The Internet Will Save Us From 1984

I had one other point to make about George Orwell's 1984. If complete control of the past was ever possible it's not any more. In the novel the Party changes the history of Oceania constantly. They control and manipulate it to the point where the past doesn't even have any meaning. The most extreme point in the story was when Oceania goes from being at war with Eurasia to Eastasia. Now obviously Orwell was using a highly exaggerated world to make a point, but there are those out there that believe the government is capable of this kind of manipulation. I do not.

And once more if the government tried I believe the internet would save us.

Take the Kony 2012 video for example. The organization Invisible Children made a video that over simplified a very complex situation and it ended up painting a picture that wasn't completely true. Within days of the video going viral the internet ripped it to shreds and spit it back out. That gives me hope. Hope that at least on the important things the internet gets it right and no one or government can control it.

I'll tack on a point here that this is why we absolutely must not allow the internet to be censored or controlled. If we do the most powerful tool for truth and justice could be turned against the truth. If the internet is not a place of freedom it looses it's corrective powers and becomes a tool for misinformation. We must guard against this. 

There Is No Meaning In This

Every now and then I struggle with meaning. When it happens I say it's my existential angst acting up. When I get like this I have trouble seeing the point of life. Why do we do what we do? What is the meaning behind our daily struggle to survive? Why are we born, marry, have children and die? None of it has any meaning. There is no grand purpose. What is the point?

Faced with this existential crisis there are two choices - live or die. Keep going every day or kill yourself. Suicide has never appealed to me, even in my darkest hour, so I have to keep on keeping on. The question then becomes how to live. There are innumerable answers and I can only answer for myself. For me it starts with the fact that at a very basic level I am a creative person. A striver. I always have ideas about how to improve myself, things I want to learn, or projects I want to do. I am not terribly successful at accomplishing these things, but the push is always there. So my choice comes down to either pursue my multitude of ideas or sit on the couch and watch TV. When the angst is kicking I don't see any point to doing anything but staying in bed, but ultimately I will not be satisfied with that. So I get up. The thing to remember is life and particularly a creative life is not linear. It is a cycle of starts and stops. Sometimes even stops on purpose to recharge. Always moving forward though. Trying to accomplish something. Even if ultimately it doesn't have meaning I won't be satisfied living life any other way.