Doublethink

Despite having been written by one of those dreaded European socialists, 1984 appears to be the guidebook for today's Republican contenders. Even aside from the crazed fascination with sex some of them have (the Iowa debate also provided a platform for Santorum to explicate, again, his theory that gay marriage is the same as polygamy, having presumably decided that his worn-down-to-the-nub rib-tickler that homosexuality is analogous to bestiality needed a bit of sprucing up) which would impress 1984's Junior Anti-Sex League, the frank use of doublethink has been if not quite impressive then certainly unembarrassed.

Doublethink is, according to Orwell, "the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them…To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient…"
~ from Proof of Republican 'Doublethink' by Hadley Freeman ~

I don't think it is solely Republicans who engage in doublethink. Our president makes frequent use of it as well. In fact, I dare say that doublethink has become the language of American politics!

I've been thinking a lot about Orwell's 1984, so I recently purchased a used copy. It has been, at least, 2 or 3 decades since I read it last and, in the naiveté of youth, I don't think I really understood all of the undercurrents that Orwell deals with.

Once I finish reading, Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit -- an absolutely superb book that I HIGHLY recommend -- I will reacquaint myself with Orwell's masterpiece.

Look forward to many quotes from 1984 in this space sometime soon!