Balancing a safe, and striving society, with happy, ‘well-fed’ citizens of a country can be a challenging process that many governments countlessly face. It is nearly impossible to keep every single civilian happy when dealing with relevant legislation and laws that revolve around maintaining a country.
Owen Cole, Nils Diederik, and I came together to try and determine an question relevant to today's society and the main focus of the book by George Orwell, 1984. “Is security worth sacrificing your own rights and freedoms?” as the ‘war on terror’ has unfortunately become a relevant topic in today's society, as well as the “growth in technology.” After collecting essential discussion points, such as past and present events dealing with security outweighing freedom, Canadian and American Acts concerning security, and ethics, we believed the most potent way to promote our results was with a visual-aiding podcast. After concluding all of the research, multiple strong and memorable points stuck with me about how certain security situations, result in different measures taken place by governments. The research became interesting when I started looking at the controversial, and popular historical events regarding the overuse of security. With the Patriots Act evoked in the United States after the attack of 9/11, the government had overwhelming power to take extreme measures on cases involving terrorist activity which ultimately decreases the civil rights of American citizens suspected of terrorism. Canada is no better at times. After the attack on Pearl Harbour, Canada’s already established racial bias towards Japanese-Canadians was transformed into full anti-Japanese thoughts and behavior by Canadian citizens. Internment camps were set up all over Canada which led to the quick restriction of Japanese-Canadian rights and freedoms. Of equal importance, I became fascinated with the constant and loud voice spreading the statement, “If I have not done anything wrong then what is the point of hiding? The topic of online security is crucially important that many people take for granted. As recognized in our visual-aiding podcast, I enjoy the quote by Glenn Greenwald who resolves this issue: "What I want you to do when you get home is emailing me the passwords to all of your email accounts, not just the nice, respectable work one in your name, but all of them, because I want to be able to just troll through what it is you're doing online, read what I want to read and publish whatever I find interesting. After all, if you're not a bad person, if you're doing nothing wrong, you should have nothing to hide." Furthermore, the only problem that our group confronted was the lack of response by the Canadian security services we contacted. Throughout this inquiry process, I quickly became aware that I prefer groups involving one member, me. I can struggle with group projects as I appreciate taking the leadership persona are preferring my own voice over others. Overall, I enjoyed this project as it was interesting and informal, as well as fun as our group was able to add a creative spin on it.
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One of the most important and powerful tools used to this date is the human voice. Examples of governments, dictatorships, and societies have been and still are found guilty of trying to tear out the voices of their citizens who act as opposing threats. However, the human voice is what keeps governments and wealthy figures in check.
In the novel 1984, the citizens of Oceania are found stricken of the voices while under deep surveillance. The uses of media, public speaking and information is all controlled by Big Brother and is punished by death if used by the citizens of the ‘outer party.’ The government of Oceania controls its citizens by disconnecting them from the real image and influencing them toward a duller path: “Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing” (Orwell 157). In society today, this is not what can be found. Countries such as Iraq and Tunisia, use regimes of “same faces for kings and presidents ruling us, old, aged, authoritarian, corrupt situations” as they try to manipulate their citizens with fake news. Luckily, as explained by Wadah Khanfar during his TEDTALK, “people right now cannot be deceived. Because this corrupt elite in that region has lost even the power of deception. They could not, and they cannot imagine how they could really deal with this reality. They have lost.” Self-dependent media and the internet has acted as a tool for connectivity in this day of age. It allows for citizens of countries with regimes, to crawl out of their government-built caves of lies and stand together. Media coverage has helped thousands and even millions of people all over the world. The use of the internet and self-dependent media is powerful enough to stand against acts of corruption and deception and gives citizens their voice. When the voice is strictly taken away, as in 1984, is when society must change. In 2001, an American politician, George W. Bush, served as the 43rd President of the United States until his departure in January 2009. George Bush’s outstanding popularity in 2001, quickly fell due to a wide range of controversial topics over his years in office. The largest and most infamous topic surrounding the decisions of George W. Bush remain in the comics slide above.
