"Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings?" -- George Orwell, Animal Farm
The 1990s have brought sweeping changes in how the peoples of the world view their lives, themselves, and their potential to live as free individuals. Beginning with Germany at the dawn of the final decade of the twentieth century, the world has witnessed the crumbling of walls -- walls which for years have confined, oppressed, and alienated people from freedom. With new ideals of empowerment, the worlds' peoples have truly proven that nothing is impossible. The Cold War has melted, the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has segmented into free and autonomous states, and citizens of Taiwan for the first time ever have a vote. Formerly oppressed peoples, strongly influenced by the democratic ideals of America, have finally begun finding their voices. They have fought for and won the power to vote, to speak freely, and to live in the pursuit of the happiness that our own constitution grants us.
The 1990s, on a world-wide scope, is the decade of the individual, where former totalitarianistic reigns have subsided, precipitating the rise of the private person as a major force.
That is, in every locale except The United States of America.
Citizens of the United States take for granted the freedoms our forefathers fought and died for. While providing a role model for other states, Americans sleep in complacent hibernation.
The simple fact is that Americans have become lazy. Lacking the desire or the mental energy to pursue the facts, they blindly assume that the government will be capable and willing to make decisions with citizens' best interests in mind. They assume that America is infallible and immune to the forces of totalitarianism, terrorism, and other atrocities. This "it-will- never-happen-here-because-this-is-America" phenomenon has eclipsed and silenced the voice and the spirit of the American people. And it is this silence, this blind apathy about the future that not only serves as the antithesis of the self- governing nation Thomas Jefferson and his contemporaries envisioned, but may spark the ultimate demise of the democracy upon which this nation was founded.
Recalling George Orwell's Animal Farm, the thought of the apathetic, ignorant American as a little sheep or goat being led through the nose by a cunning pig of superior intelligence is one which is becoming more and more frighteningly real. To quote Orwell, "No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?" Is this truly where the American nation is headed -- into a silent passive state in which government becomes a god and we his loyal subservient subjects?
It's a sorry state of affairs when those members of society who are rendered as "politically minded" are those who merely know the names and positions of those running for office. It's even worse when an American who knows the name of the Secretary of State is revered as genius. People just don't care about learning the issues anymore. "It-will-never-happen-here-because-this-is- America." To quote Orwell once again: "It was about this time that the pigs suddenly moved into the farmhouse and took up their residence there. Again the animals seemed to remember that a resolution against this had been passed in the early days, and again Squealer was able to convince them that this was not the case."
As American citizens, we enjoy basic rights set forth in the Constitution. But watch the news. Read the papers. See for yourself the limitations on freedom that are being proposed every day by politicians and legislators. President Clinton recently signed a bill to limit free speech on the Internet, imposing heavy fines and possible jail time for those caught using such words as "breast" and "abortion" on the Net. Luckily for Americans, it was deemed unconstitutional; though many probably neither knew, cared about, or considered the implications of such a bill coming to fruition. Think about the fact that citizen cards are being considered for everyone living in the United States. That's almost like wearing a social security number tattooed across one's chest. Reflect on the health care system, where insurance companies can and often do decide which physicians a person can visit. Delving deeper into the issues, raising a greater awareness of the underlying meanings, one begins to ponder what is really going on.
Be informed, then take action. Empowering oneself to take control of one's own life, to determine one's own destiny, to change the world for the better -- this is the goal of Unbound magazine. Salvage your voice from the silent apathy plaguing most Americans and do something. For complacent silence merely indicates submission and acceptance. To accept others' plans and positions without question is intellectual suicide. And the death of the rational thinking mind leads us to the point where we are likely to believe anything we are told, and perhaps even come to believe that which would shatter America: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
*excerpts taken from George Orwell's Animal Farm c 1946