Semester Reflection

I'm not sure if any one else is thinking the same thing, but I am thoroughly enjoying this class and I look forward to what ever we are going to learn in the future. I continually had spontaneous, seemingly random deep thoughts and realizations during 3rd and many of those inspirations became blog posts at one point or another. I George can attest to the fact that I think a lot about life and society and other things I would never normally think about, and I enjoy it. It feels as though I continually have my mind blown of a weekly basis, and I love it. This class has been so interesting, and it isn't just Fletch doing a great job or good material and lesson plans, although those are true too. It's all of us who make the class so great. We have a couple big personalities in the room so discussions are sometimes very one sided, but over all we have a good group of people who all have different view points and opinions, and although we all didn't get to participate in Socratic Seminar, almost everyone posted on the blog about ideas and realizations they had, but never got a chance to say. This shows that while we may struggle with speaking out in class, at least we have good ideas and things to contribute. I think we had a great semester together and in a way I'm excited to try sitting at new tables, although I do like my current table a lot. I think next semester however we should try to push ourselves and each other to speak up in class more and to give others a chance to speak if we find ourselves being the only one who is ever talking. Overall I feel great about our class and I can't wait to start off the new semester with you all on Monday!

who controls the past controls the future

     Who controls the past controls the future. This statement is very powerful and meaningful because it relates to everyone's life. If you think about the future, where do you see yourself in 10 years? The actions and decisions you make now will impact my future. Also, looking into the past where did i imagine myself being now. This is very important because in life one chapter closes and another opens. Your destiny may already be finalized depending on the choices you make in the present. For example, if i worked hard to become a a doctor or a lawyer, my state of mind now will directly impact the future.

free thought and free speech

     Free thought and free speech are different because nobody can read your mind. However when you speak people will hear and there can be consequences. Nobody's thoughts are controlled but speech can sometimes be controlled. In 1984 thoughtcrimes control free thought and individualism. To sum it up free thought is alot more powerful because it goes unnoticed and a person is able to think of anything they want; however, we can't really share all of our thoughts.

friday

     During the discussion on Friday i felt like people had good arguments and opinions on the topics that were brought up. I like how we were relating 1984 to our lives because it helps me get a better understanding of the book and the world we live in. In addition from what i heard on friday, it feels good to know that most people are conscious and aware of things such as the government interrupting our privacy, 1984, etc.. It is great to discuss these things and listen to different point of views. Also, the statement "reality exists in the human mind and nowhere else" is a powerful statement because we could be living a dream who knows, maybe that is why everything happens for a reason.

How Does the World View You?

Think about this, what do you see when you look in the mirror? What kind of person do you see yourself as? now take it one step further and imagine how other people see you. If you were to receive an honest opinion from someone who knew you well but was not biased to make you feel good or to hurt your feeling, what would they say? Now take it even one step further, and imagine what you look like to a stranger. How does a person see you as they view you for the first time? I've been sporadically thinking about all these questions for about 3 years, and they intrigue me. I sometimes even get stuck on the first question, who am I really? But now is not the time for me to question my being and sanity, I have a point I was getting to.
I realized a few days ago that these age old questions now have a new, "Little Brother" question that has never needed to be asked but now it is a very prominent and relevant to our culture, and its becoming one of the most important of the 4 questions, how would someone see me if all they saw were my posts and comments on social media? I think the best, most preferable answer to this question, and the answer I wish I could give but sadly cannot, is that people can learn just enough about me on social media to know and be intrigued by my interests. I think it should be every ones goal to use social media to show off what we like and dislike in a tasteful manner. However I will be the first to kick my ego to the curb and say I either use social media way too much, or too little. I believe social media is good, and it is useful to keep in touch, to entertain, and to stay updated. So I wish I were able to use it more, although my particular situation is such that I can't go on regularly, or at least as regularly as most people. However occasionally when I do get the chance to go online, I get carried away, posting too much, commenting boldly and humorously, albeit obnoxiously as well. I can't seem to find the right balance and I see many people do as well. There is an abundance of posting about personal issues that, in all honestly, should stay private, or at least refrained from being put out onto social media. Many of my friends I've noticed can seem a bit depressed, moody, or even bipolar because of how they post and in the end they can seem like attention seekers. I suppose every one wants attention at some points in their life, and I can understand that, but too much is too much, and there is a line that shouldn't be crossed online, however fine that line it may be. The main point I'm trying to make is that maybe we aren't thinking enough about our use of social media, and maybe we ought to think more. It is hard, but I think if we were to cut back on out obsessiveness about letting everybody know our deepest feelings, we might not be in this predicament of being monitored and having our privacy violated through social media. Because if you think about it, if someone can know your deepest feelings, desires, and issues, who you hang out with the most, who you hate, love and what you do in your free time, just by glancing at your twitter profile couldn't that person easily use that information against you through manipulation, surveillance, or something else?