The perfect recipe for fascism in the USA. Demonstrated within the comic panel are three main components that act as the mocking supports to guarantee fascism in the United States. Firstly, a criminal government is required. George H. Bush portrayed as a doctor surrounded by cash, represents a corrupt government which is shown scamming the citizens of the United States to believe false facts about the war on Iraq. Second, a corrupt media, which in this case is being represented by a machine, such as an oxygen concentration. It is shown that the oxygen concentrator (Fox News) is continuously feeding and providing the victim (American citizens) with a strong dose of medicine (fake news) to support the claims of the corrupt government. Thirdly and lastly, a comatose public. American citizens, portrayed by an ill Statue of Liberty, are shown as willingly consuming the “fake” medicine prescribed by the “corrupt” doctor being too influenced to take notice. The comic panel acts as a soft but strong tool to allow the readers to understand the author's strong beliefs of the government at that period in time. As defined, Fascism is a form of government which is a type of one-party dictatorship. Fascists are against democracy. The author behind the comic panel is using the clever imagery and personification to promote a strong message about the ethics of the government during George Bush’s period in office. The soft but strong message is promoting the belief that in the end, the main goal with the war on Iraq, was the war on oil and only the government had control on this as if a one-party dictatorship. CNN reporter Antonla Juhasz, stated that “Oil was not the only goal of the Iraq War, but it was certainly the central one, as top U.S. military and political figures have attested to in the years after the invasion.” The belief that the comic panel is trying to convey, is that the public is easily being brainwashed by a corrupt government that resembles a one-party dictatorship, or fascism. That as long as society continues to down fake information as if life-dependent medicine, then the government will always win. To influence the audience of the message, the artist of the comic uses multiple techniques to convey his message, as if providing corrupt media to a comatose public. To begin, the purpose of the comic panel uses the technique Card Stacking or Misleading Facts. First, a criminal government, second a corrupt media, and third, a comatose public. The result, a fascist government. The artist is using unrealistic information to offer a reason behind a faulty point and is only telling points that support the author’s position. Second, the author is using the technique of name calling. Without actually stating it, the author is informing that George W. Bush is a fascist and part of a criminal government. The author links George Bush to a negative symbol, in this case, a fascist, and hopes that his audience will reject the President. Finally, the technique of testimonial is used within the panel. The comic strip associates George W. Bush with a corrupt media, and in this case, it is Fox News. The purpose of this is to convince the audience that the government will secretly play a role in fake news as to influence society of what’s needed when. My opinion of this example of propaganda is that the soft but strong use of messaging is effective up to a point. I do not believe that this example can fall under the categories of disturbing, misleading or dangerous simply because it is a comic panel. This also gives reason to why it is effective up to a point. The comic conveys its message clearly, but it can only be taken seriously up to a point. People will take notice of the opinion imputed art, but will not do much with it. Some of the most infamous topics became popular surrounding the decisions of George W. Bush during his time in office. The war on Iraq was not seen as clearly as others and gave rise to wide controversies. The example of propaganda in the form of a comic panel uses a wide range of controversies and creates a piece of effective artwork. Hero or traitor? The huge controversy behind the massive leakage of classified information from the National Security Agencies that spread like wildfire. Former NSA employee, Edward Snowden, revolutionized the discussion behind ethics of government surveillance showing that the frightening texts of the novel 1984 by George Orwell, sprang to life. Privacy has been a complicated issue during the 21st century with the incredible technological advances and will continue to be discussed throughout the years.
Examples revealed by Edward Snowden that fought with the rights of every American citizen were first PRISM, “a warrantless wiretapping, mass surveillance of the entire country's phone records, things [such as] who you're talking to when you're talking to them, where you traveled.” Second, when asked by Congress, the NSA lied about estimating the number of American communications being intercepted. “They said no. They said, we don't track those stats, and we can't track those stats. We can't tell you how many communications we're intercepting around the world, because to tell you that would be to invade your privacy.” In my opinion, Edward Snowden did what no one else was able to do in this upsetting scenario. He spoke out against the issues about privacy as he knew the secretive actions of the government were unethical. He expresses that there are a lot of tasks promoted by the NSA that are very helpful, but “there are also things that go too far. There are things that shouldn't be done, and decisions that were being made in secret without the public's awareness, without the public's consent, and without even our representatives in government having knowledge of these programs.” “Your rights matter because you never know when you're going to need them.” In the novel 1984, the rights of each citizen have been revoked and appear to be a possible outcome from the actions demonstrated by the government. The idea that you are always being watched with the fact that “If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself” (Orwell 283), seemed to be a frightening thought coming from only a book. Sixty-nine years later, here we are. “If I had to describe myself, I wouldn't use words like "hero." I wouldn't use "patriot," and I wouldn't use "traitor." I'd say I'm an American and I'm a citizen, just like everyone else.” The actions of Edward Snowden were accused with treason by the government, but many participants, such as myself, see this deed as heroic. In the end, Edward Snowden released information strictly dependent on what he thought was crucial for the public ears, nothing more. The question that strikes most effectively is, how can we feel safe with a government that is willing to break the rules that are so dearly held upon society? And as scary, what else is being held a secret? “Reality leaves a lot to the imagination” (John Lennon).
