Saturday, July 16, 2005
Giving an appearance of solidity to pure wind
"Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." Orwell
When, several years ago, I was teaching classes to English schoolchildren on George Orwell and referring back to the frightening events in his own lifetime, I naively congratulated myself on living in an enlightened and truly democratic age.
Now I feel the deepest unease. Opposition is going out of fashion," wrote Jacky Ashley in Thursday's Guardian - and the lack of it is truly frightening, especially after what is - inevitably and sickeningly - being referred to as "7/7".
I hadn't - all those years ago - realised how forward looking were George Orwell's insights about the nature of power and the need of people to believe and trust their rulers even when the evidence of lying and corruption piles up in front of their eyes.
Here is an extract from the blogger Riverbend here about listening to George W Bush's speech on July 1. (River's latest entry tells us that blogger Khalid has been imprisoned. I have written to the Iraqi Embassy and I hope many, many others will too. consul@iraqiembassy.org)
When, several years ago, I was teaching classes to English schoolchildren on George Orwell and referring back to the frightening events in his own lifetime, I naively congratulated myself on living in an enlightened and truly democratic age.
Now I feel the deepest unease. Opposition is going out of fashion," wrote Jacky Ashley in Thursday's Guardian - and the lack of it is truly frightening, especially after what is - inevitably and sickeningly - being referred to as "7/7".
I hadn't - all those years ago - realised how forward looking were George Orwell's insights about the nature of power and the need of people to believe and trust their rulers even when the evidence of lying and corruption piles up in front of their eyes.
Here is an extract from the blogger Riverbend here about listening to George W Bush's speech on July 1. (River's latest entry tells us that blogger Khalid has been imprisoned. I have written to the Iraqi Embassy and I hope many, many others will too. consul@iraqiembassy.org)
- "Why aren’t the Americans setting a timetable for withdrawal? Iraqis are constantly wondering why nothing is being done to accelerate the end of the occupation.
Do the Americans continue to believe such speeches? I couldn’t help but wonder.
“They’ll believe anything.” E. sighed. “No matter what sort of absurdity they are fed, they’ll believe it. Think up the most outrageous lie… They have people who’ll believe it.”
The cousin sat up at this, his interest piqued. “The most outrageous lie? How about that Iraq was amassing aliens from Mareekh [Mars] and training them in the battle art of kung-fu to attack America in 2010!”
“They’d believe it.” E. nodded in the affirmative. “Or that Iraq was developing a mutant breed of rabid, man-eating bunnies to unleash upon the Western world. They’d believe that too.”
