User:Thewolfstar/double think

 IN THE NAME OF FREEDOM WE'RE ENSLAVED

Doublethink

Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.

22. Doublethink

The prevailing mental condition is controlled insanity.

'''The rules of the Inner Party are held together by adherence to a common doctrine. In a Party member not even the smallest deviation of opinion on the most unimportant subject can be tolerated. But it is also necessary to remember that events happened in the desired manner. And if it is necessary to rearrange one's memories or to tamper with written records, then it is necessary to forget that one has done so. The trick of doing this can be learned like any other mental technique. It is learned by the majority of Party members, and certainly by all who are intelligent as well as orthodox. In Oldspeak it is called, quite frankly, "reality control." In Newspeak, it is called doublethink, though doublethink comprises much else as well.

'''Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. The Party intellectual knows in which direction his memories must be altered; he therefore knows that he is playing tricks with reality; but by the exercise of doublethink he also satisfies himself that reality is not violated. The process has to be conscious, or it would not be carried out with sufficient precision, but it also has to be unconscious, or it would bring with it a feeling of falsity and hence of guilt.

'''Doublethink lies at the very heart of Ingsoc, since the essential act of the Party is to use conscious deception while retaining the firmness of purpose that goes with complete honesty. To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing them and to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies - all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth. Ultimately it is by means of doublethink that the Party has been able - and may, for all we know, continue to be able for thousands of years - to arrest the course of history...

'''But since in reality BIG BROTHER is not infallible, there is need for an unwearying, moment-to-moment flexibility in the treatment of facts. The key-word here is blackwhite. Like so many Newspeak words, this word has two mutually contradictory meanings. Applied to an opponent, it means the habit of impudently claiming that black is white, in contradiction of the plain facts. Applied to a Party member, it means a loyal willingness to say that black is white when Party discipline demands this. But it means also the ability to believe that black is white, and more, to know that black is white, and to forget that one has ever believed the contrary. This demands a continuous alteration of the past, made possible by the system of thought which really embraces all the rest, and which is known as doublethink.

'''The official ideology abounds with contradictions even when there is no reason for them. Simultaneously, true to the principles of doublethink, the Party rejects and vilifies every principle for which the Socialist movement originally stood, and it does this in the name of socialism. It systematically undermines the solidarity of the family all the while appealing to the sentiment of family. Even the names of the four Ministries by which Oceania is governed are a deliberate reversal of facts:

'''The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with War; '''the Ministry of Truth with Lies; '''the Ministry of Love with Torture; '''and the Ministry of Plenty with Starvation.

'''These contradictions are not accidental. They are a deliberate exercise of doublethink. If the High are to keep their places permanently - then the prevailing mental condition must be controlled insanity.

'''The subtlest practitioners of doublethink are those who invented doublethink and know that it is a vast system of mental cheating. In our society, those who have the best knowledge of what is happening are also those who are furthest from seeing the world as is. In general, the greater the understanding, the greater the delusion: the more intelligent, the less sane.

"Eyes on the screen -- not the road" & Watching TV while driving is okay ("all the better to watch you with"). Go to BEYOND ORWELL & Watching TV while driving is not safe (gov't pushing broadcasting technology). Korea Times, Jan 8, 2006

IN FLANDERS FIELDS November 11, 1918 - 2005. Go to IN AFGHAN FIELDS (the poppies grow)

Prisons offer needles to inmates (to inject illegal heroin). National Post, Nov 11, 2005. Go to 34.Ministry of Love (Torture) & DRUG WAR & PEACE & 22.Doublethink (mental condition: controlled insanity) & GOVERNMENT TOUGH ON TOBACCO & DRUG DEFECATORS NEED TOILETS

Bush said God said to him: ("George go & fight these terrorists in Iraq & Afghanistan"). Guardian, Oct 6, 2005. Go to FOUNDING FATHERS NOT CHRISTIANS

Baby hormone stops breast cancer ("a way to alter breast cells without having a baby would be really nice"). BBC, Apr 19, 2005. Go to BABIES GONE & ABORTION/BREAST CANCER LINK