Unanswered questions will always allow the imagination to take control of oneself. With the steady growth in society, everyday reality begins to change, and the possibility of multiple outcomes arises in each individual's mind. The short stories The Pedestrian and The Fun They Had by the authors Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov are based strictly on imagination. The drastic change in reality during the time period these stories were written, offers a bias response from both authors. Furthermore, the bold predictions based precisely on imagination acts as an all-around downfall of the two short stories. While distinguishing the theme of the short stories, the message being persuaded by the authors become very clear. The threat of negative impacts that exponential growth in electronics has on society became the bias backbone of both stories. The authors allowed their feelings of doubt and horror to fill the majority of their work, which is what ruined the overall effectiveness of the main message. The creative input that went into the points of teachers being robots, crime not existing, and avoiding television being a sign of mental illness in the time period change of 100 to 200 years only seemed silly. Yes silly! As the stories offer a rather silly bias input, they are still able to act as strong stilt toward the point that “Reality leaves a lot to the imagination” (John Lennon). The time period in which the short stories were created, shared the same period in which technological growth had surprised the world. With the sudden change, in reality, there was no doubt that confusion, questions, and most importantly, imagination would arise. The authors seemed as if they did not have a grasp on their new society and instead, had to create their own. Ideas that cities could be walked alone, “To enter out into that silence that was the city at eight o'clock [...] through the silences [...] he was alone in this world of A.D. 2053, or as good as alone” (Bradbury). That crime would not exist, “Crime was ebbing; there was no need now for the police, save for this one lone car wandering and wandering the empty streets” (Bradbury). And above all, children could not understand the idea that a teacher could be human, “it wasn’t a regular teacher, it was a man” (Isaac Asimov). It all seemed reckless, as if an image full of hatred toward the change, in reality, consumed the words of each sentence. The text became simply, unconvincing. The short stories The Pedestrian and The Fun They Had, seem to act as only a coping mechanism from the change in reality for the authors. Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov allow their imagination to write a bias backbone of both stories that acts precisely as unconvincing. A change, in reality, can resolve in unanswered questions, and fear, but in particular, a change in “Reality [can leave] a lot to the imagination” (John Lennon). "We can't change. We are what we are." Is humanity innately violent, and are we truly incapable of changing that?
What is the natural reaction of any human after being confronted by an unexpected guest? Fear! Fear is the appropriate emotion that leads humans to have the first instinct, like every other animal, to defend his or herself in any vulnerable position. The short story The Large Ant by Howard Fast takes the concept of violent tendencies and discusses the justification of what is right and what is wrong behind the story-line of the main character, Mr. Morgan. Violence has been our first instinct when faced with danger for a couple hundred thousand years and it was Mr. Morgan's first instinct when he swung his iron golf club at the presumed insect that approached his bedside. This instinct of violence is what has kept humanity from going extinct. The thought of violence may not always be accepted or recognized as lawful. The scientist Mr. Lieberman, continued to question Mr. Morgan's reason for murdering a creature that seemed to pose no threat at the time, but Mr. Morgan had no answer. As much as society tries to avoid it, it will not change: “The answer is very simple, Mr. Morgan. You killed it because you are a human being” (Howard Fast). Society has changed over the thousands of years, but the basic instincts of humanity have stayed the same The basic instincts of humanity are why I strongly believe that “We [as the society] can't change. We are what we are" (Howard Fast). Humanity is innately violent and society is incapable of changing that. The term adaptation explains that an adaptation helps organisms survive in their ecological niches. Those adaptive traits may be structural, behavioral or physiological. Every single organism develops a certain unique trait that allows for defense when under the stress of potential danger. Possums play dead, elephants travel in packs, wasps have stingers. Humans are the exact same way; we defend ourselves under the delusion of threats. This is the reason behind Mr. Morgan actions of murdering an unknown species that surprised him during the night. Mr. Morgan was reacting strictly upon his adaptation traits. To close, I believe that humanity is innately violent and that we are truly incapable of changing that. The need for survival is an adaptive trait developed by every human on this earth. The only ways to sustain survival is to fight to the top of the food chain. Humans, like every other animal, follow the same violent tendencies and will not change. The future has always been a wide discussion. It is impossible to know exactly what is to come, and us as society can only make predictions. This thrill of not knowing what the future has in hold for us is why it is such a constant and common subject matter in works of literacy and entertainment such as the 1989 movie Back to the Future Part II. The authors Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov take this concept of the unknown future, and make bold and seemingly unrealistic predictions in the short stories The Pedestrian and The Fun They Had. The authors follow a similar story-line in which technology becomes such a perpetual task, that daily activities such as going to school, and walking down the street in the late afternoon are considered unnatural and are seemingly considered tendencies of mental health.