Free Thought and Free Speech

Free speech and free thought are not that different from each other. In the book 1984, they live in a very different world. For them, they really don't have the freedom of speech or thought. They say that if you are thinking something that goes against their laws then you are thecnicly breaking the law and should be servierly punished. So for them free speech and free thought are the exact same thing. If they say something that goes against what they belive in them ita against the law and you will get arrested. Now if you think it and they end up having proof you thought it, you will also get arrested. So yes it is the same thing. Depending on how you look at it 

Michio Kaku- intelligent, world renowned, Japanese Scientist... Mind Reading

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XsXXD8iEyU -- Saw this about 2 weeks ago.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57jsJZjnpqo -- and i found this one today


Sorry for sharing so late!!!

1984 and stuff... yaaay

It's incredible that Orwell wrote this book with the idea of technology being so advanced that the government could see into a persons everyday life. It's astounding, because even though technology was progressing during that era, it wasn't anywhere near the level of success presented in "1984". Orwell's intentions were probably not to predict what was to come in the literal year, 1984, but was just using his imagination with the seed of the Cold War being planted in the world and in his conscious. The government is not entirely "big brother-ing" us, but we may be on that rode. In the article "9 Ways You're Being Spied On Every Day" (2014) Sara Schwartz claims that we are being spied on in many ways. Some of the accusations are believable while others are a little far fetched. She does raise awareness thought that we should be more informed about how much we are being tracked and that humans need privacy. The government most likely isn't watching every American to see what they're doing, or keeping track of all of our information with the intent to use it against us for no reason; but, that doesn't mean that future men/women in power will do the same. That's the main concern. We won't always have trustworthy leaders, and many would argue that we presently don't have trustworthy leaders. Americans should have more of a say on how much access the government has into our lives, and by what means they go about their endeavors.
The End.
Okay, well hopefully that all came together.
Good night and good bye Semester 1!!!

Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else

We discussed this for a short time in class, but I found it really interesting and didn't get to speak up.
"Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else." Everyone has their own reality. Everyone. What is real or true in my mind, isn't in someone else's. Two people could be having the exact same problem, but they're going through it completely different because of how they're looking at the situation. It's all about perspective. How we look at things. When people say "No one will ever understand." They're right! No one's ever going to see it or take it in like you do. No one feels it like you do. But I think that what we have to work on is accepting that. Well at least I know I do.

Senior year myth

People always said that senior year was a breeze. I thought that I would have easy classes and spend most of my time enjoying my last year. Instead, I've been under more stress than ever before. Finals have never caused a problem; in fact, I've never had to study for a final. Just for this test, I've had to do three study guides, only for government. Not only does government cause stress, ERW finals have so many parts that need to be studied and prepared. I can't wait for this week to be over so I can finally relax. 

Quoting 1984

I wanted to talk about this quote for quite some time when reading 1984 but never really got the chance. I found it super intriguing. Because right after O'Brien says this to Winston he takes a turn and says Winston's mind is like his own except more insane. It makes me think about the quote we discussed saying "Reality exists in the human mind and nowhere else." Winston was longing for someone to understand him. It didn't matter if they were a friend or an enemy but as long as they had the same thoughts on what was going in front of them. Reality exists how you see it, yet many of us have the same thoughts. We appeal to certain people in certain ideas.

Social Media..

Is social media really a good thing? Certain sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat can help us connect with our friends or family members, which is a good thing and it’s also entertaining. However, social media can easily be exploited without our knowledge. The government or anyone can use social media as a form of propaganda to “brainwash” people. Now that’s scary to know that they can use social media in a way to get people to conform to their ideas, without the people realizing the truth. In a way that reminds me of Oceania because Big Brother used the telescreens or posters, so the people would still believe their nonsense. In our everyday life, on T.V. there’s commercials using celebrities, to help companies sell their products and the only reason we want that product is because we see an attractive celebrity “using” the product. So it seems like we don’t have a mind of our own because we’re allowing companies to “brainwash” us into thinking that their products, when we really don’t even know if their item is good for us. If a major company can do that, imagine how easily the government could fool us, using the same type of technology without us realizing it. Another thing that reminds of Big Brother is how our government tells us information about national crisis and we have to believe it because it’s our only source of information. Yes, we can easily read up on it and find our “proof”. But what if it’s all lies or it’s just staged?  If it’s all lies or staged then we would never know the truth unless we worked for the government. And if we ever did find out the real truth, we could never tell the anyone the actual truth like Winston could never tell anyone the actual truth because its punishable and we’re being disloyal to our country. 

The Age of Social Media

The past few weeks in class we have been discussing the 21st century technology and how it's affecting our lives in the sense of privacy and how we let it consume us. Through discussions, I have noticed the same reaction from almost everyone. Many question the sincerity of social media and what's it's doing to us. When people discuss social media, everyone tends to talk about the negative impact. People tend to say it's brainwashing the youth and dictating our lives in the means of surveillance (and addictive qualities). "Get off your phones and actually learn something by watching the news or reading a book," is what adults tend to say to our technology-addicted generation. Although, it's great to actually read some good literature once in awhile, the world has to stop looking for the bad in our new way of life. Social Media like Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr may have completely consumed us; however, it has educated as well. We can all debate and argue on what the news is actually giving us and what is factual or correct. Yet, from my own point of view, I can completely say that being exposed to the world of social media has enlightened me more than it has "brainwashed" me. Through Tumblr, and occasionally Twitter, I have learned more about what is going on in the world rather than through the news. I'm not sure what I'm getting at here, but all I can say is the world in which we live may completely be dictated by technology but sometimes that's not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to being informed and becoming knowledgeable on the world around us. 

