Imaginary Revisionism In 1984

Freedom of speech is an element that we have historically embraced as Americans. The ability to think for oneself and make independent decisions are elements that we allow us to function successfully in society. In 1984, by George Orwell, many of those freedoms, including the freedom of thought do not exist. In the article “The Coddling of the American Mind” by Lukianoff and Haidt, the attempt to limit freedom of expression affecting our world today is explored. As I delve the concepts of imaginary revisionism in 1984 and the sensitivity due to censorship affecting Americans today we must remain aware of the government restrictions that can be placed on our freedoms.

1984 by George Orwell is a story of a man 's struggle against a totalitarian

He refers to telescreens that are in multiple locations including homes. A person’s house is supposed to be a private place, but people in this society are stripped of that benefit by telescreens that monitor their every move. These telescreens were placed there by the government in order to see what is being said and discussed by the citizens. Winston also discusses an event that happens every day at a specific time called, "The Two Minutes Hate”. (Orwell 1949) The citizens are forced to assembled in front of a large telescreen where they were show pictures of terrible events and the face of a man who resembles Hitler named Emmanuel Goldstein. He was considered an enemy of the people. The assembled people go through several different reactions, some boo him, and others scream and become

Americans are being trained on how to “think”. Thoughts that may be offensive are portrayed as crimes. Macroaggressions can be compared “thought crimes”(Orwell 1949). For example, “by some campus guidelines, it is a microaggression to ask an Asian American or Latino American “Where were you born?,” (Lukianoff &Haid 2015) because this implies that he or she is not a real American. Trigger warnings are another method of coddling thoughts and the censorship of education. For example, “some students have called for warnings that Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart describes racial violence and that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby portrays misogyny and physical abuse, so that students who have been previously victimized by racism or domestic violence can choose to avoid these works, which they believe might “trigger” a recurrence of past trauma.” (Lukianoff & Haid 2015) This method of protecting feelings can be crippling and isn’t always