May 2008 Archives

In 1984, there are two groups of people.  The members of the Party, and the Proles (i.e. the proletariat).  The members of the Party did all that was patriotic in the name of Big Brother.  The Proles stayed drunk on bad whiskey and beer.  The members of the party were afforded a ration of cheap gin.  The Proles were distracted by Party-created pornography and cheap periodicals.  Members of the Party, on the other hand, were force to be distracted by the slogans of the party.

The Proles fell in love and fucked and drank and danced and lived with joy. Party members are told that sex is for procreation only.  The Proles got to feel the pleasures of life, though they were disavowed by the party, to be created as second-class citizens.  That was their punishment for their hedonistic, compassionate ways.

Members of the Party were told that they were privileged among the Proles. That the reward of their service to the Party was their freedom. Yet they received no rewards from their government.  Only the fear that one day they may be charged guilty of Thoughtcrime, maintaining ideas that went against the party line.  Indentured servants to a party that created the illusion of prosperity, while ensuring that their citizens never were allowed the true pursuit of happiness.

The members of the Party were enslaved in every way to their totalitarian government. 

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY.

We have very easily and quickly become subservient to a government and to corporations that don't have our best interest in mind. In fact, they don't have a single interest of ours in mind.  Yet we are told that if we do what we are told, if we work hard, pray to God, and salute the flag, we will be granted the most wonderful freedom and democracy this world has to offer.  

Unfortunately, that sentiment is no longer true (if it ever was).  That sentiment is used to excuse those who refuse to offer assistance to the poor, with the idea that one can simply use the proverbial bootstraps to lift themselves out of the gutter.  Unfortunately, the corporate slave state has made the gap between the rich and the poor larger than ever, and diminished the possibility of a middle-class majority.

Every time we buy something we don't need or spend an hour at work we're not getting paid for (or are!), we are oiling the corporate machine.  There are little things you can do to avoid homage to the slave state.  This is one reason I'm glad for the "green" movement.  People are not buying certain things, trying to reduce their carbon footprint.  Skipping the trip to Wal-Mart or Target.  Taking public transportation. Not consuming unnecessary goods and products.

It will take a grass-roots effort.  A truly viral effort to remind people to not be enslaved to a cause that is not theirs.  To stop lining the pockets of 1% of the population who hold most of the economic resources in this country.  We don't need their money.  We don't need their "freedom". We don't need their products.  We don't need their garbage.  We don't need their destruction.

We need to be like the Proles, in a way.  We need to love and be passionate about the things that really matter.  We deserve real human connections, true compassion, and love.  Those are things that can't be purchased or given to us by the government.  We need the government to fulfill its social contract and grant everyone their basic human rights (shelter, food, clothing, and healthcare) and leave us the true freedom to engage in life and our surroundings the way we are intended as creatures of the Earth.  We will not be enslaved.

FREEDOM IS LOVE.

I hate the way people throw around the phrase "Big Brother is Watching You" like it's the only thing to come out of George Orwell's 1984.  While certainly significant, it's a bit like relying on the Cliff's Notes version of what's important.  Although I might repeat the phase myself in front of the security camera in the elevator, I understand that Orwell intended to warn people through his dystopic novel that Big Brother does a little bit more than voyeurism.  I intend to write a multiple-part series on themes from the novel.

 

There are three slogans of the totalitarian party outlined  in the book.  

WAR IS PEACE.

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

I'll start with the last one.

Big Brother and his party did more than watch.  They controlled people.  Manipulated every aspect of their waking life, and monitored their dreaming ones. The very thought of revolt or dissent was a crime punishable by death.  Although we're not quite to that point in the United States, it is increasingly difficult for citizens to contemplate civil disobedience.

The appendix of 1984 is a document outlining the principles of Newspeak.  Essentially, the goal of Newspeak is to eliminate all 'unnecessary' words from the English language, redacting volume by volume until the dictionary is whittled down to a a volume with barely 100 pages.  The ability to categorize things as "bad" will be eliminated by replacing it with "ungood".  The people wouldn't even be able to talk about something in a pejorative manner (and by the way, the word 'pejorative' would be gone, too).  

To borrow an idea from psychology, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states that the ability of our mind to think about things is dictated by our knowledge of the language we use to conceptualize our thinking.  All abstract ideas rest in our mind due to the ability to use language to define them.  So the ideas of justice, freedom, and liberty, are dependent on our ability to explain them through language.  They are intangibles that require a more in-depth vocabulary in order to understand, communicate, and advance our ideas. 

In Newspeak, these complex words are stripped from language, so the very idea of a revolution, or injustice, or oppression are struck from the collective dialoge.  People wouldn't be able to even think about being revolutionaries. 

Luckily for the powers that be, they don't have to spend hours of labor and generations of patience to force language out of style.  There are other methods of controlling people that render them equally incapable of thinking about a revolution.  

Filling people's days with slavery to a corporate state, to consumerism, and a meaningless media machine that does little more than act as a megaphone for the oppressors.  That is how they have stripped people's abilities to think about true democracy.  To revolt against the slavery.  To rise above the squalor of everyday drivel to engage in the things that truly count.

When they try to flood the world with truncated words and meaningless garbage, fill your mind with your own lexicon.  Don't let them dictate your thoughts.

LANGUAGE IS STRENGTH.

I leave tomorrow by plane to start my summer internship.  The only problem: I have no state issued government picture ID.  I used to have a driver's license but then I went to the NY DMV to get an official NY drivers license (I felt this was important since I might be driving in another state and I wanted to make sure everything was legal*)  but discovered that NY only issues you a paper temporary license and then mails the real license to you in the mail.  The paper temporary license has no picture.