The Seminar Changed My Outlook

Until the seminar, I had really never cared about losing my privacy.  How I saw it was that it's mostly the government and they really don't care about what is going on in my personal life.  I didn't even care if they were to personally watch me all day because I'm pretty boring and I don't have anything to hide.  But when Ms. Fletcher made the comment about how all it would take is a bad government to take over our good government and the rest is already set up for them, it unnerved me.  It's also creepy to think about how she said if you put a frog into hot water it will jump out, but if you put it in cold water and slowly turn up the heat it would boil to death.  It is such a true statement and makes me wonder if that is what is going on right now in our government.  I'd like to believe we are safe for now, but who knows how fast it could all change. 

Freedom of thought

This "freedom" has always been an interesting one to me. I just don't understand as to why you have a freedom of thought. You should be able to think whatever you'd like because that is your opinion, plus how is someone going to know what you are thinking anyways? Thinking is just something we do before we state our opinion. In someway it kind of gives us a filter as to what is going to come out of my mouth next. I really just wanted to get that point out there because I really don't understand why you should be "free" to think what you would like to think. 

We are being watched.

I think it is absolutely terrifying how I can be watched at looked over 24/7. Through my iPhone camera, laptop cameras, social media and even more, it seems to me that I really have no privacy of my own. Although I do nothing wrong as to why I can't be watched but just the fact that someone in high places is watching over everything I tweet, post, or do over social media just gives me a weird feeling inside. We live in a world were we are supposed to be considered free, but it doesn't feel free much being watched by your every move. I don't know, but it may just be me. It makes me think what they do with the information founded from my social medias, where it goes, and what gets said about it. 

Socratic Seminar #15

Most people seem to only be talking about technology and freedom so I decided to talk about a different question from the socratic seminar.  I chose to discuss number 15 which is about if it is okay to always do things with other people all the time, should we expect people to always participate in activities, and do people have the right to be alone.  I think that it is fine to not want to be alone, and it can help build good social skills that will help you later in life.  But, I think there are times when you need to do things by yourself even if you don't want to be alone.  Also, I don't think that we should expect people to always take part in things going on in the community.  In 1984, people were expected to show up when they did hangings.  Winston also knew that if the telescreens were delivering good news then he had to look enthusiastic and join in with the cheering.  I don't think we should have to expect that of people.  If we all took part in community activities all the time we would loose our sense of individuality.  Lastly, people have every right to choose to be alone.  After reading 1984 I appreciate being alone more than I use to because they were always being observed and constantly had to be around other people.  Being in a state like this, you would always have to keep your guard up and act according to their social standards.  

Parson Getting Caught by a Junior Spy

“’Heard what I was saying, and nipped off to the patrols the very next day… I don’t bear her any grudge for it. In fact I’m proud of her.’” –Parson (p.193)

Even Parson’s own daughter, who is a member of the Junior Spies, betrayed him for the Party. This is another example of Totalitarianism in 1984. The way the Party requires the children to join into an organization, called the Junior Spies, can be compared to how our own government created public schools for us in some ways. There are many obvious differences between how the Party and our government acts of course, such as giving us freedom to go to whatever school we want to go to which is something the members of the Party does not get. The Junior Spies are taught (more like brainwashed) to be loyal to the Party/Big Brother. What if our government is doing the same thing? What if we have been brainwashed all along about how trustworthy our government is through the free public schooling? All of the history classes we have taken during our elementary, middle school, and high school years have taught us about the development of our government. They teach us about how equal it is now for us compared to years ago. I personally believe most of it because of the evidences and witnesses, but there is always a possibility that all of the information the government have given us is a big giant lie. However, our government is obviously not perfect and they don’t try to make themselves seem perfect. I’m sure there are at least a little bit of corruption that takes place within any government around the world. These corruption should not be held against the whole government, but there is always a chance that a small problem may eventually turn into a bigger, more serious problem.

Social Media

     Social media is actually a scary thing. The government uses it. Companies use it. Hackers use it. Our parents use it. It's just an all- around scary thing.

   

 I know people who have shut down almost all of their social media accounts after applying to colleges or who have put everything on private when they go to a job interview. They do this because they don't want to be judged on who they are online by people who could determine their future. 

   

    The scary part is that even if you delete your account or put something on private, it'll still be there.  I learned from watching Scandal (a great show, by the way) that almost nothing can completely be erased once it has been put online. This makes me cautious, but I don’t think cautious enough. I’m aware that when I input information for a social media profile, I’m giving personal information to who ever sits on the other side of the screen. Does that stop me? No.

So I guess my question is: Do we really care about our privacy if we willingly give out our personal information?

We Need the Past

Every year when I would have to take a different history class, there would always be a student who would ask "why do we have to know this?" and "why is this relevant now?” the teacher would always answer the same way, "We need to learn from our mistakes". Learning from your mistakes and not repeating them is one of the traits of a smart individual. When this is applied to a country it has an even greater impact. In Oceania, the government is constantly changing and erasing the past its citizens are not bright enough to realize it. As this goes on the real past is forgotten even by the officials who ordered it. Does this make Oceania a smart country?

