George Orwell, Meet George Bush

The parallels between the Bush administration's vision of America in 2006 and the negative utopia portrayed by George Orwell in 1984 are increasingly chilling.

In 1984, there was Thought Crime. Today opponents of the Bush party line are considered unpatriotic. See here how the Bushies reacted to Congressman Murtha's comments on the Iraq war.

Orwell envisioned a Thought Police. In the US today we have DHS officers who raid local libraries and act completely outside of their original mission.

In 1984, the government monitors everyone's activities through "telescreens" placed in their homes. Today, we have DHS money funding the demand of local police departments to monitor private businesses and quiet, crime-free towns.

War without end or aim is another common theme. We have the GWOT, they had the never-ending battles against changing foes, and we both share the suspension of civil liberties to "win the war." In 2006, we have the Patriot Act and the NSA surveillance.

Finally, the Ministry of Love. In 1984 Big Brother (yes, Orwell coined that term) regulated everything about one's private life and destroyed the individual's freedom of association. We can see that today in anti gay , pro smoking ban fascism.

To end on a quote from F.A. Hayek in The Road to Serfdom:

The fundamental principle in the ordering of our affairs is that we should make as much use as possible of the spontaneous forces forces of society, as resort as little as possible to coercion.