As long as I'm sharing links, here's another from Victor David Hanson:
"The 'Depression' for Us Idiots"
An excerpt in case you don't have time for more:
"I feel like Winston Smith in Oceania, confused about all the doublethink coming out of Washington. Great Depression—no Great Depression. Recession for years; its end at the end of this year. Signing statements bad; signing statements good. Fundamentals hardly strong; fundamentals really sound. Earmarks terrible; 8,000 wonderful. Bush’s $500 billion deficit reckless; Obama’s $1.7 sober and judicious; Iraq horrific and the worst whatever; Iraq suddenly quiet, democratic, and hopeful; highest ethical bar in an administration ever—Richardson, Daschle, Killefer, Solis, etc. cannot meet the lowest; Guantanamo a Stalag; Guantanamo open for a year, pending the recommendations of a “task force”; Guantanamo a torture place for unlawful combatants; Guantanamo a nice place without unlawful combatants; Obama not to be blamed for massive collapse of stock prices since November; Obama to be praised for modest gains last week. At some point, someone in the media must be getting embarrassed that they are all working at the Ministry of Truth."
It seems the 1984 references are abounding these days. It's a seminal 20th-century work, and considering its publication on the heels of World War II it's no wonder it has continued to hold a vaulted position in our modern literary canon. But here we are in 2009 and it seems the number of writers and thinkers alluding to it is only on the rise. Hmmm . . . wonder why?
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