Orwellian Conservatives

[Martin Hash]

For the past 6 years I've frequented Conservative websites & blogs, both lurking and posting, in hope of understanding their positions and points where we can agree. Having determined "no compromise" is a Conservative trait pretty much sums it up, but there is a more insidious danger that I must expose.

Most sophisticated posters/bloggers know NOT to use "Nazis," "Hitler" or other inflammatory trolling in their posts because it undermines their credibility. However, Conservatives bloggers, most of whom are acutely aware utilizers of the form, consistently sprinkle their writings, and even their headlines, with those ridiculous words. For a long time, I simply shook my head and discontinued reading but after a while I got curious: what was the sub-context?

I watched Fox news, read the Drudge Report, and sampled Conservative blogs all across the Web. The answer is Orwellian - they hide their true intentions by torturing the language and redefining words. Most of these folks have never read "1984" but they've got Newspeak down perfectly: "war is peace," "freedom is slavery," "ignorance is strength." Conservatives obscure their own fascist leanings by condemning others of fascism. Next time you witness a Conservative diatribe sprinkled with the words "Hitler," "goose-stepping," and "Nazis," pay attention to what is not said - the Conservative alternative to whatever they are calling fascist will be fascist.

War is peace: Ingrained in Conservatism is the superiority of military might, as embodied in the concepts of pre-emption and interventionism. War, they say, makes peace.
Freedom is slavery: when Conservatives are confronted with people who don't have medical care or homes, they invariably make the claim that those people exercised their liberty to be poor and unhealthy. They insist the stratification of society (rich getting richer, poor getting poorer) is simply a manifestation of freedom. To Conservatives, people have the freedom to be slaves.
Ignorance is strength: Conservatives often deride those better educated than themselves. They denigrate advanced degrees and make specious claims that educated people have no "common sense." I agree, educated people have UNCOMMON sense - ignorance is common, but to Conservatives, ignorance, especially ignorance of science, gives them special insight. They often claim to have strength in their ignorant convictions.