Oceania 1984 and United States 2014

This book has been around for sixty-five years, today it still is a best selling novel. The events that take place in the book are thirty years past. Yet, strangely today many people still talk about 1984 and Orwellian themes with some fear. Why is that? Why is a book that's thirty years past its events still of concern to us?

Three decades after his novel's events we don't have telescreens that don't turn off and watch us in our private homes with microphones. There aren't any secret police labeled Thought Police that monitor us for good thought on our leaders. (Do you think there could be? Does censorship on free thought make this comparable?) We don't have great banners of a mustachioed figure that's "watching you", but you hear about Big Brother in comparison to our president, specifically with Bush and now Obama. Does this seem right to you? Are these politicians the Big Brother of modern USA? Does the idea of Big Brother exist?

The Inner Party, which is the ruling class of Oceania are not really known to us, with the exception of O'Brien. Do you think they represent Congress, the Senate or faceless bureaucrats? Is our society run by an oligarchy as it is in 1984 or do we have a large ruling party? Do you fear the faces on the posters of politicians or the faceless sponsors?

Does any of this mean anything to you?  More will come in a series of 1984 and a couple other Dystopians. Big Brother is watching you.