1984 Versus 2005

Boston Globe had a great editorial titled "The return of '1984'."

In what was then the futuristic, nightmare world of ''1984," written in 1949, Orwell introduced the concepts of ''newspeak," ''doublethink," and ''the mutability of the past," all concepts that seem to be alive and well in 2005, half a century after Orwell's death. In the ever-changing rationale of why we went to war in Iraq, we can imagine ourselves working in Orwell's ''Ministry of Truth," in which ''reality control" is used to ensure that ''the lie passed into history and became the truth."

It is interesting to note the ways W is manipulating words to bring opinions to his way of thinking. Use words to create fear. Equate protest with sedition. Equate questioning the war with not supporting the troops. Equate occupation with "spreading freedom." Orwell was only 21 years off in his title - I wish he was no where near right.