1984

Excerpt from my journal, written about an hour ago at Jackson International Airport.

8 June, 2009 1550hrs

Jackson, Mississippi. Dot every I. Though I was lucky enough to only spend one night here, I'm tired of doing other peoples' dirty work. What might be a worse feeling is the disappointment in myself for not going to Biloxi, having been so close to it. Not to say that it's a particulary notable place - it's merely nostalgic.

I'm sitting at Gate 3 of the airport, and there's a girl to my right also filling the pages in her journal. I would imagine anyone watching the two of us scribble might expect a race or competition. Or they may think nothing of it. And off she goes to board her plane, perpetually unaware that a strange man had recorded her existence in his journal. It's a weird irony that is probably funny only to me. But who knows what she wrote in her journal...

May have narrowly avoided a trip to Detroit tomorrow. Had it gone as planned, it would mean that I'd have conducted in business in three entirely separate states in one week. At blue-collar pay. Not to say that I'm deserving anything more than that. It could always be worse, I suppose.

Finished reading Orwell's 1984 last night. Knew throughout that O'Brien was up to something. The end was definitely unsettling but somehow predictable. And the similarities between concepts in the story and my reality were sickening. Recently, the FDA was placed in charge of tobacco products in the States. They now regulate formulas, nicotine levels, and prohibit the flavoring of tobacco (i.e., Victory Cigarettes). Frequently the book mentions the common citizen's awareness of its government by lies and propaganda; yet, the citizens cease to care because they fear - or love - their leader. Obama, the man called President, has already been accused of communicating in Newspeak. And his Democratic Inner Party is expanding and establishing control over any aspect of free American life within its reach. Healthcare reform to instruct patients on what is suitable for them, regardless of their desires for treatment or to be cured. Standards of living - possibly UNliving - which do not apply to the Party. An attempt to freeze the pendulum of political and class warfare.

The people, however, appear to be waking. They are beginning to see. Maybe it will not be too late, as it was for Winston. Maybe.