Thursday, August 07, 2003
( 4:25 PM )
Just In: Orwell Rises From Grave, Announces "Enough!"
George Orwell, best known for his prophetic politically visionary novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four rose from the dead today and made this public announcement to surprised press and media pundits who gathered for his impromptu press conference:
I am sick and tired of rolling in my grave lately. It seems like every other hour something comes out of the current American administration that makes my dead body turn over two or three times. Not only that, my name has been overused and it's time that you tools of your sick government realize that things have gone so far beyond what I imagined that it's no longer even an appropriate analogy to invoke my name! I mean for godsake, John Ashcroft going on a tour to promote his "Victory Act" is so far beyond Orwellian that you people need to just leave me to rest in peace already!! The way things are going for you, I'm damned glad I didn't live to see this, so stop waking me up!
Whether or not the media and commentators will stop using the phrase "Orwellian" to describe the fascist, autocratic government that has now taken over America is yet to be seen. One can imagine, however that the phrase will quickly go out of style once the administration starts summarily executing members of the press who bother to mention the irony of naming programs that pollute the air "Clean Air Act" and programs that cut down trees "Forest Protection Act" and programs that round up Americans never to be heard from again a "Victory Act." This writer is now going into hiding.
Apologies to Tom Burka.