(August 18, 2016 at 10:50 am)abaris Wrote: I read the book several times. Starting out when I was still a child. But it never reminded me of religion. If anything it reminds me of the past 16 years with us rapidly approaching what 1984 predicted - for lack of a better word.
Next to no privacy. Virtually every space of life is invaded, either by letting in the invaders voluntarily via social media and chat apps or by the authorities monitoring our communications on a large scale level. We haven't got the governments to make full use of the tools available as of yet. But fasten your seat belts if that ever is to happen. And that possibility is not as outworldly as it may seem. We even have our degenerative Newspeak, especially used by kids on their smartphones and chats.
There's one specific part I think if you re read it now that it would be unavoidable to think about religion while reading.
One of the higher ups in big brother is talking about how reality just exists in the mind of men, there were no dinosaurs or extinct animals before men, before men on earth there was nothing.
Are you ready for the fire? We are firemen. WE ARE FIREMEN! The heat doesn’t bother us. We live in the heat. We train in the heat. It tells us that we’re ready, we’re at home, we’re where we’re supposed to be. Flames don’t intimidate us. What do we do? We control the flame. We control them. We move the flames where we want to. And then we extinguish them.
Impersonation is treason.