Pat Taub
This past weekend I saw Raoul Peck’s powerful new documentary, “Orwell: 2+2=5.” It was inspired by George Orwell’s novel, “1984,” depicting a dystopian future where a totalitarian regime called the Party controls every aspect of life.
Peck’s film is intended as a wake-up call for America. He draws parallels between what’s happening here and Orwell’s “1984” through contemporary montages of fascism, along with clips from two older American films titled “1984.” The 1956 film, starring Edmund O’Brien, graphically depicts him being tortured into accepting the state lies, one of which is 2+2=5.
Edmund O’Brien in a torture scene from the 1956 version of “1984”
Orwell labels the manipulation of the truth, “Newspeak,” exemplified by Trump’s manipulation of the truth to advance his playbook for a country dominated by White Christian Nationalists. Hence his racist-fueled ICE arrests of non-white migrants and assaults on cities led by Black elected officials, falsely labeling their cities hotbeds of crime. Befitting an authoritarian ruler, if Trump doesn’t like a group or individual, they’re fair game.
ICE’s cruelty frequently arrests parents of young children, leaving the children stranded
Recently the Orange Menace has upped his fascist playbook by threatening to arrest anyone who is a member of Antifa, which is not a real organization, but it offers him an excuse to arrest anyone who disagrees with him.
Peck drives home Orwell’s point that language is perverted to propagandize us, and to silence anyone who goes against the party line. A clear example is labeling Palestine supporters as antisemitic. Journalists and distinguished professors, like Katherine Franke of Columbia, were let go following accusations of antisemitism for supporting students peacefully protesting for Gaza. Other academics, sympathetic to Palestine, report self-censoring in order to keep their jobs.
Young people peacefully protesting for a ceasefire in Gaza
The Zionist take-over has escalated to the point that CBS news’s new editor-in-chief is Zionist, Bari Weiss, while TikTok has been bought by another scary Zionist, Larry Ellison. These news sources are poised to badmouth Palestine and whitewash Israel’s war crimes.
We are called to fight back, before Trump and his Nazi henchman, Stephen Miller, escalate things to the point, where we will all be targets, where no one will be safe. We need to cast off the sentiment, “It can’t happen here,” because it is already happening here.
Many Americans are going about their lives overlooking our emerging fascism
“Orwell: 2+2=5,” offers numerous examples of fascism’s goal to frighten us, to render us immobile. In an interview with Democracy Now, Peck insisted the objective of the documentary is not to depress us, but to wake us up and to encourage resistance. His message, “Democracy means nothing unless we make it happen and fight back”.
Americans are fighting back in Chicago and LA and Portland, Oregon where they are flooding the streets to protest the presence of ICE and military troops. Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, along with other states in Trump’s cross hairs, has filed a lawsuit from sending national guard troops to Chicago. A defiant Pritzker, responded to Trump’s threat to jail him, “Come and get me.”
Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker in downtown Chicago, flanked by local, state and national officials
Juan Gonzalez, co-anchor for Democracy Now and a Chicago resident, reports that the city is organizing, neighborhood by neighborhood in a show of force, determined not to back down before ICE.
Portland, Oregon has adopted creative tactics to challenge federal troops against charges that Portland is a bedrock for crime. In one action protesters dressed as cartoon characters to demonstrate a non-threatening civilian population. Over the weekend Portlanders conducted their annual“Naked Bike Ride.” 1000 bikers, not all nude, but all in a playful, humorous spirit, rode past ICE headquarters, offering friendly waves to the confused uniformed, armed agents looking down from their rooftop station.
Portland, Oregon protesters in clown attire, mimicking Trump’s charge that their city is overrun with crime
Let’s get real: the US is an emergency situation. We need all hands on deck. We are called to resist.
Start locally, talk to your neighbors, enlisting them to form local protests. Vote for progressive candidates where you live, like Maine’s Graham Platner, who has pledged not to take money from AIPAC and to “dismantle the billionaire economy.” If you’re joining a No Kings March, recognize periodic marches, while important, are more effective if they are a constant presence with a large coalition of classes and races, along with labor unions. Better yet, let’s organize a national strike.
A recent No Kings protest
As Ralph Nadar famously said, “There are more of us than there are of them.” Let’s swell the ranks of the fed-up. We owe it to future generations, but the clock is ticking.
