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In the age of Trump, Orwell's book
1984 is becoming the new Bible: a religious text which few read, but which many claim supports their beliefs. A good demonstration is this CNN op-ed, in which the author describes Trump as being Orwellian, but mostly just because Trump is a Republican.
Trump's populist attacks against our (
classically) liberal world order is indeed cause for concern. His assault on the truth is indeed a bit Orwellian. But it's op-eds like this one at CNN that are part of the problem.
While the author of the op-ed spends much time talking about his dogs ("Winston", "Julia"), and how much he hates Trump, he spends little time on the core thesis "Orwellianism". When he does, it's mostly about old political disagreements. For example, the op-ed calls Trump's cabinet appointees Orwellian simply because they are Republicans:
He has provided us with Betsy DeVos, a secretary of education nominee who is widely believed to oppose public education, and who promotes the truly Orwellian-sounding concept of "school choice," a plan that seems well-intentioned but which critics complain actually siphons much-needed funds from public to private education institutions.
Calling school-choice "Orwellian" is absurd. Republicans want to
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