The News and Pessimism

Lately, because of all our discussions in class about technology, and how it changes things, I have thought greatly on how we use technology and how our view of the world, and of each other are changed by it. I had two very different trains of thought on this subject so I think I will split them into two different blog posts.
The first idea that came to my head was in class about the issue of preventing terrorism and privacy. I thought about how terrorism works, how terror is instilled in the public through acts of violence and destruction. And in the end I think terrorism is effective for two reasons, one is that it is deadly, and it is cruel, and horrible. The other is the fact that the way our world works is that our news networks and other mediums of information usually only inform us of the evil in the world. Genocide, terrorism, famine, drought, natural disasters, depressing statistics, and so much more. It's no wonder that so many people are pessimistic about our world. It's no wonder how we are so easily persuaded that evil is running rampant around us.
But the fact is this, the world is a wonderful place. News may not report that the percent of violent crime and rape in America are at the lowest percentage they've ever been at, but that doesn't make it false. We may not hear about all the good in the world, but that doesn't mean it's invisible. Imagine if we heard about every time a terrorist attack had been thwarted, or a homeless person was helped, or a person was proclaimed free of cancer after 10 years of treatment, or a child that was sick and dying was saved. Imagine if we were aware, at every second, of everything that went RIGHT in the world, rather than everything that went WRONG. Or even if we were aware of both the good and evil, the good would far outweigh the bad. Sadly, the way the world works is not the way we sometimes wish it could be, and although there are hopeful news stories, there are far more stories that seem to promote distress and depression. I wish, with all my heart that we could all see the world for the wonderful, beautiful place it is because I know that that would be the first step in removing terror, hatred, and evil form the world. Because if everyone had the mindset that the world is good, and that everyone in the world is good, then how could there be bad?
I suppose I've gotten off track. All in all, I just want people to see the good in the world to balance out all the bad we see daily. I just want everyone to enjoy life free of terror and hate. And I think that starts with informing everyone of the hope that there is in the world, not just the hopelessness.

1984

1984 really makes you think about life and the technology and power that comes with it. I never really thought about how a thought can't be real if you don't have the words to express it. That's how big brother controls Oceania and shows his power. It makes me think , what if something like that happened here in the United States ? The world would go chaotic because citizens are so used to their freedom and power with themselves that if it were taken away , no one would be prepared for it. Like in the Socratic Seminar , everyone got really defensive and passionate about this subject. I believe citizens would rebel against every power that would try to contain them. 1984 has showed us what the world could be like and how we can avoid that kind of control. 

Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.

I believe we did not cover this in the Socratic seminar on Friday. I wanted to talk about this statement. In 1984 the control of the past ensures control of the future because the past can be treated as a set of conditions that encourage future goals. If the past was good then people will act to re-create it. If the past was bad then people will act to prevent such circumstances from recurring. The Party creates a past that was a time of misery and slavery from which it claims to have liberated the human race thus tricking the people to work towards the Party’s goals. The Party has complete political power in the present enabling it to control the way in which its people think about the past.

Boiling Frog Analogy

In class Ms. Fletcher used an analogy about a frog in boiling water. It went something like this: "If you put a frog in boiling water, he will jump out - but if you put a frog in warm water and then slowly raise the temperature, he will stay in the water until he dies.  I really like this analogy because it exemplifies how our rights have been taken away.  If, all of a sudden, it were proposed that we would be monitored and tracked, people would have been outraged and opposed the new implementation.  However, since our rights have slowly been sacrificed over time in the name of increased safety, the public as a whole has not been bothered by it.  If more people became aware of what is going on, we could preserve our constitutional freedoms entirely; however, if people remain unaware, we may suffer much like the unaware frog.

Freedom is language

In 1984 newspeak prides itself on eliminating words till 2050. The government which is big brother wants to  create a language only their people would understand. I think language is freedom, without language you can't truly get your throughts across to someone else. You can use face expressions to show someone how you are feeling, but being able to use words to tell someone something is way more effective. Freedom is the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint. Not being able to speak would change how you are and how you perceive yourself to others, it defines who we are and what we know and believe in. You can indentify an intelligent person vs. someone who barely finished highschool due to the words they and if we didn't have language we would just be the same as everybody else. Imagine restricting the language you speak, it will just limit the way you can express yourself and that will taking away some of your freedom. Language is freedom and having the free will to just voice whatever you feel like saying is freedom.

Free thought and Free speech

I think that free thought and free speech are different. Free thought is having the freedom to think about whatever you want but free speech means you have the freedom to say whatever you want. You could think about something but never actually say or do it. Just because you think something doesn't mean it will ever leave your mouth, but thoughts turn into words which leads to actions. That is why in 1984 the party doesn't want people to think because they don't want their thoughts to turn into actions but there isn't really a way to make someone not be able to think. Yes you could manipulate them into thinking what you want them to think but they will always have the ability and freedoms to think. With speech you might not always have the freedom to say whatever you want. 

Number 4

"Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until they have rebelled they cannot become conscious." I think that if someone doesn't know that something is bad then they can't rebel because they are oblivious.  Therefore people have to be conscious of what they are doing, but you need to rebel and do bad things to be conscious and aware that what you are doing is wrong. Unless someone influences your conscious to believe that everything is perfectly fine when it truly isn't, but you think that nothing is wrong therefore there isn't any point of rebeling. In 1984  the people cannot rebel until they are conscious.  But, at the same time, they cannot understand they're being abused until they have rebelled.