IGNORANCE = FREEDOM LOST (reader asks meaning of phrases: 'slavery is freedom' and 'strength is ignorance'). Mar 25, 2005

Fischer to be deported to USA (for winning $3-million chess game against Borris Spassky in 1992 when Yugoslavia was under UN economic sanctions). Japan Today, Mar 15, 2005. Go to UNCLE SAM FINDS BOBBY FISCHER

New UK party named "Truth" (by Member of the European Parliament). The Times, Feb 2, 2005. Go to READER WINS ORWELL TODAY AWARD

Reader asks for doublethink examples: DUCKSPEAKING DOUBLETHINKERS

Epidemic among London drug users (gov't to give free needles for heroin "to reduce harm" from HIV/HepC). Guardian, Nov 12, 2004. Go to DRUG WAR & PEACE & EVIL PURVEYORS FEEDING OFF MISERY

Doctors back prison needle programs (marijuana smokers become heroin injectors where it's pushed on them in prison). Globe & Mail, Oct 28, 2004. Go to 35.Brotherhood & 34.Ministry of Love (Torture) & DRUG WAR & PEACE

Reader points out that NEW YORK's numbers also add up to 666 (dialogue updated, updated)

POW flies out of North Korea (faces court martial in USA). CNS News, Jul 21, 2004. Go to 40.Electric Shock Brainwashing & 7.Systems & UNLCE SAM SAYS POW DESERTED

Finding Bobby Fischer (took on Soviet empire pawn by pawn). Bennington Banner, Jul 19, 2004. Go to 38.Cellars & 34.Ministry of Love (Torture) & UNCLE SAM FINDS BOBBY FISCHER

Email discussion about definition of words doublethink, newspeak and doublespeak

GULLIVER DESCRIBES INTELLECTUALS (heads reclined to right or left, one eye inward, the other up). Apr 24, 2004. Go to 27.Goodthink

GULLIVER DESCRIBES LEGAL SYSTEM (art of proving by words that white is black and black is white). Apr 22, 2004. Go to 21.Crimestop

PIG TOYS TALE ANTI-EUROPE (they're "environmentally enriching manipulable materials"). CNN, Apr 13, 2004. Go to 18.Newspeak & ANIMAL FARM

Ex top Christian attacks Muslims (for believing Mohammed received God's word direct from angels which scribes recorded later). London Guardian, Mar 27, 2004. Go to 10.Rulers & MOSES & SUGARCANDY MOUNTAIN

Anti-abortion med student failed (for not providing abortion option). LifeSite, Mar 19, 2004. Go to 27.Goodthink & WHERE HAVE ALL BABIES GONE? & MY ORWELL CONVERSION

CROSSWALK SAFETY POEM (newspaper refuses to print). Feb 14, 2004. Go to Ministry of Truth (Lies) & PREVENTION OF LITERATURE

Sexing up cellphone ads (camera phones being promoted for taking sneaky dirty pictures). Globe & Mail, Dec 18, 2003. Go to CAMERA PHONE PIG ADS & BEYOND ORWELL

COZY DAYS IN STALIN'S KREMLIN (moral depravity of elite men & women who enthusiastically inflicted horrors). Go to 10.The Rulers

Playboy undresses women of Wal-Mart (& Enron & Starbucks for photo spreads). CNN, 11-13, 2003. Go to 25.Prolefeed & 30.Love Instinct & Family

Veterans fight for poppy sales (old soldiers shooed away from Pier I Imports-Home Depot-IKEA-public libraries-CIBC). National Post, Nov 6, 2003. Go to OLD WARS FORGOTTEN & IN FLANDERS FIELDS

UK may ban smoking in public (chief med advisor warns of 'passive smoking for children'). ThisIsLondon, Jul 3, 2003. Go to 2.Big Brother & DRUG WAR & PEACE & OPIUM WARS WITHIN

Nobel poet praises Eminem (who sang 'bend over & take it like a slut' to his mother). Independent, Jul 1, 2003. Go to 25.Prolefeed & WITCHES, WIZARDS & DEMONS

Gates says Orwell's nightmare isn't happening at meeting with VP & Homeland Security head to set up Big Brother technology). Globe & Mail, Jun 26, 2003. Go to 3.Surveillance & 2.Big Brother is Watching You!

