Is there any chance that Timmeh might be replaced by Tweety?
Enquiring minds want to know!
Posted by TIKI AL at June 16, 2008 06:30 PM"We are the priests of power," Obrien told Winston Smith while he tortured him into compliance in George Orwell's novel 1984.
"God is power. But at present power is only a word so far as you are concerned. The first thing you must realize is that power is collective. The individual only has power in so far as he ceases to be an individual. . . . [I]f he can make complete, utter submission, id he can escape from his identity, if he can merge himself in the Party so that he is the Party, then he is all-powerful and immortal.
"The second thing for you to realize is that power is power over human beings. Over the body, yes, but above all, over the mind. . . . How does one man assert his power over another, Winston?"
Winston thought. "By making him suffer," he said.
"Exactly. By making him suffer. Obedience is not enough. Unless he is suffering, how can you be sure he is obeying your will and not his own? Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation. . . . Progress in our world will be progress toward more pain. The old civilizations claimed that they were founded on love or justice. Ours in founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. . . . There will be no loyalty, except loyalty toward the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy. . . . But always -- do not forget this, Winston -- always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless.
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face -- forever."
Posted by mmeo at June 16, 2008 10:40 PMmmeo, stomping out dissent? My way or the highway?
Posted by Sharon at June 17, 2008 08:08 AMWhere have you been, Paradox? I believe that the Bush/Dukakis race of 1988 signaled the end of serious American journalism. The media saw--in the person of George H. W. Bush--how vacuous and vicious a successful politician could be, and they liked it.
Henceforth, any journalist who displayed an interest in policy was seen as a naive loser. The decline of their profession followed. They get worse every day.
Posted by cygnus at June 17, 2008 02:56 PM