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?