By George, Orwell Was Right!

Out of all of the science fiction books ever written, George Orwell’s ‘1984’ is still just as brilliant today.

In many ways it can now be seen as being even more relevant to the time in which we live. Many people have called Orwell a visionary because of the startling similarities between his novel and our society.

We may not have Telescreens in our homes but we are certainly watched wherever we go. When the book was written there were no such things as CCTV cameras yet George Orwell saw the possibility for them.

In 1984 the English language is slowly being replaced by ‘Newspeak’. This (in his book) is seen as a ‘necessary’ devolution of English which will make things far easier to understand. If something is bad it is ‘ungood’ and if it is really bad then it is ‘doubleplus ungood’. The idea of our language being replaced in the real world may sound a little far-fetched... until you remember the psycho-babble that we are adopting from Americanisation and European regulation on a daily basis. There is, for example, a large emphasis on ‘compliance’ in our modern language and other words are also being used far more often; ‘social interaction’, ‘24/7’ and ‘mindset’ are just a few. Is this merely a normal shift in our language or are there more sinister reasons for the high use of certain words?

Orwell also featured a ‘national lottery’ in his book that was played religiously by the lower classes in the hope of becoming rich. He even mentioned people who were convinced that they had a ‘special system’ for choosing the winning numbers; and we have all met people like that.

There are many chilling comparisons between the novel and our society; the class system, the propaganda of war and the controlling of the masses. In my opinion, everyone with an interest in social issues should read this novel as it can make you far more aware of what is going on in our world.

So before I go, and while we are talking about TV I have something to admit. I love Sylar (sorry Clive). I was going through the most recent Heroes season on dvd well into the night and the acting was excellent! I would highly recommend this one to all of you..

The Dilemma of School.

As this post points out, sending the kids back to school can stir up a variety of emotions and have several different effects. Sure, now you can get everything done around the house; but you do miss them as well, don’t you?

When they are at home you wish they were at school and when there are not at home you want them back.

It is a similar paradox for the children as well. In the holidays they are ‘bored’ and have ‘nothing to do’, but when they have to go to school they wish they could stay at home.

Sigh. Such is life.

The Over-Activity of Parenting.

I was very interested to read this blog about ADHD because a friend of mine has a child with the condition. ADHD children really can be hard work and this post is very informative for anyone who doesn’t know very much about it.

When I read through the list of this child’s symptoms it was just like listening to my friend talking about his son. I suppose that these things are familiar to anyone who has a child who has been diagnosed with having ADHD. Being a parent can be really difficult as it is without having this condition to cope with as well.

It amazes me how many people have children with conditions like this, and the general ignorance of society in general. There are a lot of really good organizations that support parents and the children like this, however most of them are run off charitable donations. So next time you plan on spending a little bit of money on botox, think again about putting that money towards something like these organizations, I promise you won't regret it!