4 ms·
I think people just find it disingenuous to re-purpose a famous quote so that it means something other than what the original author intended. To reuse your ex
by NickM 6y ago
I think people just find it disingenuous to re-purpose a famous quote so that it means something other than what the original author intended.
To reuse your example: does the idea of an authoritarian figure quoting 1984 not seem shady and manipulative to you? Clearly the ideas contained in the original work were very anti-authoritarian, regardless of whether Orwell's words can be twisted or taken out of context to imply something else.
- DenisM 6y ago> the ideas contained in the original work were very anti-authoritarian, regardless of whether Orwell's words can be twisted The left and the right disagree on who is authoritarian here, and who then inherits the privilege of using Orwell to lambast the other side for it.
- mindslight 6y agoThat's because both left and right are corralled by professional Democrats and Republicans, who's primary job is to keep their constituents believing that all the tyranny is being caused by the other team. Ergo, they both claim ownership over anti-authoritarian quotes. (2020 nuance: although one of these parties at least didn't balk at the pandemic)
- javajosh 6y agoNot sure why the downvote! Yeah, I've noticed whole gobs of important subjects effectively ignored by politicians. There are really big issues around data rights and privacy that get no focus. The thing that gets me is that this is deeply connected to our nations cyberwarfighting capability, including our ability to control our stuff. If your whole society is riddled through with ignorance, delusional thinking, lazy consumerism, and privacy holes, eventually an adversary will put together enough information to blackmail someone powerful into putting their finger on the scale, just a little bit. The more this happens, the more corrupt the system becomes, and the more cynical the population. The adversary has won. No, we need defense-in-depth, and for that we need citizens willing to learn more about computers in general. Now would be a great time to start a National Guard but for cyberwarfare, and open to anyone with a browser.
- amadeuspagel 6y agoThe essay doesn't argue that Gingrich repurposed a quote, or twisted it, or took it out of context. In fact, neither the quote, nor the original context, nor the context in which Gingrich used it is shown at all. It just says that Gingrich used a Camus quote in a speech denouncing Obamacare, and that Camus would have supported Obamacare. That's not disingenuous.
- justforyou 6y agoOne could argue that the pinnacle of Orewllian authoritarinism is indeed the use of Orwell by an authoritarian regime. Doublespeak and all...