1984 and Technology

In 1984, the citizens of Oceania’s life are monitored by telescreens and the Thought police. The telescreens watch their every move and listen to every sound they make. Even at night, the citizens aren't safe because the thought police can tap into the telescreens and listen in on them. Talking in their sleep can get them arrested and vaporized. They don’t have any privacy to themselves. Winston the main character, has a mind of his own and it’s an uncomfortable feeling for him because he knows he doesn't have any privacy and even the simplest movements and his facial expressions can give away that he’s committing a “thoughtcrime.” Just last night I was babysitting this little boy and they recently got a cat. It was very uncomfortable for me because I don’t really care to be around cats. It was watching my every move; I didn't feel like I had any privacy around that cat and that it may attack me at any moment. If a cat can make me feel like I don’t have any privacy, imagine how “technology surveillance” can make you feel that way. At any moment the government can tap into your phone calls, and listen to everything that you’re saying. That makes me very uncomfortable because those are my private phone calls, if I wanted other people to know about my conversation, I would tell them. The government can easily abuse their power or misinterpret a phone call and now an innocent person is in jail for crime he/she didn't commit because the government is invading everyone’s privacy. When will they stop tapping into phone calls and how do we know they’re not always listening into our phone calls? It’s like “Big Brother” is listening to us except it’s not through telescreens its through our phones.

Paranoia

Regarding 1984, there was a quote I found that could have been interpreted in a couple different ways.  While talking about the thought police, Winston explains that "You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you" (Orwell 19).  This could refer to the constant surveillance throughout all of Oceania and the constant over-watch of the Party, or it could refer to something more internal.  By now we know that it's incredibly difficult to keep things from the watchful eye of Big Brother, but there still can be ways to dodge it if you are careful enough.  The way I see it, though, Winston is referring to the paranoia that sets in when you think against Big Brother.  It's more than just thinking against it, though, for perhaps it was by design, or perhaps it just happen to coincide with their intentions, but 'thought-crime' will end up wearing one down until they become careless.  From Winston's point of view, seeing Big Brother as the bad guy is a logical and moral way to think, based on how he vaguely remembers life to be before Oceania, and the same thought process may apply to others around his age or older.  But because of the constant surveillance and pressure, there's almost no way to know if other people think the same way or agree with you.  Does everyone really love Big Brother, or are they all playing along out of fear?  There's no way to know, for anything obvious will get you taken away by the thought police.  Of course, from Winston's point of view, the logical way to think is that Big Brother is overly-controlling and, in a sense, crazy, along with anyone else who views them as good or right.  But, if there's no way to tell that anyone else is against Big Brother, then who's to say that anyone really is against him?  What if it isn't everyone else who's crazy for following and loving the Party, what if it's Winston who's actually the crazy one?  The only one who thinks this way and is against the Party?  Following this train of thought may lead to self-doubt and paranoia, catching yourself thinking 'I'm not the crazy one, everyone else is crazy' and really wondering that it might be the other way around.  Of course, Winston may not have thought too deeply into this, being with Julia and all, but maybe he did after he was captured.  After seeing O'Brian there, the one whom he thought was on his side, now seen as completely and utterly loyal to the party.  Who's to say that Julia wasn't in on it too?  Who's to say that all the other people in the Ministry of Love weren't all just putting on one big act and there actually weren't any thought criminals because everyone did love Big Brother?  Having these thoughts beforehand may have caused him to slip up and either snap, not caring anymore about being caught and trying to cause a big demonstration, or becoming so paranoid that it starts to show and he would eventually be discovered.  By nature, humans want to fit in, but humans also want to be right.  Winston thought he was right, and so that overpowered his willingness to fit in with the norm of the societal behavior, but after going through the Ministry of Love, what if he wasn't right? Paranoia would set in deep and put him in a panic.  Hold on to what you believe and face the punishment of the Party, or surrender yourself to their ideas and their beliefs, conforming to the relative safety of their society? Reality exists in the mind, and the mind can be influenced, therefore one person's perspective of reality can be influenced.  Fear is a powerful tool to use, one that can backfire unless certain precautions are taken:
      You must be believable, or else you won't be taken seriously and the amount of fear you can get from others is weakened.  The Party took care of this, rewriting the history books and everything that speaks out against them to make them right, and so that no evidence can be used to undermine them.  All that is found is destroyed.
      You must make  sure no one speaks out against you.  Once again, the Party handles this incredibly well. As O'Brian has pointed out, even if they kill those against the party, giving them a chance to speak against it can root in ideas of revolution in those nearby, which can stay permanent.  By 're-training' their beliefs and entire mindset, the Party turns thought-criminals to their side, further reinforcing their own ideas.
      You must be powerful, and you must demonstrate it.  This goes in hand with preventing opposition from speaking out, for if there is nothing in place to deal with those who cause trouble, then there is no way to secure power in the first place, and many would not be afraid to act out.  Having demonstrations of power, be it by merciless public executions of 'traitors' or the thought police be a well known thing, would be enough to keep many from rebelling.
      Finally, you must teach the next generation to share your beliefs and that others are wrong.  It's one thing to teach the next generation that the government they are in is perfect and that they should keep it, but it's another thing to also make them hate other forms.  Let's face it, if a young person living in a capitalist country heard about communism for the first time in their life, it would seem attractive, wouldn't it?  By making them believe that every single other method is wrong and bad, it removes the thought of '...well maybe things would be better if it was this way...' and further reinforces the thought of '...this is how it must be, the others are much worse off than us...'.  Also, by having the next generation believe in the government's beliefs, and discarding anything else, it may turn them against their parents, or cause their parents to be taken away.
    After the first generation of the newly emerged government passes, and the next generation (the one raised by the government) emerges, the threat of rebellion suddenly diminishes greatly, for there is not much else left to speak out against it.  The Party knew what they were doing when they established themselves, and they did it well.
      I would like to find out what you guys feel. Which is worse: to stay quiet in feeling that what you believe is right and to hold onto it for as long as you can, knowing that you might have been able to cause a spark and really cause a change, but never acted upon it out of fear, facing regret, or speaking out against what you feel is wrong, and seeing that nobody else shares your opinion, knowing that you will soon face torture and imprisonment?
      If you know that no one else feels the same way, will you give up, or try to hold on to it?

