1984_02 The Daily Collegian February 1984

              Feb. 6,1984
F©ffltaitf(£
'That Year' is here
"A special prosecutor was appointed today to investi¬
gate every damn one of us. "
—from " Why are your Papers in Order?: Cartoons for
1984'
By Marry Burhtaon
Staff writer
with strong ties to "I984" and who hat laught a sym¬
posium on the subject.
While the three differ in their reasoning, all agree
that society today resembles that depicted by Orwell
40 years ago—at least more so than most people care
"I see it ("1984") happening all around us,** said
Bilderback. "Anyone who read the book and who
reads the papers can play the (comparison) game."
Privacy
On January I, at approximately 12:01 a.m., the
media began iu assault on the American public.
Recently snubbed by the Reagan adminittration dur¬
ing the invasion of Grenada, the guardians ofthe news
were relentless in their zeal. This time, there would be
no stopping them.
"Operation Orwell" had begun.
Operation Orwell
It iu rawest form,"Operation Orwell" is the one-year
plan to make every man, woman and child aware that
this is not just the year between 1983 and 1985. This is
1984. George Orwell's 1984. THE 1984.
Through a seemingly unending series of newspaper
articles, TV programs, books, comic strips, and even
billboards, the media has left no stone unturned in the
pursuit of its goal. Time magazine gave the book a
coverstorv, ind with it, maximum national visibility.
How successful oas "Operation Orwell" been so far?
Well, if "Big Brother" didn't enter the lexicon in 1948
when "1984" was written, it has now. Furthermore,
future SAT examinations may require college hope¬
fuls to use "doublethink" in a sentence, and grade-
schoolers who identify George Orwell aa the star of
"Citizen Kane" may be subject to explusion.
But perhaps most telling is the fact that a 40-year-old
novel with a peculiarly unimaginative title is currently
number one on the paperback best seller lists. 1984.
Operation Orwell.
But the public can't actually be buying this, can it?
Sure, this is 1984, but it isnt 1984. This is just hype.
Orwell's vision of the future is still just a vision.
Isn't it?
Allegory
Vision
"The future is now," says criminology Professor
Lester Pincu, perhaps only half joking. "Specifically,
he (Orwell) may not be accurate, but the thrust of what
he talks about is true."
Pincu, who served two years ago on the Governor's
Commission on Personal Privacy, is one of three peo¬
ple on campus who may be in the best position tojudge
whether or not "1984" is actually here and whether the
hoopla is justified. The others are political science
Professor D. Loy Bilderback. who'll be teaching a
course on Orwell next semester, and criminology Pro¬
fessor Tomas Martinez, who has authored two books
Orwell's book, a "modern classic of negative Uto¬
pia," follows the story of Winston, a man determined
to find more in life than that offered by "the Party'and
"Big Brother." Winston lives in a world where virtually
every moment is scrutinized, where a slip ofthe tongue
or a revealing expression can result in one being
"vaporized."
"1984" is an allegory. Whether it was meant to be
taken as a prophecy oj merely a warning has been
debated at length, but the picture painted of a world
where there is no such thing as privacy, according to
some, comes dangerously close to today's reality.
"It (1984) may be a little slow in coming, but the
potential is there," Martinez said. "After all, Jim Jones
set upa'1984'communityinGuyana. He was like'Big
Brother'—he knew what 1984 was all about.
Among them, Pincu, Bilderback and Martinez were
able to come up with an extensive list of what they
consider lo be similarities between present society and
that pictured by Orwell. The list includes the following
—The Internal Revenue Service hat begun turning
its tax records on individuals over to other agencies for
—Computer theft is on the rise, and the growing
access of public personnel to private records further
infringes on privacy.
—Two-way cable TV has become a technological
reality. Like Orwell's "telescreen," this advancement
will someday allow TV viewers to be viewed in return.
It is now being tesed in several major U.S. markets.
— Police departments around the country allocate
large portions of their budgets for the infiltration of
political and other legal groups—gaining evidence
that is shared with all other law enforcement agencies.
—Social programs have been trimmed back drasti¬
cally. Funding for libraries, the "storehouses of know¬
lege," has been cut back and in many cases eliminated
altogether.
— As in "1984." gambling has become the premier
form of leisure activity in terms of dollars spent.
—Consistent with the "1984" notion of "constant
war." video games have become a part of the daily
routine for many Americans.
