George Orwell USA Patriot Act

¶ … George Orwell [...] USA Patriot Act of 2001, and how it relates to Orwell's novel. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Congress enacted the Patriot Act in an attempt to counter terrorism in our country. Many critics of the act believe that it has allowed the government to come several steps closer to the "Big Brother" analogy Orwell creates in this novel. The Patriot Act has limited personal freedom and privacy in this country, and it gives the government too much control over information in people's lives, more like the government in Orwell's novel than ever before.

In Orwell's novel, the government, (he calls it "Big Brother,") controls every piece of life and the Thought Police make sure that people think about nothing but approved statements (Orwell 3). This creates an alien and horrendous society where people cannot express themselves openly or even think "bad" thoughts. Orwell writes, "You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized" (Orwell 3). As if that is not bad enough, this is a society that is crumbling away. All throughout the book, Orwell develops images of "rotting nineteenth-century houses" (Orwell 3), the "boiled cabbage smell," (Orwell 21), filth, and an overwhelming sense of rot and poverty to indicate just how the government influences every aspect of the people's lives, and how it is ruining society. Another writer notes, "As Orwell points out, for as long as there are gross inequalities in society people will never feel a sense of solidarity or of belonging to the same social project -- for equality is the condition for fraternity or community with others" (White). While Americans are not as subjugated as the members of Orwell's society, the Patriot Act of 2001 is one step closer to a society totally controlled by government, and for the most part, Americans have stepped aside and allowed it to take away personal freedoms that may never be returned.

One of the most controversial aspects of the Patriot Act is the power it gives to government, while removing much of the judicial oversight over privacy. Two other writers note, "Under the pretense of enhancing national security, the U.S.A. Patriot Act concentrates increased new powers in the executive branch of government, while decreasing judicial oversight" (Abdolian, and Takooshian). Many critics believe the act went way too far in executive power and in exercising the ability to spy on people and their activities. People are suspect if they are Arabic, or if they discuss topics that could be misleading. For example, the act attempted to look at library patrons and what they checked out, and at computer search activity. The two authors continues, "The Act severely curtails the right to privacy at several turns, including broadening the grounds for increased surveillance and wiretap authority, sneak-and-peek searches, tracking Internet usage, and accessing private records" (Abdolian, and Takooshian). This mirrors some of the activities Orwell talks about in his novel. He writes, "Asleep or awake, working or eating, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or in bed -- no escape. Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters inside your skull" (Orwell 26). Theoretically, if I researched a term paper on the Muslim religion, used a computer for the research, and wrote a favorable paper, I could become a suspect in a terrorist plot.

In addition, the act allows the government to call any group a "terrorist" organization if they oppose basic principles, and they can deport the members of the group. This is much like the conflicting forces in Orwell's novel. The government says they "endorse" these groups, but they make them seem ridiculous and non-credible while they are "endorsing" them. Similar to polarized talk radio hosts, the Two-Minute Hates keep the public stirred up and make the people hate them, even though the issues at stake are freedom and democracy. This is the most frightening aspect of Big Brother. It controls the people's minds, and even changes their views. In effect, it brainwashes them, as they do with Winston in the end of the book (Orwell 277-280). Even more distressing is the fact that they have totally convinced the people, using fear and intimidation that this control is acceptable and necessary. What is worse, the people accept the governmental control, following along like sheep. This mirrors the Patriot Act, as well. In the wake of terror and horror, the government convinced the people that these measures were necessary, and the people followed along because of fear. Many American's do not even know or understand how the act changed the country, and in that, they are much more like the citizens of Oceania than they might care to admit.

There is one big difference between the people in Orwell's novel and many Americans. In Orwell's novel, they do not have the power to fight back, as Winston's fate clearly shows. However, while many people have just accepted the Patriot Act, many others have spoken out against it. The authors continue, "In the summer of 2002, city councils throughout the country began to boycott the Patriot Act claiming they would not comply with its provisions and would not assist the federal government in enforcing the Act" (Abdolian, and Takooshian). We have not given up enough freedoms that we cannot speak out against wrongs, but we certainly have far less freedom than we had even 100 years ago. Progress has taken away much of our privacy and anonymity. Today, we think nothing of posting our every thought on our Facebook or Twitter pages, and telling the world what we are doing at any given moment in the day. One hundred years ago, people were much more private, and concerned with other people's privacy, while today, we are opening ourselves up to public scrutiny with open arms. Is the progress worth this loss? That is hard to tell. While computers and technology have enriched our lives and made an incredible array of ideas and technology available to everyone, they have led to a society that is not concerned with privacy, and that directly relates to Orwell's novel. The people have given up their privacy as a way to survive in an alien world, and in the end, they have given up everything meaningful in life.