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.
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