Big Brother Among Us? George

¶ … Big Brother Among Us?

George Orwell conceived a world that was much different from the one that the world fought to protect in 1948. In 1984, Orwell portrays a totalitarian society where individual freedoms were completely subjugated to the state. Control of the individual went as far as policing and controlling the very thoughts that we think. The world that Orwell painted was in continual war and individuals were under continual surveillance. This world seemed horrific and impossible on the tail of World War II. The idea of Big Brother and the totalitarian state were so far fetched that they were passed off as ridiculous. Today, the idea of a totalitarian state of that extreme seem ridiculous, but as one begins to examine the world around, one has to wonder if we are that far from the Orwellian world painted in 1984.

Cold War Inspiration

George Orwell wrote his famous novel as the final blows of the Great War came to pass and the world entered into the new Cold War era. The world around Orwell was changing, filled with speculation and fear about an uncertain future. Orwell's book has been banned many times throughout history for many different reasons. The controversy stirred by the book is sparked by the fear that it might place unwanted ideas and stir rebellion, which is in itself an Orwellian idea.

Now we face a similar era of uncertainty and once again, we question the authority of the state to invade our privacy and their responsibility to keep us safe. However, in a struggle to calm the fears of the American public on the heels of the September 22, 2001 bombings, now nearly a decade ago, the government continues to invade on our basic rights little by little. This invasion began with the noble ideal that extra measures, such as increased security at airports, and the seemingly unlimited power of the Patriot Act were necessary to keep us safe from another certain invasion (U.S. Senate). If one compares this mental state to the one in which George Orwell wrote, the ideology was not all that different. It was a mentality built on fear, and the state attempted to calm the public through increased control of those things that created uncertainty. Like the Cold War era society, until recently, Americans were willing to simply sit by and allow the government to invade their lives little by little in the name of national security.

The difference between the world that we live in now and the Cold War era is that the level of surveillance technology was not available during the Cold War. Since the early 1950s surveillance and the ability to pry into other people's lives has become a natural part of our lives. It is a given that when you walk into a grocery store or a department store, that you are on camera and someone in a dark back room is watching your every move. The ability of Homeland Security to tap into private conversations makes one cautious about what they say on the phone, just in case something they say might get misconstrued as a potential threat (Froomkin). The level of surveillance that was intended to calm the fears of the American public has created many fears on its own. People must be cautious of what they take on airplanes, what they say on the phone, and about not leaving their Christmas presents unattended in public places, lest they be accused of placing a bomb.

Surveillance in the Post 9/11 World

This feeling of being "watched by Big Brother" that we have in today's society must have been much like what the characters in 1984 felt as they went about their daily business. The story of 1984 centers about a man named Winston Smith, who worked for the Ministry of Truth, which was responsible for censorship of the media and promotion of propaganda for the government. The main character was a part of the system against which he would eventually rebel. In the world of 1984, all televisions were transceivers. The viewers could watch the television and it functioned as a camera that invaded all portions of the public and private lives of the population.

In 1984, history is revised daily in order to support the party's current agenda. History can change every day and the perceptions of the public are manipulated through transmission of the latest revisions. When one looks at how the media has changed their perspective on the War on Terrorism since 2001, one could easily see how the ideas in Orwell's novel could reasonably come to pass. The dates, times and places of the war have not changed, but a shift in the focus of the war has changed since its beginning (Rapporteur). After nearly a decade of fighting, it began to seem as if the war would never end and many forgot what started the war in the first place. Public feeling and opinions about the war shifted over the decade long fight.

This shift in ideology is similar to what Orwell presented in 1984. In the novel, Winston remembers the major historical events that led to the creation of the society in which he lives. However, as these memories faded with time, his recollection of the order of the events and the details of the events began to change, much like what happened with Bush's War on Terrorism. As the memory of the events that started the war faded, it was easier to manipulate the facts and change the focus of the public regarding the war. Everyone still remembers watching the World Trade Tower bombings on the television, but the connection between this event and the recent new pat-down procedures at airports is largely lost to the general public. The connection to the original event and the current state of affairs is lost, much like the distant memories of the atomic wars and the continual surveillance of Big Brother in his present reality.

Winston can vaguely remember the horrors that transformed the world that he remembered in his childhood. Children who were old enough to remember watching the bombing of the World Trade Towers on television at age 10, now must be subjected to the invasive pat downs at airports as they are in their early 20s. How much they connect this intrusion on their privacy to that distant event in their childhood is questionable.

In Orwell's world, hidden microphones, and telescreens monitor the conversations of individuals. A "thoughtcrime" is punishable by death. Children are brought up in the system to spy on others, particularly their parents who might violate the restrictions on one's opinions and freedom of expression. The parents are most vulnerable to "impure" thoughts, as somewhere locked inside their brains are memories of a time that was freer than the society into which they have been involuntarily forced. Now, the American public is encouraged to report on "suspicious" behavior of others, to prevent another attack on our freedoms.

The purpose of surveillance cameras is to protect persons and property from those who would with to commit a crime or harm another. It ha gotten to the point where one can question if privacy actually exists at all. The people in Orwell's world were under constant surveillance. Today, we all have an electronic fingerprint that is unique to us. A recent study found that there are nearly 4.2 million surveillance cameras in Great Britain, which equals one for every 14 people. Nearly 20% of the world's CCTV cameras are located in Great Britain (London Evening Standard). It is estimated that every person is viewed by an average of 300 cameras on a daily basis, according to the same article.

The electronic fingerprint that we leave everyday is huge. As one browses the Internet, their browsing activity is recorded. Our names and vital information are in an unknown number of databases. Information about us is stored in DNA databases, fingerprint databases, and medical records. Our spending habits are carefully tracked in banking and credit cards databases. If one thinks about it, almost every move that we make throughout the day is tracked in some way and becomes part of our electronic fingerprint.

In Orwell's world, the mass surveillance systems were not able to prevent thought crime any more than CCTV cameras can prevent the person robbing a convenient store from committing the act. However, as with the Orwellian surveillance system, these cameras and electronic data points make it more likely that the criminal will get caught in the act. As in Orwell's world, the increase in the likelihood that one will get caught is enough to deter many crimes. Surveillance works through instilling fear into the would-be criminal.

The purpose of surveillance is to deter crime, or if a crime is committed anyway to bring the person to justice, not only to punish them, but to send the message to others who are thinking about committing a crime that they will get caught. However, this continual surveillance has an effect on those without criminal intent as well. Everyone is under suspicion, according to the eye of the camera. Everyone is treated as if they are a likely criminal. This has a negative psychological affect on the general population who are not criminals.

For those who are not criminals, they feel as if their privacy is being invaded for no reason. They are reduced to being under suspicion and scrutinized even though they are upstanding citizens. They feel as if they are being treated as a criminal and that their freedoms are being slowly eaten away one by one. More and more the general population expresses concerns about the trend toward and Orwellian world. The telescreens in Orwell's world broadcast propaganda and continually exaggerated positive production numbers and lied about the failing state of the economy. The telescreens made the economy sound like a growth economy, when it was slowly slipping away, sound familiar?