George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984” has been widely recognized for its not-so-fictional elements of totalitarianism and extreme propaganda. It is argued that Orwell did not write 1984 just for entertainment, but as a cautionary tale that is slowly becoming our reality.
The overarching theme of “1984” is to warn against absolute authority and the psychological damage inflicted by perpetual surveillance, a theme that is no longer confined to dystopian fiction. This is not political; it is a matter of morality, and our humanity is at stake.
In “1984”, the party (the absolute power of Oceania in the novel) purged people ruled as unpersons by committing homicide. An “unperson” refers to anyone who fell out of favor with the party’s interests, or anyone who was aware of its wrongdoing and corruption. The modern parallels are uncanny:
December 31, 2026, Keith Porter, 43, father of two, was shot and killed by an off-duty ICE agent.
January 3, 2026, Geraldo Lunas Campos died in ICE custody after witnesses claimed that guards choked Campos while restraining him. An autopsy report found neck and torso compression, as well as burst blood vessels in his eyes.
January 7, 2026, Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old US citizen, was shot to death in her vehicle by ICE.
January 24, 2026, Alex Pretti, also a 37-year-old US citizen, was shot and killed by ICE.
Many make the argument that ICE is just doing their job. In “1984”, the party was just doing their job when holding Winston Smith captive, waiting on a ¨long hoped for bullet¨, right? It is essential to pay due respect to the law enforcement of our country, however ¨respect¨ does not include excusing repressive, authoritarian acts of savage brutality.
The deployment of ICE is just one way our government has hidden behind the lies ridden in The Declaration of Independence, ¨that all *men are created equal¨, yet they decide who man is: white, male, neurotypical, and wealthy. The rest are treated subhuman, like the gum on the bottom of their shoes. This statement can be corroborated by the countless discriminatory laws that have withheld women and minorities from living fruitful lives, and relishing in the freedom we are told is ours.
The 2022 overturning of Roe v Wade is a prime example of how women are viewed by our lawmakers: uneducated, inferior, incapable of making their own decisions. The Center for Reproductive Rights remarks, “Up until its decision to overturn Roe in 2022, the Supreme Court repeatedly reaffirmed that the Constitution protects abortion as an essential liberty, which is tied to other liberty rights to make personal decisions about family, relationships, and bodily autonomy.”
Photo by Kylie Jones
Our democracy is receding into a dismal and illiberal hellscape. How are we expected to execute on our monotonous daily obligations when our neighbors are being slaughtered on the streets? When our mothers and sisters are made slaves to their biology?
There is no doubt that what I have written is offensive and triggering to many Americans. I hope for them to understand that totalitarianism does not arrive wearing a uniform, but through compliance, indifference, and acceptance of injustice disguised as policy. When historians recall your lives, they will write as Orwell did. “He has won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.”
