2013/1984, Part 2

Trey Smith

The world of Nineteen Eighty-Four features a caste system that closely resembles the class structure in the US today. At the top of the ladder is the Inner Party, which is by far the smallest sector of the three groups, the 1 percent. Next comes the Outer Party which is akin to our own shrinking middle class and, on the bottom rungs of the ladder, are various divisions of Proles. The only group that enjoys any degree of freedom is the Inner Party and even they are constrained somewhat by the apparatus of the state that they've created.

In America, a tiny fraction of our population holds the fast majority of the wealth. It is because of this concentration of great wealth that the elite hold almost all of the power. They hand select the corrupt candidates we are allowed to vote on. They craft tough laws and regulations that we must follow to a T, but they themselves are exempt from. They lead us into war after war that destroys tens of thousands of lives and wastes billions of dollars...as they laugh themselves silly on their way to the bank. And when someone has the audacity to shine a spotlight on a portion of the shenanigans going on behind the proverbial curtain, they react with fury and promise to hunt that person down to the ends of the earth.

As it stands right now, we already are far down the road in the development of this impenetrable caste system. When individuals try to stand up against it, they are squashed like little bugs. One gnat will not thwart a lion, but a swarm of gnats will cause him to slow down and, maybe, even cause him to stop dead in his tracks.