It’s not the story; it’s the story about the story
Bookworm on Jul 02 2008 at 8:26 am | Filed under: BBC, Britain, Israel, Media matters, Palestinians
Honest Reporting captured the first spin that the BBC put on the terrible story of the latest massacre in Israel (a Palestinian versus Israelis, of course) — and, as always, it was Israel who was spun as the brutal aggressor. Orwell clearly understood something in the British psyche when he wrote 1984 — or, more accurately, he understood how socialism has always recognized that facts are meaningless, and outcomes are everything.
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9 Responses to “It’s not the story; it’s the story about the story”
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I try to remain patient with the unfair, worthless mainstream media, but when I see a headline that reads:
Bulldozer rampage hits Jerusalem
it becomes just about impossible to remain calm and patient.
I guess murderous mayhem, but only by Palestinians, is to be considered an Act Of God, entirely outside the realm of human motivation and control. You know:
Floods inundate the Midwest
Tornados wreak havoc overnight
Rockets hit in southern Israel town
Bulldozer rampage hits Jerusalem
High temperatures lead to brownout
“he understood how socialism has always recognized that facts are meaningless, and outcomes are everything”…in fairness, it should be noted that Orwell was himself a socialist.
The % of Leftists in Orwell’s day who had intelligence and intellectual integrity may not have been high, but it was a lot higher than among today’s “progressives.” Can anyone imagine Orwell or Koestler writing for the Daily Kos?
My understanding, David, and please correct me if I’m wrong, is that Orwell was an ardent socialist — but that he turned against socialism when he realized where it was inexorably heading — and that’s how he ended up writing about the socialist dystopia of 1984.
Book…I don’t think so. My understanding is that to the last, he believed Democratic socialism was possible. Will try to find a link later today.
I’m also pretty sure that Koestler…whose “Darkness at Noon” was a very effective denunciation of Communist totalitarianism…always remained a socialist.
So I guess they were like my father: they continued to be enamored of the theory, while be wise enough to recognize the failure of the reality.
on 02 Jul 2008 at 10:01 am 5Bookworm
So I guess they were like my father: they continued to be enamored of the theory, while be wise enough to recognize the failure of the reality.
Orwell would have been satisfied with what America has today. In fact, America has produced an imbalance in protections and services for its citizens and children.
http://www.newstatesman.com/200005290038
My view derived from some internet articles I read and previous knowledge of Orwell, is that Orwell was mightily against totalitarian practices, yet he had no idea what to replace it with except some ideal form of “socialism”.
But in the end, he either did not know how to implement it or he did not see the consequences to the end. While Orwell saw the political processes that led to abuse of power, he did not really understand how Winston was supposed to fight back against totalitarianism and replace it with something else.
This is partially because Orwell refused the use and benefit of religion. Without belief, without faith in something like the US Constitution or ancestor worship, which is a religion last time I checked, you are not going to be able to defeat totalitarianism.
Can you defeat the jihadist when he believes his life is worth sacrificing to his god but you believe your life is not even worth it to begin with?
The film footage so clearly demonstrates why the right to bear arms is so essential. One incredibly brave and armed man climbs the bulldover and shoots the rampaging maniac terrorist dead thus sparing the lives of many more, and in the foreground another bystander is seen cocking his gun and getting ready to do the same to protect innocent civilians.
>>Without belief, without faith in something like the US Constitution or ancestor worship, which is a religion last time I checked, you are not going to be able to defeat totalitarianism.>>
Nature abhors a vacuum…!
Pass it on:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2008/06/05/obama_and_mccain