Smoking Cobalt Cigarettes: Why I Blog
May 8, 2017
In Chapter I of Part One of Nineteen Eighty-Four, protagonist Winston Smith crossed the line into Thoughtcrime. "Whether he wrote DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, or whether he refrained from writing it, made no difference. Whether he went on with his diary, or whether he did not go on with it, it made no difference. The Thought Police would get him just the same." Reflecting on this leap into death, "Thoughtcrime is death", I see that futility is liberating. To be a true rebel is to completely show contempt for the ruling power and to feel unafraid of the inevitable punishment.
Another great unsung joy that comes from dystopian fiction is the sense that somehow one's words can become pure by addressing them some unknown future man, once not corrupted by the petty struggles and likes and dislikes of one's time. Writing history, in this way, becomes a clear statement of the essentials. History and historical evidence, which was very much a concern of Winston, gives perspective and usually presents principled thinking, and a personal diary writing not only give a plea, but sharper thoughts. "He did not know what made hm pour out this stream of rubbish. But the curious thing was that while he was doing so a totally different memory had clarified itself in his mind, to the point where he almost felt equal to writing it down." [Emphasis added.]
So, gentlereader, of all the streams of rubbish on the internet, why should you read and consider The Chestnut Tree Radio Blog and broadcast? And why should you care about the "nightmare vision" (Irving Howe's phrase) of George Orwell? While I do hope to use this forum to spread the news of how our world is becoming more Orwellian (yes, the CIA can and does monitor society through commercial television sets!), and I do want to tell the world about the mounds of wonderful but obscure scholarship on Orwell that is out there, mostly I just want to shout out to thinkers in Cyberia my concerns and to encourage all to clarify in your own minds the increasingly-forbidden
process of independent, fearless, liberated, and possibly condemned thoughts.
In my writings to the future, there shall be no limits and no apologies for shattering anything. I have joined The Brotherhood and will throw acid on anything if it will clarify the mind and give us open thinking. There can be no Thoughtcrime, no Crimestop. DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER.
Orwell has, thank God, impressed his ideas into much of American society. I do want to praise such impressions when I find an instance. Today's memory from pop culture is the rock song "King of the World" by Steely Dan (from the 1973 album Countdown to Ecstasy). Dystopian to the core, this song has more liberated futility than Winston ever got to experience, but it still has all the moralistic passion that George Orwell, the great valuer, always had. Keep in mind that Orwell's working title for Nineteen Eighty-Four was "The Last Man in Europe", a title that reflects the post-nuclear setting of Steely Dan's "king" shouting out his outrage to everyone and no one.
Here are the lyrics:
Hear the song at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDKziWBZl70
This morose rock song shows that even when the state literally destroys civilization, the passionate valuer can voice his understanding for the historical record, hold himself up with dignity, and say "screw you" to the powers that presumed to control us.
There will be no tears on my cheeks as I am walked out of the Chestnut Tree Cafe to the firing squad. The NSA will have to pry this keyboard from my cold, dead hands.
May 8, 2017
In Chapter I of Part One of Nineteen Eighty-Four, protagonist Winston Smith crossed the line into Thoughtcrime. "Whether he wrote DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, or whether he refrained from writing it, made no difference. Whether he went on with his diary, or whether he did not go on with it, it made no difference. The Thought Police would get him just the same." Reflecting on this leap into death, "Thoughtcrime is death", I see that futility is liberating. To be a true rebel is to completely show contempt for the ruling power and to feel unafraid of the inevitable punishment.
Another great unsung joy that comes from dystopian fiction is the sense that somehow one's words can become pure by addressing them some unknown future man, once not corrupted by the petty struggles and likes and dislikes of one's time. Writing history, in this way, becomes a clear statement of the essentials. History and historical evidence, which was very much a concern of Winston, gives perspective and usually presents principled thinking, and a personal diary writing not only give a plea, but sharper thoughts. "He did not know what made hm pour out this stream of rubbish. But the curious thing was that while he was doing so a totally different memory had clarified itself in his mind, to the point where he almost felt equal to writing it down." [Emphasis added.]
So, gentlereader, of all the streams of rubbish on the internet, why should you read and consider The Chestnut Tree Radio Blog and broadcast? And why should you care about the "nightmare vision" (Irving Howe's phrase) of George Orwell? While I do hope to use this forum to spread the news of how our world is becoming more Orwellian (yes, the CIA can and does monitor society through commercial television sets!), and I do want to tell the world about the mounds of wonderful but obscure scholarship on Orwell that is out there, mostly I just want to shout out to thinkers in Cyberia my concerns and to encourage all to clarify in your own minds the increasingly-forbidden
process of independent, fearless, liberated, and possibly condemned thoughts.
In my writings to the future, there shall be no limits and no apologies for shattering anything. I have joined The Brotherhood and will throw acid on anything if it will clarify the mind and give us open thinking. There can be no Thoughtcrime, no Crimestop. DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER.
Orwell has, thank God, impressed his ideas into much of American society. I do want to praise such impressions when I find an instance. Today's memory from pop culture is the rock song "King of the World" by Steely Dan (from the 1973 album Countdown to Ecstasy). Dystopian to the core, this song has more liberated futility than Winston ever got to experience, but it still has all the moralistic passion that George Orwell, the great valuer, always had. Keep in mind that Orwell's working title for Nineteen Eighty-Four was "The Last Man in Europe", a title that reflects the post-nuclear setting of Steely Dan's "king" shouting out his outrage to everyone and no one.
Here are the lyrics:
Hello one and all
Was it you I used to know
Can't you hear me call
On this old ham radio
All I got to say
I'm alive and feeling fine
If you come my way
You can share my poison wine
Was it you I used to know
Can't you hear me call
On this old ham radio
All I got to say
I'm alive and feeling fine
If you come my way
You can share my poison wine
No marigolds in the promised land
There's a hole in the ground
Where they used to grow
Any man left north of the Rio Grande
Is the king of the world
As far as I know
There's a hole in the ground
Where they used to grow
Any man left north of the Rio Grande
Is the king of the world
As far as I know
I don't want your bread
I don't need your helping hand
I can't be no savage
I can't be no highwayman
Show me where you are
You and I will spend this day
Driving in my car
Through the ruins of Santa Fe
I don't need your helping hand
I can't be no savage
I can't be no highwayman
Show me where you are
You and I will spend this day
Driving in my car
Through the ruins of Santa Fe
I'm reading last year's papers
Although I don't know why
Assassins, cons, and rapers
Might as well die
Although I don't know why
Assassins, cons, and rapers
Might as well die
If you come around
No more pain and no regrets
Watch the sun go brown
Smoking cobalt cigarettes
There's no need to hide
Taking things the easy way
If I stay inside
I might live til Saturday
--written by Donald Fagan and Walter BeckerWatch the sun go brown
Smoking cobalt cigarettes
There's no need to hide
Taking things the easy way
If I stay inside
I might live til Saturday
Hear the song at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDKziWBZl70
This morose rock song shows that even when the state literally destroys civilization, the passionate valuer can voice his understanding for the historical record, hold himself up with dignity, and say "screw you" to the powers that presumed to control us.
There will be no tears on my cheeks as I am walked out of the Chestnut Tree Cafe to the firing squad. The NSA will have to pry this keyboard from my cold, dead hands.
Comments
Post a Comment