Was Orwell's '1984' Prophetic?

In June of 1949, George Orwell published a dystopian novel he titled, ‘1984.’ The futuristic book focuses on a man named Winston, an employee of the Ministry of Truth. His job required him to change past historical events to reflect the present-day reality. In some cases, this meant completely erasing history, while in other cases it necessitated a quick rewriting of a past article or document to reflect the happenings of the current times. Either way, Winston felt twinges of guilt as he realized the fraud committed on the people of Oceania.

As Winston’s mind became more and more aware of the brainwashing of his fellow citizens, he also recognized the need to appear loyal to the Party’s cause. This was not easy. The Government installed telescreens in both private homes and in the Public Square. The only place to avoid “Big Brother’s” all seeing eye was while sleeping in the darkness of night. With cameras monitoring every move and expression, even the slightest rolling of the eye or smirk could be cause for arrest or to "vanish" and be heard from no more. Orwell writes, “Always eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or bed—no escape. Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters in your skull.” These few cubic centimeters worried Winston a great deal.

Winston secretly purchased a notebook and pen and decided to keep a journal of his true thoughts and feelings. The diary, if found by the Party, might have been the death of him, but he decided future generations needed this insight from one who had not totally been sucked in by the Party’s propaganda.

In Oceania, censorship was alive and well. Winston participated, but in an unwilling manner. For instance, the Party in charge taught that Oceania had always been at War with Eurasia, even though Winston remembered a time five years prior that Oceania had been at war with Eastasia and allies of Eurasia. He wondered if anyone else shared the same memory or if anyone else cared. This revisionist history stung Winston to the core of his inner being, but he feared fighting against the powerful political machine. Fast forward to 2021. Has revisionist history become mainstream and do people really care?

“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.” George, Orwell, ‘1984’

This quote from the pages of Orwell’s novel accurately describes the efforts being perpetrated today. Though Winston despised the erasing of history and worried that it would be lost forever, our culture seems to rapidly and rabidly tear down history, fretting not about the emergence of an authoritarian society, but claiming these efforts better us all. But do they really?

Granted, not all of America’s history falls under the category of a “shining city on a hill,” but to remove monuments of historical significance from the public eye ushers in the potential of repeating future atrocities. British statesman Winston Churchill proclaimed, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Author JB Shreve writes, “When we erase history, we don’t simply shield ourselves from a frustrating and offensive past. We make ourselves more ignorant and shield ourselves from the questions we should be asking to make sure we do not repeat the worst episodes of our history. The purpose of history is not to make us feel good but to help us learn from the mistakes of the past.”

In the Summer of 2019, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that 110 Confederate statues and monuments had been removed from the public arena and more were scheduled to be torn down. But it is not just statues. There is a push to remove the names of Founding Fathers from public schools. Some sports teams are being pressured to change their mascots because of cultural appropriation. Even the American Library Association voted to remove the name of Laura Ingalls Wilder from a major children’s literature award based upon how the author referred to Native Americans in her Little House on the Prairie Books. Certainly, slavery and racism should never be glamorized, celebrated or venerated, but to erase the vestiges of America’s past welcomes future repetition. Instead of blotting out, tearing down, or erasing monuments of historical significance, use them for moments of teaching.

If we continue down the path of historical revisionism, a future day may come when the only memories of historical fact are those stored in the “few cubic centimeters” of our skulls. In ‘1984’ the efforts to erase parts of the populace’s history or to rewrite the narrative, was to protect the Party’s reputation, to shore up the people’s unquestioned faith in the ruling powers, and to define a new future based upon a past that no longer existed. In Winston’s eyes, the sole purpose was to force the people to forget former times which can ultimately lead to a catastrophic end. Orwell shares, “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” May the erasing of history not be the undoing of the United States of America.