Personally, I don't see why I need a picture ID to travel.  After all, Saenz granted travel within the 50 United States as a fundamental right and granted the Full Faith & Credit Clause to all citizens-- I have the right to go from state to state and have my federal rights follow me, regardless of the state.  NPR did a great story on a traveler who refused to show picture ID when he flew.  He did not like the idea that the government was tailing him, was distrustful of him and that the airline workers, who do not even work for the government, got to see all of his personal information.  Sure enough, he was able to fly without an ID, as long as he stuck to his guns and insisted on speaking with a higher up and did not refuse a manual search.

I looked into this.  Sure enough, the airline has the right to see a picture ID.  This is in the right of carrier contract.  However, the ID does not need to be government issued; for instance, the photo ID could be your Sams Club Card.  TSA also does not require ID, but does require searches.  So it looks like I really can fly without ID as long as I am willing to let TSA manually search every single thing in my suitcase and on my person.

However, while I know that I CAN do this, I'm not.  I don't want to spend 2 hours at the airport fighting with someone over my lack of picture ID.  It's just pure laziness on my part.  The fighting= more time at the airport.  I don't want to spend any more time in the airport than I have to.

My plan is this: I will present my photo student ID.  I will also have my birth certificate on me.  My social security card will be packed in my carry-on, along with other important documents.  If after showing them my picture ID, my birth certificate and other state issued documents they still won't let me fly, then I'll begin the legal arguments.  No way am I NOT getting on that plane because the NY DMV took my old license and didn't issue me a new one. 

* I am usually not so concerned with doing things the absolutely legal way, but when you take the BAR, you also have to take something called the Character & Fitness Test.  Essentially, you can't be a lawyer if you break the laws-- or certain kinds of laws.  I've already been arrested once (act of civil disobedience) and I just don't feel like taking any more chances. 

*** DISCLAIMER-- none of the information is legal advice but merely suggestions on important life issues.  Each state has their own regulations and statutes regarding issues of life support, incapacitation, care for children in unusual circumstances, health law and property distribution and you should consult an attorney about any and all legal matters. By reading this post, you are agreeing to not hold Subversive Soapbox, the authors and contributors of Subversive Soapbox and/or any affiliate of Subversive Soapbox liable for any and all actions arising out of this post.***

Anytime I have one of those moments when I think I may actually die, such as when in the middle of crossing the street, I see a car hurtling in my direction, I think about what would happen if I didn't die, but instead ended up in a persistent vegetative state.

If we have learned anything from the supreme court case, Cruzan v. Missouri and what happened with Terry Schaivo, we know that the State can substitute its judgment for the person in a vegetative state and determine what should happen to this person.  Just FYI-- the State has what courts consider, a legitimate and important interest in protecting life.  Many states also have a clear and convincing evidence standard-- clear and convincing meaning that the family must show sufficient evidence to prove the vegetative person's wishes.  For instance, does mentioning to a family member one day that you do not wish to stay on life support count as clear and convincing evidence? (answer is no-- and it cannot overrule the State's important and legitimate interest in protecting life).

I am very much for the right to bodily integrity and choice.  Whether you want to be kept artificially hydrated or want to die on your terms, I truly believe this is your liberty (as protected in the liberty provision of the due process clause of the 14th and 5th amendments of the United States Constitution) and that your liberty should be free from government intrusion.  I certainly know that I disagree with the State on many things and I sure as hell don't want the State to decide whether I remain on life support or not. 

If you feel the same way, I would like to remind you that you can create your own clear and convincing evidence by appointing a proxy and clearly stating your wishes ON PAPER and having your proxy keep them.  For those who do not know, a proxy is a person who will make life decisions for you-- the state views the proxy as a substitute for you. 

You can usually find this paperwork on your state's attorney general website.  If not, you can always find some universal form off the internet.  I highly recommend the forms drafted by Hospice.

Some tips:
1. The forms designed by the state will be more respected than generic forms off the internet.
2. Depending on your state, a proxy that is not a relative by blood or adoption can be considered to be invalid.  Your husband/wife can be your proxy; however, your significant other will sometimes be ruled invalid.
3. Write out your wishes for as many situations as you can think of: CPR, artificial nutrition, institutionalization, long-term care, organ donation, experimental treatments, electroshock therapy, life support, etc.  If you are female, you may also want to consider writing your wishes if you are pregnant.  For instance, if faced with the decision where it is your life or the fetus and you are incapacitated, what do you want to happen? 
4. Don't forget that you can make these wishes on your terms.  For example, if choosing between your life and a fetus, you can specify that before the third trimester, your life should be preserved but that the opposite is true at the start of your third trimester. 
5. If you feel that your state has some really wonky statutes around this kind of stuff, consult a lawyer.  A lot of times, lawyers will do this sort of thing for one flat price.

If you own property, you may also want to draft a living trust.  Since the most expensive thing I own is my bookbag, which cost a whopping $20 at an outlet store, I opted not to do this.  I figure my relatives can fight over the furniture I got off the side of the street. 

If you have children, you will definitely want to draft a living trust so that you can ensure the care for your children.  The State will most likely NOT look at your will-- a will is only examined AFTER your death.  Since you are not dead yet, the State does not need to respect the wishes in your will. 

Here's to good health and a happy life-- let's hope this never happens to any of us.  But just in case, let's make sure the State doesn't decide for us.