Taken alone, the list of individual similarities may
little to convince skeptics lhat "1984" it upon us, but
according to the three "expert!," the trend they repres¬
ent is difficult to ignore.
**There are areas where we are losing more and more
of our privacy all the time," Pincu taid. Talk about
the '1984* 'Big Brother' thing, the power, comes in
having knowlege about people that they'd rather you
didn't have."
In serving on the 25-member Governor'* Commis¬
sion on Personal Privacy, Pincu helped put together a
"massive" handbook on personal privacy that has cir¬
culated throughout all SO states. What he found out as
a member of the commission, he said, wa* that people
simply arent as personal as they think they are.
"They (public and private agencies) gather informa¬
tion about a person from cradle to grave," Pincu said.
"In the computer, all that stuff is shared. It becomes
part of the private, public record, if you will."
One person particularly vulnerable to invasion of
privacy is the potential juror, Pincu taid. Randomly
selected citizens are often asked questions—personal
questions—intended to determine whether they would
make suitable jurors in a case. Trie answer* to the
questions—which may deal with everything from pol¬
itical beliefs to sexual preference—become part ofthe
public record."
"You want to ferret out prejudice, but tbe kinds of
questions they ask are very pointed kinds of things and
potentially embarrasing," he said. "But while a de¬
fendant's testimony may be withheld, a potential
juror's answers are public record."
Eltewherein the criminal justice *y*tem, Pincu said,
personal privacy is being invaded routinely. Arrest
records "in a country where we're innocent until
proven guilty" are public domain. Youth authority
files, including psychiatric records, are availible to
such agencies as the Department of Motor Vehicle*
and local sheriffs offices.
"Even though you're not guilty of anything," he
said, "these things can come back to haunt yon."
Thought Control
Martinez finds a major threat to privacy in the
shutting off of funds for libraries. In "1984," the slo¬
gan "Ignorance is Strength" is a party staple. By limit¬
ing the opportunity for the average citizen to gain
knowlege, he said, society may be creeping closer to
the rationalization that inspired the slogan.
"There may be no 'thought police' here," he said,
referring to ihe "1984" law enforcement agency, "but
thought control is subth happening."
Martinez conducted his "1984" symposium at the
University of Colorado six years ago. His interest in
the subject has lead him to draw conclusions that he
says other people seldom reach. Such a conclusion is
his belief that private firms are as threatening privacy
a* much at anyone.       ;' ' *
"People dont think of tbe private sector at much as
the public sector at being a threat," he taid, "but it's
happening."
Private bu incite* such as those within the credit
and insurance industries do as much or more than
government in term* of invading ones privacy, he
"Credit agencies, for instance, control a lot of
information," he explained. "Opportunity, especially
for the poor and the minorities is limited by that."
Doublethink
"What we are not going to do is tee if '1984' wat
right,** he taid, before ditcuuing whether " 1984" wat
nghtornot."!guesswc1lread'l984,'butbynextfaIlI
suppose everyone in the human race will have read it."
A long-time fan of Orwell who is "a little diitrubed"
over the author'* sudden fajhionabtlity ("1 wai into
Orwell before Orwell wax cool"), Bilderback ha* long
wondered why Orwell hatnt been ax popular at tome
other writers.
.   "Talk about the impact he's had," he taid, "no
author has ever been a* provocative."
Rebellion
Is Big Brother listening in on you?
Is that really a fly on the wall?
Better take a second look, What you
night mistake for a fly could be a bugging
:  picking up everything you  say
Although illegal in the United States,
bugging devices can be readily obtained.
Wilh SI2 and a little knowledge in
electronics, a transmitting -vice-can be
built from parts found in any electronics
stor*e""lf you're not that motivated,
transmitting devices can still be bought
through certain electronic catalogues. All
without detection.
Although it's illegal in California to
lape someone without their permission,
unless the person doing the taping stales
his name at the start of the tape, ii is
inadmissable as evidence in court.
Devices such as the Voice Stress Ana¬
lyzer can circumvent any known laws. It is
used as a lie detector to measure altera¬
tions in the person's normal voice and
register it on a scale. It is billed as being
ble to "evaluate the validity of a person's
bugging devices,
hooked up to the eli
it was bugging via i
onlya.
valed v,
many hours of liste
hen nobody was the
Laser has just made it:
uo the eavesdropping a
indow and the v
rtricity of the person
-light twitch. It was
lomeone entered the
i  be picked  up and
back to 1952. The Soviets gave the U.S.
ambassadur hung the plaque on his office
wall aftci having it thoroughly investi¬
gated, which revealed nothing but a hol¬
low melal chamber inside it. The plaque
reportedly hung there for six years before
its secret wasdiscovered. It was found thai
the Soviets were aiming a microwave
beam of a certain frequency at the plaque
from across the street. The metal chamber
in the plaque would resonate and voices in
the office could then be picked up off the
reflected signal.