Freedom

So, all we've been wrestling over is the meaning of freedom. What is freedom?

CLICK HERE http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/freedom 

That is the definition of freedom. But what we were all arguing about was the extent of freedom and the different societies we view it in. Freedom in America is different than the freedom in Oceania. Freedoms we are granted are not granted to other countries such as speech, voting, choice of religion, sexual preference, etc...

But those in Oceania believe they are free. Many of the citizens of Oceania (Winston excluded - obviously) believe they are free mainly because that is what they are told and what they know. They believe that the Party is doing the best thing for them. They're not free. As readers, we can see that, but they physically do not KNOW freedom. They don't have the capability to think about it, to do anything about it, or even escape the grasp Big Brother has blinded them with.

During socratic seminar, we all argued about our freedom. If we were free, how free we were, and to what extent our freedoms can be taken away. As Americans we are granted with many rights. With those rights, come our safety. We are considered a free country and we are one of the safest out there.

Previous posts have touched on the idea that we aren't a free country because they gave us our rights and are still able to tweak or remove them. Guidelines have been created by our founding fathers to ensure our rights to remain intact and to also ensure that we are not abusing them. Just like the citizens of Oceania live by certain laws. The thing is though, that our "freedoms" vary.

What this all goes back to is the idea that the idea of "freedom" is different in different societies and places. Governments and the way society is run in other places may seem wrong and bad to us but is what they view as right.

Technology.

21. In what ways does technology help The Party control Oceania? How does technology function today through television, radio, phones, cameras, satellites, and the Internet? Is it used for good or evil?

In 1984, I believe that Orwell uses technology as a weapon. You see, the camera is obviously the technology that is being used, but it's what the camera records that can be used as a weapon. If your recorded doing something that the government will find threatening, obviously your in trouble. The main source of technology that helps The Party control Oceania are a variety of things. However telescreens, a device used as televisions however has a two way security cameras, it what i think the government mainly depends on other that the thought police. Telescreens allow the government to constantly view the citizens of Oceania whenever they please, basically pointing out that the citizens don't have the right to have privacy. However, that isn't the only type of technology that is being used, throughout the town of Oceania there are cameras and hidden microphones hidden among the town. The government of Oceania go to all of these extreme measures to monitor every single aspect of citizen's lies, and quite frankly it works. 

As the years continue to pass by, technology is evolving into bigger and in some cases better things. However, it can be debated whether technology is being used for good or/and bad purposes. Our government, is capable of monitoring our calls, text messages, e-mails and so much more, that people truly question whether they should and to what extent. I personally think it's okay for the government to monitor people's call, text messages and so forth, if they are taking their time to monitor someone it's obviously for a valuable reason. In a addition, technology can cause problem as it grows. People are capable of hacking into companies, tracking people down due to GPS, steal someones identity and so much more. And as long as technology continues to grow, there will be pros and cons to the way it's being used. Whether we think technology is being used for good or bad purposes at the end of the day we all rely on it. 

Number Twenty-Five

Q: "Should citizens be prepared to give up personal freedoms and privacy during a national crisis?"


As we read in, "That's No Phone. That's My Tracker" written by Peter Maass and Megha Rajagopalan, GPS technology and our smart phones are able to track where we are, what we buy, who we're with, how much money is in our bank account, and other private things that we might not be aware of.  There are hundreds of cameras everywhere that watch our every move.  Now... when did we ever agree to this?
I looked up personal freedom and came across this definition: "when you have control over your reality to transform it, to change it, rather than having it imposed upon you that you can't really ask for more than that." (Mr. Knopfler)

I couldn't help but to think of 1984 and how the society that Winston lives in is the exact opposite of that definition.  The citizens believe that the way they live is how it's like to have freedom because they know of nothing else.  How do we know that what we think is personal freedom is even really personal freedom?  How do we know that we aren't being controlled just like in 1984?

Oops I think I kind of drifted off topic but that's okay.

