(no subject)
A thought struck me the other day.
I've read so much dystopian fiction; 1984, Brave New World, Anthem and We, that sort of thing - in which the author's point is "whoa man, imagine if society was all totalitarian and stuff, and everyone was told what to do, how to think and feel and behave, kept numb and inhuman and told it was all for their own good. It could happen in the not-too-distant future man, totally, whoa."
I wonder what people living in North Korea or Libya think of that sort of thing; like, if by some miracle they got their hands on a copy of 1984, I think they might be a little angry about it.
"Wow, no, I can't imagine what it's like to be deprived of all personal liberty, have no knowledge of the outside world and treated as subhuman. Please outline this terrible possibility for me, oh wise, literate Englishman. In the not-to-distant future, you say? What a terrifying prospect."
Having the luxury of fearing that possibility, instead of being constantly and forcefully subjected to it, makes me feel like a spoiled brat with every turn of the page. In North Korea, the entire calendar begins with the birth of glorious leader Kim Il-sung, on April 15, 1912, so right now they are nearing the end of the year Juche 98. Time and time again, reality trumps fiction.
I've read so much dystopian fiction; 1984, Brave New World, Anthem and We, that sort of thing - in which the author's point is "whoa man, imagine if society was all totalitarian and stuff, and everyone was told what to do, how to think and feel and behave, kept numb and inhuman and told it was all for their own good. It could happen in the not-too-distant future man, totally, whoa."
I wonder what people living in North Korea or Libya think of that sort of thing; like, if by some miracle they got their hands on a copy of 1984, I think they might be a little angry about it.
"Wow, no, I can't imagine what it's like to be deprived of all personal liberty, have no knowledge of the outside world and treated as subhuman. Please outline this terrible possibility for me, oh wise, literate Englishman. In the not-to-distant future, you say? What a terrifying prospect."
Having the luxury of fearing that possibility, instead of being constantly and forcefully subjected to it, makes me feel like a spoiled brat with every turn of the page. In North Korea, the entire calendar begins with the birth of glorious leader Kim Il-sung, on April 15, 1912, so right now they are nearing the end of the year Juche 98. Time and time again, reality trumps fiction.