On the fifth of May the citizens of The Netherlands annually celebrate the end of the Second World War, and the freedom we’ve had ever since. For me, being a seventeen year old whose only alive link to WWII is my grandfather, the war is a very distant concept, only continued through stories and photographs. It’s hard to celebrate something you only know through someone else so I came to the conclusion I’d rather celebrate the other aspect of the National Day of Liberty. Namely; the fact that we’ve enjoyed unlimited freedom for exactly 65 years today. Or more specifically, the fact that I’ve been able to enjoy that freedom for my entire life.
This lead me to another problem though, how could I possible celebrate freedom unknowingly what it’s like not to have it? It seems a bit like celebrating the fact that I was born with two legs, I consider it an omnipresent standard so how could I be happy and celebrate it? To appreciate both my legs I could for a day try to tie my right foot to my back and see what living with one leg is about. Certainly I’d appreciate my two legs afterwards. But how does one do this with freedom? Ask someone to hit me if I told my opinion in public, wrote a piece directed against the government or read a prohibited book? Doesn’t sound like the most efficient way.
Instead it would be better to see what ‘unfreedom’ is like, it would at least spare me pain. I could visit North-Korea or misbehave so the police would lock me up for a few days. Both options would interfere with my day-to-day business, fortunately I discovered there are better ways. Because of the fact that we live in a free society, and have been doing so for 65 years, there is a wealth of written words dedicated to showing unfreedom. I could read some history text books on the repression during various wars, but that would be very distant. Accidentally a perfect alternative came along, and though it’s title and original publishing date might suggest quite some distance from 2010, I thought it was an extremely actual work of art.
I’m talking about 1984 by George Orwell. At first the creative wealth of the fictional world Orwell created occupied most of my consciousness while reading it (Orwell invented the language of Newspeak for example, which is fully explained in an essay at the back of the book). I suppose it’s a pretty wide-read classic but for the sake of completeness: 1984 features a world where the people are under constant watch of the government which tries to control everything, even people’s thoughts. The people are constantly being bombarded with propaganda and their only goal in life should be to serve The Party, logically leading to the eviction of love, friendship and any other sort of unnecessary freedom.
Among lots of other things it made me realize what the world and my life would be like if some organization was prohibiting me to think certain things. It’s such a basic freedom, being able to think whatever you please (like your two legs you consider it a standard), but Orwell shows what it would be like if that freedom were to be taken away. The same goes for the Freedom of Speech; it gives me joy to write this piece of text and hit the ‘publish’ button in a short while. What possible gives me even more joy are the reactions I get from you readers. Monday I posted something about Lady Gaga and got a load of reactions, some agreeing, some disagreeing. That’s possibly the best thing in the world, being able to think and say whatever you please.
Here in The Netherlands people often complain about all the laws of the government interfere with one’s freedom. This is a dangerous remark since those people often don’t know what it is like to have their freedoms taken away. For me, this passage from 1984 shows what it is like:
In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy – everything. Already we are breaking down the habits of thought which have survived from before the Revolution. We have cut the links between child and parent, and between man and man, and between man and woman. No one dares trust a wife or a child or a friend any longer. But in the future there will be no wives and no friends. Children will be taken from their mothers at birth, as one takes eggs from a hen. The sex instinct will be eradicated. Procreation will be an annual formality like the renewal of a ration card. We shall abolish the orgasm. Our neurologists are at work upon it now.
- Ch. III, Pt. III
In The Netherlands we have a political party by the name of Party of Liberty. They’re extreme right-wing and they want to banish all Muslims, stop the publication of the Qur’an and a few months ago when the municipality elections were held they had a plan for city commandos. This were to be ordinary civilians who got a lot of permissions in order to tackle crime on the street, because the cops aren’t doing their work well enough. Here’s a reminder, this party names itself the Party of Liberty. If they had existed before 1984 was published I would start to think Orwell stole the idea of doublethink from them.
I think it can be concluded that we’re all right in terms of freedom, and that the reading of 1984 is a very good way to appreciate the always-present concept.
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