Beware of Thought Police
Thursday, August 6th, 2009
In 1949 English author, George Orwell published a futuristic novel that has become a modern day classic. 1984 portrays a “negative utopia” where repressive, totalitarianism is maintained through government surveillance and control. The Thought Police are the secret police whose job it is to regulate speech and actions as well as thinking that would challenge the ruling authority. Throughout the book the phrase “Big Brother is watching you” provides a constant reminder of oppressive authoritarianism.
Fast forward to 2009. Tuesday evening on the official White House blog, the Obama administration asked supporters to report back when they hear something about health care reform that sounds “fishy”:
“There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”
In response to the White House blog posting Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas had this to say in a letter to President Barack Obama questioning the administration’s request:
“I am not aware of any precedent for a president asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed ‘fishy’ or otherwise inimical to the White House’s political interests.
As congress debates health care reform and other critical policy matters, citizen engagement must not be chilled by fear of government monitoring the exercise of free speech rights.”
In addition to monitoring opposition the White House and the DNC seem willing enough to provide a little disinformation of their own. Syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin explains how the “wealthy, astroturfed ground troops for Obamacare” are accusing concerned citizens protesting “against socialized medicine of being, yes, wealthy and astroturfed.” In a piece entitled “Tea Party-Bashers Gone Wild” she references this DNC internet attack ad:
That’s right. You protesters are nothing more than an “angry mob”. Then there’s the president’s press secretary:
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, apparently oblivious to the dozens of well-dressed and well-heeled former lobbyists and influence peddlers employed by his own boss, derided healthcare town hall protesters as the “Brooks Brothers brigade.” Brooks Brothers was also the president’s clothes designer of choice on Inauguration Day. He taunted: “I hope people will take a jaundiced eye to what is clearly the AstroTurf nature of so-called grass-roots lobbying.”
And not to be outdone, “Miss America”, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is getting in on the act as well. According to the Washington DC based Newspaper “Human Events” Ms. Pelosi recently dispatched a memo assuring Democrats of protesters’ “close coordination” with faux grass-roots groups.
So is 1984 becoming a reality? It’s been said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” As Michelle Malkin puts it, “Now, the taxpayers footing the bill for Obama’s redistribution of health and wealth are silent no more — and the unhinged Left is beside itself.” Time will tell.