Everything is Under Control
Bobby English
"God isn't compatible with machinery and scientific medicine and universal happiness. you must make your choice. our civilization has chosen machinery and medicine and happiness."(huxley 234)
Dystopian Society is Where the Future Lies
A dystopia is a society that either consists of a controlling and oppressive government or no government at all, the use of propaganda is to control people's minds and deceive them into thinking what is right, independent and individual thoughts are outlawed and heavily frowned upon ("Utopia & Dystopia: Definition, Characteristics, and Examples "). The feeling of dystopia is becoming a more and more imminent reality in the world today. With all the corruption, famine, and poverty that we experience some people might say that we already preside in a dystopian society. Poverty is at an all-time high today. According to Anup Shah, "1 billion (every second child) live in poverty, and at least 80% of humanity live on less than $10 a day” (Shah). The gap between the richest people and the poorest people in the world continues to become greater as the flow of money is limited towards one side and lifestyles of the rich and the poor both clash together. Another reason that the world is a dystopia today is because we are becoming overpopulated and it is causing widespread famine to occur all over. We are running out of the resources which are needed to sustain life such as food, water, and living space. As the population continues to grow, it is getting harder and harder to satisfy the thirst of the people of the world with clean drinking water and and ample food supply large enough to prevent hunger. People are dying of starvation all over and there is a continual food shortage problem that we can’t seem to fix.
Not only is the environment having issues but the structure of the world is having issues also. Unfortunately, the world is starting to transform for the worse. The negative viewpoints of having a totalitarian government are not as common anymore. They are increasingly becoming a part of our world. We have countries like North Korea, like Cuba, like China who have these types of governments in place in their countries. Many governments today are starting to abuse their right of power and take away individual’s rights. They are forcing their citizens to follow policies and reforms that are in their best interests. Not only with China, North Korea, and Cuba, but radical groups such as ISIS are starting to become a threat to the stability and tranquility which is left in the world. Domestically, there are cases where the government they are also taking our right of privacy and personal information away from us. The government is closely watching and monitoring everything we do and has unrestricted access to all of our records online. They can access our history, records, and even conversations we have via social media, phone calls, and text messaging.
Finally the world today is becoming an example of a dystopian society because of all the chaos involved with epidemics/diseases. Very prevalent epidemics and diseases in our world today wreaking havoc would be AIDS and Ebola in Africa. These medical emergencies have been killers in the African region but many diseases and pandemics in other regions of the world are still a serious threat to society.
The idea of the world being a dystopia is not to joke about anymore. We continually show signs of being a dystopia and that in the future the signs may only increase.
Welcome to the New Age
The song I chose is called "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons. "It's a song about David vs. Goliath, the People vs. Tyrannical Government. It's a song about the INDIVIDUAL acting against "the system" to restore FREEDOM to those people in captivity of an ever-expanding government (the average American)" ("Imagine Dragons - Radioactive Lyrics Meaning").This song fits beautifully with theme of Brave New World because its theme is very similar to that of the book. They are both about one man who is sick with the world they live in and want to make a change for the greater good. They are disgusted with what is going on around them and so they try to revolt against the government or World State. In the song it talks about prison bus and what that means is he feels like he is in prison because the government is in complete control of them. Even though John never says anything like this in the book it is pretty obvious that he feels controlled by World State at times. It relates to the theme of the dangers of a government controlling the behavior and actions of its people in order to preserve its own stability and power. The lyrics, "I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones. Enough to make my systems blow" ("Imagine Dragons - Radioactive Lyrics Meaning") and the line from the book, "Linda had been a slave, Linda had died; others should live in freedom, and the world be made beautiful" (Huxley 210) connect. They connect because they both imply that the speaker is angry with the world and that they don't like what it is doing to everyone. Their anger with the world is causing them to act on behalf of the people and try to do what they think is right. They think that society is not where it needs to be and that things should be different.
Against GMOs
The idea of genetically modified organisms is not one that the world should be in a rush to accomplish. The day that people are created by genetically modified organisms is the day that the world will officially become a dystopia. Despite there being some benefits to GMOs such as a way to feed the world easier because of an abundant food supply, the genetically modifying of human beings would give the government total power because now they would be the ones in control of the population and of what the people can do with their lives. As of now the people in the world control their lives and some still feel like we don’t have much say in things. Imagine what it would be like when the government is allowed to start genetically modifying their own people. In this particular case, the modification can control what people look like, personalities and traits, and perhaps even (like in Brave New World) the manipulation of humans to fit them into a certain caste based off of intelligence levels (which could possibly be controlled). Not only would the idea of individual rights be demolished, the idea of free thought and teaching will be dismissed too. According to the article, “4 Major Arguments against Genetic Modification of Humans”, “Genetic engineering interferes with the engineered human’s ability to make free choices in relation to the modified trait (Puppet Critique) and by increasing parental demands and expectations (Parental Expectations Critique). It also postulates that the process restricts the options of the modified person by limiting their life plans and range of behaviors (Open Future Critique).” With genetically modified organisms, the government has complete control in teaching and conditioning them for their future purposes. One argument that is commonly used to fight against GMO is the uniqueness argument: "According to the President's council on Bioethics, this type of genetic alteration would naturally interfere with the cloned person's individuality and thus weakens the creation of his or her own identity. It says: "Cloning-to-produce-children could create serious problems of identity and individuality... our genetic uniqueness is an important source of our sense of who we are and how we regard ourselves" ("4 Major Arguments against Genetic Modification of Humans"). The diversity and uniqueness in the world would disappear because the idea of cloning creates an abundance of exact copies of people. There would be no identity in the world, it would be lacking those certain individuals who go above and beyond in what they do and stand out in the world. It also takes away the authenticity of life. There would be no more special bonds between the parents and their offspring., such as in Brave New World. It’s those kinds of things that give the world and life their meanings and if they happen to disappear, it can ruin the atmosphere of things forever. A plethora of businesses and major companies will shut down because they government is only going to train people to work in jobs that are necessary to keep the world running. The amount of factory workers will increase drastically to ensure the highest production of goods. All of the special, non-office jobs will go away and even the professional sports teams will disappear because they won't be needed anymore. Genetically modifying organisms, specifically humans, will be the ultimate downfall of our society if it ends up happening. Things would never be the same and would change society forever.
Bibliography
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