Oldthinkers Unbellyfeel Bush by Bob Patterson Smirking Chimp, October 20,2007 http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/10552
In the imaginary world Orwell described in 1984, the word "doublethink" meant (paperback page 32) "To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which canceled out, know them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget, whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and, above all to apply same process to the process itself . . . ." Recently two separate news items indicated that: A.) al Qaeda has been defeated and B.) the war in Iraq will continue for a long time. The objection that if the enemy has been defeated then the war can be ended is too reliant on cold analytical logic to be worthy of consideration to a master of doublethink.. Oldthinkers will balk when they are confronted by two contradictory statements. Here's an example: when the Vice President specifically says that "we know where they (WMD's) are" and subsequently, after an Invasion is conducted, no WMD's are found, the inability to understand and believe both facts indicates a failure to doublethink. Seeing a contradiction when compassionate Christian conservatives deny the option of suicide to an invalid who is enduring protracted existence while confined to a hospital bed is a perfect example of what a person who is unqualified for doublethink would perceive. Oldthinkers have trouble grasping the fact that approving the use of marijuana to treat the effects of chemotherapy is tantamount to sanctioning and promulgating drug addiction. Vetoing a bill that would provide medical care to children, while stoutly proclaiming a strong commitment to medical care for kids is seen by some as the philosophical manifestation of the concept of an oxymoron. For those who are highly skilled in the art of doublethink, there is no ideological inconsistency whatsoever. Merely uttering the phrase "Bush lies" is a blatant manifestation of an inability to understand (let alone) display any ability to doublethink on even a white belt level of proficiency. Democrats who disparage George W. Bush might be tempted to quote these passages from Orwell (paperback page 178) "World conquest is believed in most firmly by those who know it to be impossible" and (page 163): "Efficiency, even military efficiency, is no longer needed." A good doublethink rebuttal would be: "So? What's your point?" People who cannot pass the simplest doublethink proficiency test hesitate when presented with the chance to process the information that the forty-third President of the United States was a trained F-102 pilot but no substantiating evidence exists. A practitioner of doublethink who has reached the black belt level of proficiency would have no trouble processing the information that his country's military was using Gestapo tactics to conduct interrogations of prisoners, the Nazis were found guilty of war crimes, and members of his country's armed forces were not doing anything bad or illegal.. Only an unpatriotic citizen guilty of thoughtcrime would be unable to believe those three facts simultaneously. A person who has honed the doublethinking skills will have no trouble grasping the fact that Ann Coulter can say anything she wants, but a Congressman speaking on the floor of the House can not say anything about a war being fought for the President's amusement. To even think that there is an inconsistency in those two facts would be a symptom of crimethought. Orwell seems to have anticipated a need for fanatical unquestioning support for the folks fighting their country's wars. On page 153, he writes: "On the contrary, war hysteria is continuous and universal in all countries, and acts such as raping, looting, the slaughter of children, the reduction of whole populations to slavery, and reprisals against prisoners which extended even to boiling and burying alive, are looked upon as normal, and, when they are committed by one's own side and not by the enemy, meritorious." Doublethink permits one to know unquestioningly that the conservative radio ideological blitzkrieg is an appropriate style of debate every bit as much as the use, of baseball bats and brassknuckles by a union organizer's gang is an example of a fair fight conforming to the Marqis of Queensbury rules. An unrelenting effort to achieve perfection in doublethink is not possible and for relaxation and the citizens of Orwell's imaginary world relax by immersing themselves in prolefeed, which is defined as "the rubishy entertainment and spurious news" available in their culture. If the Sitting Bull and the Sioux had attacked Manhattan a hundred and twenty five years ago, a war with Geronimo and his band of Apaches would have been a rational response to someone who practices doublethink. [The people being killed in Iraq now are the same as the people who attacked the World Trade Center. (Fact checker: this conclusion is based on the conversation Sean Hannity had with Charlie Daniels broadcast Thursday Oct. 18, 2007, at approximately 1445 hours PDT.)] Note: People who have already read the novel 1984 do not have to be told that the Newspeak headline for this column translates (approximately)as: "Some old hippies have not fully committed to George W. Bush's philosophy." According to author George Orwell, who coined the word, "bellyfeel" means "a blind enthusiastic acceptance" and,as amazing as it seems, some Democrats have not fully embraced the President's contribution to America's History via an new and improved Imperial Presidency and the invasion of Iraq. Orwell warns (paperback page 170): "There are only four ways in which a ruling group can fall from power. . . . A ruling class which could guard against all of them would remain in power permanently." No spoilers here, folks, if you want to know what those four ways are, buy Orwell's novel 1984 and read it. It will enhance your enjoyment of many (if not all) the material that is posted on Smirking Chimp each day. The disk jockey has found a cornucopia of music material which would provide an appropriate song, but he has chosen to go with David Shire's Night on Disco Mountain and what the music decider picks; goes on the turntable. So: Hello, goodbye, we must be going because we shot an elephant in our pajamas this morning. Have a doubleplusgood week.