Change can be a scary thing and I believe that was exactly how the authors felt about the steady increase in electronic growth. The short stories mainly revolve around the obsessive use of television and how it has “overpowered” society. The stories seem unrealistic reading them in this day of age, but it is understandable coming from the point of views of the authors. Electronics, such as television, became widely popular in the late 1940’s to 1950’s as to when these stories were written. This is why I would have to disagree with the points that both authors have made in their individual predictions of the future. The main problem is that the authors write strictly on the negative issues and influences of technology. The stories go to the extreme and lack the positive outcomes of technological advances. The authors presents ideas that teachers are replaced by machines and the thought of a teacher being human that seems outrageous to children: “it wasn’t a regular teacher, it was a man” (Isaac Asimov). This negative image of technology is then displayed once again in The Pedestrian. The main character is taken to, “the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies" (Ray Bradbury) for simply walking the streets of his city at a time when everyone else is watching television. As these accusations do help entertain the audience, I feel as if the authors portray the wrong message by allowing their emotions of fear interpret the text. Technology has not just consistently helped society, but the world. Communication, education, medicine, and much more have all been developed and improved efficiently with the help of the ongoing research into technology. That is why I disagree with the message that is delivered from the short stories The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury and The Fun They Had by Isaac Asimov. The message that technology only provides negative impacts in the end. Although, the future continues to be a popular discussion. Many people have their own opinions of what is next, but helplessly, society can still only make predictions. The relationships you find with each one of your family members can change like the leafs on a tree; each season can bring a whole new color. The connections you make with your family can be one of the most important parts of your life, but the relationships you make with your siblings can change your life.
Stated by Jeffrey Kluger during his Ted-Talk, “more important than [anything], the sibling bond can be a thing of abiding love. Our parents leave us too early, our spouse and our children come along too late. Our siblings are the only ones who are with us for the entire ride.” This quotes proves that at a young age, ideas toward learning to share and cooperate can be taught throughout the interactions with your siblings. As you become older, competition begins to set a heavy toll and can help you push yourself toward a better self. Throughout high school, you may be able to help each other with homework and play on the same teams. Finally, the joyful delight of seeing one another during the holidays when attending far away schools will brighten the year. Throughout your life, the interactions you make with your siblings can become the most important points toward a positive lifestyle. There are many benefits to having a positive relationship with your siblings, especially when facing trouble. In the play King Lear by William Shakespeare, Edmund the Bastard son stands up for his brother who is accused for treason by saying “It is his hand, my lord, but I hope his heart is not in the contents” (1.2.67-68) to the Earl of Gloucester. As there will always be times of fighting and anger between siblings, the loyalty between each other will become essential. There will be no one you trust more than your siblings and you will find yourself protecting them just as they will protect you when the time comes. Your family can be one of the most important parts of your life; your siblings, however, are the ones that will always be by your side as you grow up together. The connection and relationship created between you and your siblings is very important and it can determine your future. |
Parker Robert CrewsonHang out, relax, sip a cold one and read some inspirational blogs. Archives |