WHO makes anti-smoking pact (to keep world safe & healthy). Lycos, May 21, 2003. Go to 2.Big Brother & DRUG WAR & PEACE

Bouncer killed over smoking ban (introduced by ex-smoker mayor). BBC, Apr 14, 2003. Go to 23.The Proles & DRUG WAR & PEACE

MOAB IS A WOMD (USA dropped on Baghdad). Arab News, Apr 13, 2003. Go to 13.Weapons & SEE IMAGES OF MOAB

Tobacco shortage for troops (forced nicotine withdrawal at worst possible time). Yahoo!AP, Apr 1, 2003. Go to 11.Ministry of Plenty (Starvation) & TOBACCO TORTURE & SMOKING SOLDIER'S LAMENT

DUI coordinator gets DUI (he resigns) & Canadian Premier gets DUI (he doesn't resign). Go to DUI IS DUI & ANIMAL FARM BOOZERS

Cancer-worker fired for speaking out (about long waits for surgery). Toronto Star, Mar 7, 2003

Stupid White Men tops awards (anti-white is not hate). Fox News, Feb 25, 2003. (excerpt of author's diatribe). Australian has hate-groups (anti jew-indian-asian-black). Sydney MH, Feb 25, 2003. Go to CANADA NOT HATEFUL NATION

Anti-Semitism endures in Canada (ex-PM blames ex-PM for deaths of 'countless Jews'). National Post, Feb 10, 2003. Go to & 27.Goodthink & CANADA NOT HATEFUL NATION

GPs drop those refusing MMR jab (want money for reaching quotas). London Telegraph, Jan 24, 2003. Go to BIO-CHEM WARFARE

'Roe vs Wade' poster girl pleads 'Roe No More' (444 children a day aborted). CanoeNews, Jan 21, 2003. Go to WHERE HAVE ALL BABIES GONE? & Smoking in home is child abuse (doctors should report to gov't). Globe & Mail, Jan 21, 2003. Go to DRUG WAR & PEACE

UK man arrested for protest over baby-eating show from China. Reuters, Jan 4, 2003. Go to 23.The Proles & 7.Systems of Thought

Hard core porn for prisoners (European Union overturns British law). BackPage, Nov 25, 2002. Go to 25.Prolefeed

Morning-after pill in schools (for 11-yr olds w/o consent). Telegraph, Nov 18, 2002. Go to 25.Prolefeed

EU gives convicts hardcore porn (right of expression & information). Aussie Age, Nov 11, 2002. EU Council outlaws net speech (some ideas & theories are 'hate'). Wired News, Nov 11, 2002. Go to 23.The Proles

Google censoring web content (gov't shutting politically incorrect but leaving hard-core porn). BBC News, Oct 28, 2002

"Death to Israel" comment costs job (teacher baited in TV interview). Florida Herald, Sep 4, 2002 but "Abolish White Race" essay by Jew (published in Harvard Magazine). Washington Times, Sep 4, 2002

Greatest threat is "unknown unknowns" (so says USA's Secretry of Defense). ABC Online, Jun 8, 2002

Boys punished for playing finger guns and New weapon shoots 1-million rounds/min. May 15, 2002

2.6M teacher org will punish discrimination (to protect homo/bi-sexuals & transvestites). Newsday.com, Feb 9, 2002. Go to 21.Crimestop and 27.Goodthink

Vaccinations hurt by scare tactics:study (vaccine promoters worried about growing opposition). National Post, Nov 9, 2001. Go to VACCINATIONS

War machine set for action. "Infinite Justice" in US and "Noble Eagle" in Britain. Toronto Star, Sep 20, 2001

"It's better for us they died" says abortionist Morgentaler. National Post, May 18, 2001

Vaccine may reduce risk of crib deaths. National Post, April 19, 2001

Jackie Jura ~ an independent researcher monitoring local, national and international events ~ website: www.orwelltoday.com & email address: orwelltoday@orwelltoday.com