?  We’ve always believed that the way you grow is to confront reality.  Next up came an expansion of the words “racist” and “sexist”.  Formerly terms that referred to only the worst kind of people, they became the substitute for a real argument.  Being “woke” meant you bought into every dictat without argument or questioning.

Governmental NewSpeak

First up is “assault weapon.”  In the world of guns, this has no real meaning, but for the government, it meant any gun that wasn’t used to protect their sorry asses. Next, we heard about “undocumented immigrants,” implying a mere absence of paperwork, rather than people who had broken our laws coming to this country without approval.  This led to the idea that we owed them something.  Or a lot of something.  The next became the “unhoused,” implying a temporary condition, rather than the reality.  Most homeless have bigger problems than simply not having a permanent residence. 

Covid-19 Language

The first NewSpeak words we heard were “social distancing.”  As there was already a great word for separation—physical distancing—it had to seem odd to create a new one.  The new words were designed to make it sound like a social obligation, a nice thing all of us did.  But why?  Once mandates got put in place, the idea was to imply the friendly nature of the rules, rather than the harsher sounding word “physical.”  The word “crisis” got co-opted to mean anything the government could use as an excuse for draconian regulations.  After all, just a few years back, we had a serious flu problem which killed quite a few seniors.  No lockdowns, no “social distancing.”  People at greater risk of serious complications self-quarantined and life went on as usual.  But this gave the government no real power.  “Crisis” became seen as a way to increase the power of our governments by scaring people unnecessarily.

Racial Divide by Governmental Rule

Things have changed a great deal since the ‘60’s.  Hard-working minorities of all types have found a much less challenging path to success and most Americans see only other people, not races.  But that peaceful outcome didn’t allow the government to increase its control over us.  By pitting people against each other and increasing division, another “crisis” could be invented.  And that crisis was fomented by pushing the idea that only white people could be racist and all of us are.

We spent the last year redefining “mostly peaceful protests” when in fact, frightening, dangerous protests turned into violence, looting and destruction.  Meanwhile, Republicans were branded as terrorists for a “mostly peaceful protest” on January 6th.  None of the protests were totally harmless, but the BLM protests were much more dangerous to the average citizen. 

Proposed Solution

Stop using this terminology and challenge it wherever you see it.  Understand the threat.  NewSpeak is all about control and infringing on your rights.  There’s no time to waste.  2021 is 1984.  Be afraid, be very afraid.