Connections

     Recently I've been bothered by and noted a certain company's commercial. I don't normally watch much TV, so I suppose that I saw the commercials at all was mostly luck, but every time I see one it scares me more than anything. Maybe it's because I like my freedom of speech, and my freedom of thought (which is, arguably, speech some would say). Watch this and I can go on: Scary Orwellian Commercial.

     Now, normally I don't let commercial's phase me, I mean, they're only made to get a product sold, and any casualties along the way will be ignored, but their slogan, "UNTHINK" is what gets me. I've read Orwell's fabulous book, 1984, and from the first time I saw that commercial to when I looked it up on YouTube to show all of you, that's always been my train of thought. Now, I talked to some of my friends about this, as I tend to bring random matters like this to the table for public discussion, and although many, if not all, of my friends agreed that it was creepy when viewed in that light (The Big Brother-y one), all of them said that they never thought of it that way, as it was just a commercial. That's part of what really scared me, the fact that most people just ignore it and allow "UNTHINK" to be a large company's slogan without a second thought. It sounds almost exactly like NewSpeak from 1984, which I think is Double Plus UnGood!

     But that's not all I'm going to talk about. However much I enjoy talking about KFC (It's a hit or miss activity to be honest), there is another matter at hand here, or at least that's how I see it. The other factor is the government, or rather the alarming rate at which our (The US's) government is gaining power over the individual citizenry. Many people are talking about how the Government is going to, in about to year to my understanding, force adults to buy health insurance policies if they don't already have one. When I first heard that, I felt like it wasn't the best course of action by the Government, but if it works I won't complain, but then I thought back to the commercial, and if we'll blindly accept UNTHINK and not have a care in the world about what that says about the average consumer in America, then maybe, just maybe the Government really will make that (admittedly large) leap from making us all get health care plans to making us do whatever they want us to.

     Now, do I really think that the people in our Government, in our bureaucracy, would actually do that to us? No, at least not anytime too soon, but still, the idea of it all, and more-so how close it seems. If we need to buy those policies in a year, what will we have to do two years from now? If the Government continues its arrogance like it has been over the past decade, then Americans (in America at least) will be in a world of hurt when they need to do certain things the Government tells them to do everyday or else they'll be sent away, or displaced, or something involving an agency not unlike the Gestapo. Again, I don't think any of this will actually happen, but it's the possibility, and really the plausibility of it all that scares, and of course it isn't really casual conversation, but it's important.

     But maybe I am onto something, maybe I am looking in a grim, but lighted and plausible, direction. About a week ago, the Obama administration tried to censor FOX News, and even if I don't like them as a News Station, if they can be called that, it's still restricting Freedom of Speech, and while it may not be anyone's speech I agree with, Freedom of Speech is granted to all Americans and there should be NO exceptions to that rule. I've also been reading up on the dubiously named "Free Speech Zones" or FSZs. These areas are designated by groups and organizations, like the Secret Service, to essentially keep the crowd positively charged, and to keep out protesters. People have been arrested for protesting, which is a guaranteed right to all Americans if I remember correctly, in FSZs.

     The idea that We, the people of these United States, will put up with illegal surveillance, torture, kidnapping suspected terrorists without warrant, right to a fair trial, and right to speak with their accuser, is ridiculous for a country ruled by "The People."  I mean, I love America, but when we blatantly label any and all people with different views than us as evil (The Tea Party comes to mind, a party which both FOX and CNN agree on) scares me almost as much as the fact that We, the People of these United States might just put up with a totalitarian government because We, the People, don't care that much and just want to get on with living.

Am I the only one seeing this, or am I just being paranoid? Again, I don't think this will happen (anytime soon anyways), but the possibility of it all is what scares me, the plausibility.

-DrawnonwarD
AblE was I, ere I saw ElbA