Grand Frère
Big brother sees everything
"He used to say that artists use lies to tell the truth, while politicians use them to cover the truth up"
In today's society as well as in a dystopia many politicians use lies to cover up the truth. They want us to believe anything they say. Sometimes it's because they want to try and cover up something that they just don't want us to find out about. They try to make everything seem like it's okay and that's because they want us to think that they're the reason for it but in reality things aren't so great. Take the book 1984 for example their government tells them that their world was a horrible place before the revolution and that many people were homeless and dying from hunger but in reality no one knows how the world truly was.
Sonnet
School goes by day by day
But are we really learning
The teachers talk but what do they say
The knowledge inside is burning
We see our lives slowely fade
Some of us may think it's a waste of time
But in reality we're really afraid
Of how much work it will take to be sublime
13 years is way to long
To stand and be commanded
We stand every morning and sing our song
We go to school where it seems like everyone is branded
From black to white
And from even our land site
Society Today
As time goes on our way of living in this society is drastically changing. New innovations have given our government more power to watch over us. With all these new technological advances our world is turning into a modern day dystopia. A place where our privacy is slowly diminishing and our freedoms are being challenged every day.
We are being watched not only through cameras but by our cellphones and even the internet. Over the decades, as technology advanced, surveillance became easier and easier. Today, we find ourselves in a world of surveillance, where everything is collected, saved, searched, correlated and analyzed. In the novel 1984, written by George Orwell, he predicted that in the future the government would be able to watch and hear everything you did. Boy was he spot on about that. George called the government spies “Thought Police” (V for Vendetta). They are equivalent to today’s NSA. In most dystopian societies there is a major feeling of paranoia, fear, and depression due to the government’s lack of privacy for its citizens. In a recent poll taken by Google, it showed that there was a 19% drop in internet users in America ever since the NSA decided to go public with its plans of spying. A recent article in USA Today talks about the government’s recent surge in collecting vast amounts of online data from citizens.” The NSA's staggering ability to access rich troves of data at the largest companies strikes at the core of consumers' and businesses' confidence in computer security and privacy. Encryption, the holy grail of security for the largest tech firms — in which digital messages are scrambled and unscrambled so third parties cannot read them — was easily cracked by the NSA through court orders, supercomputers and technical wizardry" (Beckle). Another article in USA Today gave a citizens perspective on the subject. “There is a huge difference between gathering intelligence in foreign countries, even our allies, and secretly getting information on U.S. citizens. Ever since 9/11, our intelligence agencies as part of the war on terror have expanded their operations to include American citizens". (Beckle) I was terrorized when I learned that the National Security Agency was intercepting information on American citizens.
This fear of the government by the people is what gives the government more and more strength. “People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people” (V for Vendetta). That was a quote from the movie V for Vendetta, a dystopian film that portrayed a life of conformity and little freedom for the people of Great Britain. Right now our country is slowly showing signs of a dystopia. With the NSA watching our every moves and the government putting fear in the back of our heads, it is a wonder we haven’t began to revolt already. As a nation built on democracy, freedom, and equality it is our job to preserve those characteristics by fighting for our rights. If we conform to the government and let them take away our freedom we can kiss the American dream goodbye.
La Revolución
Friday, Apr 4, 2014, 12:00 PM
Washington, DC, United States
Love Is Our Resistance
"Resistance"
Is our secret safe tonight
And are we out of sight
Or will our world come tumbling down?
Will they find our hiding place
Is this our last embrace
Or will the walls start caving in?
(It could be wrong, could be wrong) But it should have been right
(It could be wrong, could be wrong) To let our hearts ignite
(It could be wrong, could be wrong) Are we digging a hole?
(It could be wrong, could be wrong) This is out of control
(It could be wrong, could be wrong) It could never last
(It could be wrong, could be wrong) Must erase it fast
(It could be wrong, could be wrong) But it could have been right
(It could be wrong, could be...)
Love is our resistance
They'll keep us apart and they won't stop breaking us down
Hold me
Our lips must always be sealed
If we live a life in fear
I'll wait a thousand years
Just to see you smile again
Kill your prayers for love and peace
You'll wake the thought police
We can't hide the truth inside
(It could be wrong, could be wrong) But it should have been right
(It could be wrong, could be wrong) To let our hearts ignite
(It could be wrong, could be wrong) Are we digging a hole?
(It could be wrong, could be wrong) This is out of control
(It could be wrong, could be wrong) It could never last
(It could be wrong, could be wrong) Must erase it fast
(It could be wrong, could be wrong) But it could have been right
(It could be wrong, could be...)
Love is our resistance
They'll keep us apart and they won't stop breaking us down
Hold me
Our lips must always be sealed
The night has reached its end
We can't pretend
We must run
We must run
It's time to run
Take us away from here
Protect us from further harm
Resistance
Apple
The Apple Company and brand is enormous, and still growing. Apple's 30,000 retail employees are often worn out by the hectic sales life and frustrated by the lack of opportunities to climb the corporate ladder. Yet Apple's retail success continues to grow, mainly because it has a “built-in fan base that ensures a steady supply of eager applicants and an employee culture that tries to turn every job into an exalted mission". (The Week) The result is a workforce that many see as a cult. "There are five signs that Apple is a religion unto itself: Applicants are readymade acolytes, new employees are indoctrinated, Employees aren't allowed to speak to the media, Apple is immersed in a weird lingo, and rapture gives way to disillusionment”. (The Week)
Works Cited
"5 Signs That Apple Is a Cult - The Week." The Week. Web. 15 Dec. 2013
Muse: "Resistance" Perf. Matthew Bellamy. YouTube. YouTube, 17 Aug. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
V for Vendetta. Perf. Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman. 2005. DVD.
Beckel, Bob. "Common Ground: Balance Needed in Government Surveillance." USA Today. Gannett, 30 Oct. 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
Bellamy, Matthew. "Resistance." Rec. 14 Sept. 2009. Warner Bros. MUSE.CD.
Orwell, George. 1984: A Novel. New York, NY: Published by Signet Classic, 1977. Print.
Swartz, Jon. "Tech Giants Are Countering Government Spying." USA Today. Gannett, 1 Dec. 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.