In conclusion, I don't think that citizens should be prepared to give up personal freedoms and privacy during a national crisis because we already have.  There are creeps in the world that are able to know every little thing about us through our electronic devices and social media profiles.  Why should we have to officially give up personal freedoms and privacy during a national crisis if we are constantly being watched by all sorts of private companies and not even that was enough to prevent a national crisis (metaphorically speaking)?

Reality exists in the human mind and nowhere else.

During the Socratic seminar on Friday I don’t recall anybody really backing this statement up with the book so that is what I am going to do. In 1984 Winston is able to see reality only in his mind. When you delude yourself into thinking that you see something you assume that everyone else sees the same thing that you are seeing. But it is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the party. During the interrogation O’Brian is interrogating Winston and is attempting to convince him that reality does not truly exist and that only the party has the wisdom to determine what reality is. O’Brian also makes an effort to show that Winston’s understanding of his existence is something that is destroying him while making him delusional and therefore he must submit to the ways of the party to finally become a sane human being and a cogent member in society. 

Quick Question

Throughout the socratic seminar that we had in class, I noticed that a good amount of our discussion was spent arguing about the meaning of "hero" and "rights".  

So my question is, if everyone interprets words differently, why do dictionaries exist?

Response to Article

In the article "Long Beach Police to Use 400 Cameras Citywide to Fight Crime" it describes the plan which Police Chief Jim McDonnell has implemented throughout Long Beach. As many of us know and read, they are able to access public and even private cameras to determine in the video holds substantial evidence to crime or anything of that sort. They claim that this program is not going to be used to monitor or spy on citizens, but can be accessed in necessary times where crime has occurred.

In class, we discussed this article and many students found it to be an invasion of privacy and a huge step toward "Big Brother" while others found it an asset to the city and helpful in keeping it safe. In ways, I can see this as too much access being given to the police and government. I also see it them caring enough to keeping a city in good hands. There is no way to know for sure if the system is being abused, but i highly doubt police or government officials are extremely interested in our personal lives or embarrassing slip ups at all. Overall, I see this as a pretty good way to keep track of crimes as well as preventing them.

Like everyone has been saying this whole unit, "Why should we care if they're watching if we aren't doing anything wrong?"

If you're so paranoid...are you trying to hide something?

Freedom

I think people need to realize that we aren't that free to begin with. In class we discussed if we would be okay with giving up certain freedoms during a national crisis. Most didn't agree that this was necessary because they believed that we are free Americans and it should stay that way. No part of this world is free. Every place on this earth is owned. Yes America has freedom, but it's only to a certain extent. The government has already messed with the "freedoms" they GIVE us. How free are you if another person is telling you what you can or can't do? So if there was threats or a national crisis sacrifice a little to gain security. I think some people don't think about the big picture, they only focus on the details. 

Blog Post

Response to "That's No Phone. That's my Tracker" by Peter Maass and Meghan Rejagopalan.

Recently, due to GPS technology and apps, our phones can take note of everything we use them for. Because of this, people feel like they should definitely be called trackers instead of cellphones. Honestly I think it's pretty dumb and it doesn't matter what it's called because it'll do the same thing no matter what. The article states that "names matter, quite a bit", but I definitely don't agree. If they were called trackers, people would still be using them. 

A lot of people are scared about being tracked and I really do understand. The thing is, if there are millions of people with smartphones and all of them are being tracked, there isn't actually a person looking at what you're doing all hours of the day. These type of "tracking" services are only used when necessary. If you're a suspect of some awful crime that's when going through your texts/ listening to recordings of phone calls becomes completely okay. Maybe if someone is scared of getting tracked, they should just be careful about what type of information they're putting into their device. 

I'm reading the article again and it literally just annoys me because I don't believe the name of the device we carry is as important as these people say it is!!

Should citizens be prepared to give up personal freedoms and privacy during a national crisis?

I believe that citizens should be prepared to give up personal freedoms and privacy during a national crisis. The reason why I believe in this is because you want your government doing everything possible to try to ensure your safety. I wouldn’t mind the government going through my personal phone calls, text messages, or emails I have nothing to hide. The main reason why the government would be going through your phone calls, text messages, or emails would be for looking for spies in our country that are trying to help out the outside force. If the government were to start taking away freedoms from the people the only reason why I see them doing that would be to prevent a revolt amongst the people and the government. The last thing we need during a national crisis is a two front war against our own people and the outside force.

What I should've said during Socratic Seminar

"What is free thought? Is free thought different from free speech?" 

To me, free thought is thinking whatever you want. Yes, to us, free thought is different from free speech because I can think anything I want in my head, but when it comes time to speak I have a filter and I can choose what opinions will be openly announced. Thoughts that would get me into trouble, I keep to myself. This is the case for us; however, in 1984 free thought and free speech really have no difference. The people of Oceania don't even have freedom to begin with. Anything they say that is considered a little bad could get them into a whole lot of trouble. Yes, of course there is no way the government could read the thoughts of the people, but somehow there is still thoughtcrime. Whoever determines this has probably had many years of training to figure out what type of actions could be related to thoughtcrime. For example, things like talking to yourself or maybe just being "out of it" could get you sent to jail instantly. So there is a little bit of free thought allowed in Oceania, but it has to be kept very under control and private. 