Of course, it makes tense that only
ambassadors, corporate executives and
spies mighi be bugged; but since most
bugs go undetected bv experts, who's to
say for sure?
Another area where " 1984" takes on the appearance of
reality is the popular usage of what Orwell called
"doublethink" and "newspeak." "Doublethink" is the
process by which a person convinces himself that real¬
ity is falsehood and falsehood is reality. "Newspeak" is
jargon, a language intended to stifle the thinking
'"Doublethink' has been here for at least three
decades or more." Martinez said. "It's like when Rea¬
gan says "this will benefit all Americans.*"
Bilderback, too, credits President Reagan with
keeping Orwell's ideas alive.
"Ronald Reagan survives by 'newspeak,'"he said.
"The MX missile is the 'Peacemaker."*
Not to discriminate, however, Bilderback gives oth¬
ers credit too.
"Of course, you dont;have to go to Washington,
D.C, for 'doublethink,*" he said. "Just listen lo the
utterances eminating from Thomas Administration."
"1984" Course
While the three were eager to point out the similari¬
ties between tociety today and Orwell's "Oceania," the
setting for " 1984, ■ all made an effort to touch on the
differences as well. Pincu pointed out that control* on
society today are not thote imposed on Winston in
"1984"— although the technology is perhaps avail¬
able.
Bilderback stressed that the people of "Oceania"
were happy with the way they lived, buying "the Party"
doctrine hook, line and sinker. He contrasted this to
the present, where people, for the most part, rebel
against excessive government authority.
For Martinez, a main difference lies in the physical
circumstances. "Oceania" had been the home of a "The
Day After"-type of catastrophy that created a situa¬
tion where anyone with technology could have taken
control. The fact that no tuch catastrophy took place
before 1984 may be a reason that tociety exisu at it
does today—rather than as pictured by OrwelL
"No, we're not the controlled tociety that '1984'
paints," Pincu said, "but it's possible."
Bilderback will be teaching a course next semetter
on Orwell, whose actual name wa* Eric Blair. The
course, tejitatively titled "Eric Blair and hu time*," will
study Orwell and the events which led to hi* writing of
"1984." Bilderback doe*nt know exactly what will be
covered in the class, but he does know what it wont.
Powerless
Pincu, Bilderback and Martinez agree that while
' 1984" is not yet here, each warn* that the public mutt
be on guard if it'* to prove Orwell's vision inaccu¬
rate and not just mis-* i rood.
Unfortunately, Pincu and Martinez believe that the
general public is in no position to prevent anything.
The man on the street, they say has let technology and
government invasions into pertonal privacy go unchal-
"Intellectual* have al ways been aware of this," Mar¬
tinez taid. "But the rest of tociety that isnt preoccu¬
pied with ideas doesnt consider these elements."
Pincu agreed that the public hat thown itself to be
oblivious to "1984"-type infringements on iu privacy.
"You have to pay attention to keep thit from hap¬
pening," he taid. "People are willing to have their
privacy invaded."
Bilderback, on the other hand, taid he thinks that
far from ignorant or unconcerned about" 1984" devel¬
opments, the public lias limply become convinvced
that there's nothing it can do.
"People are aware that tociety is getting bigger,
more pertonal and more ruthles*, but the feeling is that
there is nothing you can do about it-it's Decessary," he
said. 'We are aware that these things are happening but
we seem to be paralyzed to do anything about them."
Whether people are aware or not. however, there is
little chance that the public will take a stand against
"progrett" any time in the near future, Martinez taid.
While there are group* that try to get the public
involved in the "1984" matter, people have grown too
set in their ways to stand up and be counted.
"There wont be a mass movement," Martinez said.
"People wont revolt."
While none of (he professors would make predic¬
tions about when "1984"'will come—if at all-all indi¬
cated that tociety is as dote now a* they care for it be.
While the future may not be now, they tay it» defi¬
nitely too dote for comfort.
"There'* no dominating 'Big Brother' telling u* what
to do,"Martinez said, "but we have a number of big
.
....