Turning back the clock to 1984

Recently, I've had the opportunity to work with some young people talking about current events and such. Russia and Ukraine was a major topic, of course. Although high school aged, almost none had heard of "Animal Farm" or "1984". None had read either.

Putin's recent verbiage jogged my brain. He used the term "peacekeepers" when troops were sent into the eastern Ukraine "breakaway" regions. The connotation he was trying to conjure: eastern Ukrainians are breaking away from a country they want no part of and Russia is protecting them as peacekeepers. Hmm.

Then, when the full scale invasion took place, it was named a "special military operation." It was even a military operation, it was special. This almost sounds like a good thing.

This, of course, is bunk. It was an invasion and an attack on a sovereign nation. But, with my brain jogged, 1984's "Newspeak" came back to me.

Controlling the narrative, and the words used, controls the thinking. I'm not sure what's scarier...the fact that words indeed can slowly bend group thinking, then after time has allowed the reality to fade, those deceptive words slowly grow into the reality. That 2+2 can equal 5 if everyone agrees that, in fact, it actually does. Or, it may be scarier that Putin fully understands all of this and puts it to use.

The young folks I worked with had never heard the 2+2=5 concept. I'm not sure they totally buy into it. They had heard of "Big Brother" the TV show, but did not know where that term came from or the fact that the show's name lies on the premise that the people in the house are always being watched.

Argh! So much to educate!