Technology and Surveillance

After reading the articles about technology in class and reading 1984, I feel we need go back and focus on a simple reason for why technology is constantly being created, and this is to make work easier. That’s why every tool has been invented, even surveillance, but in my opinion we have to question how far we let technology influence our lives. Guns were made for war, but now they can be used to shoot up schools. Cars were used to ease transportation, but now they are emitting toxic wastes that destroy our environment. Surveillance, meaning to closely observe, is used in cameras, drones, and even people observing one another, but now surveillance can be used to monitor our lives and attempt to stop a crime before it happens, or so it claims to accomplish. To return to the main reason of technology, humans need to take a step back and question when technology is doing too much of the work for us and where we might ultimately become a machine. This leads to the question of freedom and the fact that mankind uses freedom for good and bad purposes, and at times surveillance aids in stopping bad acts of man. The way I see it there is no right answer as to whether we should let surveillance continue its course or not.

Freedom

In my opinion, everyone is born free and not everyone is born into safety, some people are born into suffering, starvation, poverty, etc.  This is the result of an imperfect world, and this is what the government of 1984 is striving to destroy, the imperfections, but the only problem with this is that it can’t be done. In 1984, the government is modeling totalitarianism and there are faults in the government that people like O’Brian and Mr. Charrington can’t see or refuse to believe. In the process of creating perfection they have destroyed the qualities of human society and more importantly taken away their freedom. This is not perfect. In comparison to 1984, The Giver, by author Lois Lowry, took away freedoms and gave people a certain job in life that would stay with them forever unless they chose to be released, which meant death. They went so far as to take away color from this perfect world and change reality. If I were to predict what the people of the government from both societies were like, I would say that they were scared and were consumed with the fears of the world like suffering, death, famine, and other bad things. According to Rosseau, a philosopher and author of the Social Contract, he expressed how mankind is born free, but everywhere he is in chains, meaning man can become corrupt due to human society and influences.

Freedom vs. Safety

I rather have freedom then being completely safe. I feel like if the government would take one of our freedoms away it'll just make them stronger and you never know what or how many rights they'll take from us. I feel like this ties into 1984, the government has complete control over every citizen. They all may be safe but not one person is free. The people aren't allowed to be individuals, in some way they are all the same. I believe what Winston does makes him strong, brave, and makes him an individual. He knows that the government is doing something  wrong. The government has brainwashed everyone but that's what makes Winston an indivual he doesn't fall into their trap. This is why being free is better then being safe. Why would you want to live in a world where you aren't able to do the things you would like to do and you're being controlled by the government? 

Final Words on "1984"

I'll admit that when I first found out that we were going to read "1984", I was less than thrilled. I had a basic knowledge of what the the book was about, and it did not seem interesting to me at all. But now, having finished the whole book, I can honestly say that my opinion flip-flopped. This book brings forth so many important ideas that have to be talked about. It is so relevant because we are slowly becoming more and more similar to Oceania. 

We no longer have the ability to be completely alone even in the privacy of our own homes. I can be watched all the time, and that thought is utterly terrifying for me. The whole saying that if you have nothing to hide then you have nothing to fear, is completely wrong. People in Oceania live in a constant state of fear, and the U.S. is becoming like that. I don't think that there is anything we can do to stop that from happening.

1984

In the book 1984, it talks about how society would be if we were under watch 24/7, and freedom being taken away. In my opinion I think that it would be pointless, and it's not necessary. With or without laws or cameras, people are still going to break the law and figure out a way to do what we want. Taking people's freedom away is only going to cause more problems in society because more people would be breaking laws. Also I believe that people deserve their privacy. Cameras being posted around your house to watch your every move is just plain creepy. This will also cause problems because people won't be theirself or be comfortable in the safety of their own homes. When we talked about giving up freedom for a national crisis I think that that should only be to a certain extent. With changing laws, people are already so used to that laws we have no that changing it people aren't going to realize that they're breaking a law because it's just their normal thing to do. I think some laws may be change and readgested but other than that people deserve their freedom and their privacy. 

“Thoughtcrime does not entail death. Thoughtcrime is death.”

“Thoughtcrime does not entail death. Thoughtcrime is death.” (p.27)

          

In 1984, there are agents called the Thought Police who can “read what’s inside people’s minds.” They can’t literally read people’s thoughts, so I am guessing that they catch people doing crimes by finding evidences and/or just by plain assumption. Either way, the main protagonist, Winston, is afraid because he knows that he will be vanished if he runs into a Thought Police. According to this website: http://www.mindcontrol.se/?page_id=7488 our National Security Agency (NSA), has developed a technology called Remote Neural Monitoring. This technology can apparently control the brain in order to read any criminal thoughts. I’m not sure about the legitimacy of this information but it is still unnerving to think that someone out there is thinking about these ideas and devices that may be able to read our thoughts. Many people will say that they have nothing to worry about because they are not guilty of anything but think about this: just because someone has criminal thoughts does not mean that they are actually intending to do it. This may eventually lead to false accusations and a reason for the authorities to restrain or lock us up because of our thoughts that may just be a subconscious thought that pops up into our minds without any of our control. I think that there are too many negatives with this technology for it to be a good device to use in a criminal case.