The Return of George Orwell

The English writer George Orwell (1903 – 1950) was known for his critiques of authoritarianism, both in fiction and non-fiction.? His final book, 1984, is a dystopian novel that imagines a future controlled by “Big Brother” and his totalitarian society.? It’s a cautionary tale about a potential reality where reason is subjugated to party loyalty.? Indeed, the party’s three slogans are – “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.”? The main character, Winston Smith, a member of the Ministry of Truth, falls in love with a co-worker and they seek out a resistance movement called The Brotherhood.? Smith is captured by a spy of Big Brother, spends time in torturous rehabilitation (photo from 1956 film version), and ends up a total convert, completely loyal to the Party and loving Big Brother.? One descriptor of the book in Wikipedia caught my attention:? “More broadly, the novel examines the role of truth and facts within societies and the ways in which they can be manipulated.”

Meanwhile, back in the 21st century, I couldn’t help noting the parallels to a few items that emerged in my regular ritual of news doomscrolling.?

“As Floridians prepare for Freedom Summer, Florida’s bridges will follow suit, illuminating in red, white, and blue from Memorial Day through Labor Day!? Thanks to the leadership of @GovRonDeSantis, Florida continues to be the freest state in the nation.”? This was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by Jared Perdue, Secretary, Florida Department of Transportation.? Apparently being the “freest” state in the nation means banning rainbow colors on bridges right before Pride month, an historic tradition in Sarasota.? Does this post sound “Orwellian” to you?? Freedom is Slavery!

As you may have noticed, the great state of Florida is situated right on the front line of climate change.? Miami is considered “Ground Zero” as the major urban area most at risk of sea level rise.? A recent manifestation of this risk is the rise in groundwater leading to septic tank overflows.? Throughout southern Florida and other parts of the coastal Southeast, homes with septic tanks are facing sewage leaks that create environmental and public health dangers.? Additionally, the number and severity of hurricanes and other major storms has been steadily increasing as the level of carbon in the atmosphere rises.? Perhaps the most objective measurement of this fact is the reaction of the property insurance market. ?This lengthy article from the Wall Street Journal describes the difficulty in purchasing insurance in a number of states including Florida.? Given this backdrop, Orwell came to mind when Governor Ron DeSantis proclaimed (on X – May 15, 2024), “The legislation I signed today – HB 1645, HB 7071, and HB 1331 – will keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks, and China out of our state.? We’re restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots.”? According to The Guardian, “Climate change will be a lesser priority in Florida and largely disappear from state statutes under legislation signed on Wednesday by the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, in a move which experts say ignores the reality of Florida’s climate threats.”? If one can’t say “climate change” or “gay,” then it doesn’t exist.? Problem solved!? The logic is simple and utterly flawed.?

One key component of the Party’s authoritarian control in 1984 is Doublethink. ?Quoting from the book, it is defined as:

To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself—that was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed. Even to understand the word—doublethink—involved the use of doublethink.

A trophy example of Doublethink came from the CEO of Exxon, Darren Woods, during a recent interview in Fortune magazine.? The world, he said, wasn’t getting to net-zero anytime soon because “we’ve waited too long to open the aperture on the solution sets terms of what we need as a society.”? What?? In other words, as a society “we’ve” waited too long to address the issue.? Yes, that’s right folks.? It’s our fault as a society.?? These words coming from the company that predicted our current climate emergency 45 years ago and buried the information.? The company that raised the height of their oil rigs to account for sea level rising and plotting out Arctic areas to drill once the ice melted while vociferously attacking and denying climate science for decades.? The company that chose not to invest in renewables because “we don’t see the ability to generate above-average returns for our shareholders.”? The interview ended with a Doublethink coup de grace when Woods was asked about his core values.? “Integrity,” Woods said. “Not just being honest and ethical, but being intellectually honest and saying the hard things.”? Breathtaking!

Back in the 1960’s another Orwell novel was required reading at my middle school – Animal Farm.? This allegorical “fairy tale” imagines a farm where the animals take over from their human masters to create their own equal and free society.? However, the pigs, under the direction of Napolean, become the new rulers (“some animals are more equal than others”).? Ultimately, the animals end up worse than their previous life under human bosses.? I do not believe my school was unique.? This was part of a broader school-based indoctrination into Cold War politics.? The message was clear; those Soviets on the other side of the globe are the bad guys!?

“Don’t say climate change” is unfortunately showing up in a similar way through school curricula.? Last fall, the Texas Board of Education rejected seven of the twelve new science textbooks for eighth graders.? Board members criticized them for being too negative about fossil fuels.? They also didn’t like the singular focus on evolution in biology texts.? This type of ideological oversight has significant ramifications since Texas is a major textbook market and thus sets the standards for many publishers and states.? Ignorance is Strength!?

Orwellian doublethink is clearly on the rise, especially in this election season. ?As climate change agents, we must lend our voice to cut through the propaganda.? Please get politically involved – write letters to the editor, speak with your neighbors and, by all means, VOTE.? As Ken Burns recently noted in a commencement speech at Brandeis University, “There is no real choice this November.? There is only the perpetuation, however flawed or feeble you might perceive it, of our fragile 249 year experiment or the entropy that will engulf and destroy us if we take the other route…. We are at an existential crossroads in our political and civic lives.? This is a choice that could not be clearer.”