In 1949 George Orwell published the dystopian novel 1984 as a warning of what could happen in the future with the media using "doublethink" as a means of manipulating citizens. Doublethink confuses people to the point that they accept lies as truth, or they can't tell what's real and not real so they just go along with what they are told by the government. Isn't it amazing how prophetic Orwell was, even back then?
Here we are, in the midst of a pandemic, and much of the population is in denial of the seriousness of the situation because government leaders are saying that it's not a big deal, or that's it's been dealt with, or just by example with them not wearing masks and continuing on with events as if there is no serious health risk. US VP Pence, who is the person in charge of the coronavirus task force, continues to say that progress has been made and we are doing fine. It's a lie. Numbers are up.
Trump is hosting a rally in Oklahoma, even though the local authorities are saying they wish he wouldn't; they want him to postpone or hold his rally somewhere else because of health concerns, but Trump won't budge. He will hold his rally. He will go there without a mask on, encouraging the people not to wear facial masks or worry about taking other precautions of social distancing. That's just going to lead to more people getting sick. More people in the hospital. More people with huge medical bills that they can't afford to pay. And worst of all, more people dying from the virus or health complications involving the virus.
I'm feeling mentally and psychologically devastated by the actions of people in society. It's shocking and it's sad. I'm sitting at home wondering why so many people are in denial or if maybe some of them have a death wish or something. I don't know. I realize people like normalcy. I know people need to go to work and make money, but there are still precautions to be taken for that. Maybe people have just decided to give into chaos and let whatever is going to happen, happen.
Who knows what the future will bring? I feel especially bad for younger people growing up in a society in which they may not be able to tell what is real or what is true. At least I'm old enough and educated enough to be able to see through a lot of the lies. Though, at this point, I also know it's possible I'm being manipulated by plenty of lies as well. I've probably fallen for propaganda and doublethink or doublespeak plenty of times.
On CNN, Don Lemon just said "The whole world is upside down." I agree.
Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!
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