Even if you have never read George Orwell’s 1984, you probably have come across the three maxims of the nation of Oceania:
WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.
At first glance, these maxims appear to be nonsensical contradictions. That’s because you are NOT assessing them through the eyes of an authoritarian government.
The context of WAR IS PEACE is that Oceania is constantly at war with the other two nations, Eurasia or Eastasia. The Party’s purpose in maintaining a perpetual state of war is to use patriotism to distract the people from the authoritarian conditions in Oceania. And that is exactly what authoritarian Governors … like Chris Sununu … have done with COVID.
In the name of supposedly fighting COVID and keeping us “safe” (at “peace”), Sununu has assumed authoritarian powers. Deciding what businesses and activities are “essential” and can remain open. Telling these “essential” businesses how to operate. Requiring everyone to “stay-at-home,” “mask up” and “social distance.”
The constant case-counts on WMUR “news”, the constant COVID “updates” from Sununu and “Dr.” Chan, the ubiquitous “mask-up”-“socially-distance” sloganeering and signage … designed to keep us in a constant state of crisis (at “war”) in order to distract people from the reality that Sununu has spent over a year trampling our constitutional rights and ignoring constitutional limitations on the power of a Governor.
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY in Oceania meant that you could free yourself from wanting by wanting only that which the Party allows you to have. In other words, the people of Oceania were indoctrinated that freedom was the state of being devoid of desire, uncertainty and want, which was achieved by accepting governmental control of every aspect of one’s life.
Over the past year, we have been indoctrinated that the freedom that really matters … the paramount freedom … is freedom from catching COVID, which can be achieved only by giving up our civil liberties and our constitutional form of government. In other words, abiding heavy and ubiquitous government regulation actually makes us free. A variation on this, which is even more perverse, is that you are preventing others from being free (freedom from COVID), if you do not scrupulously follow Sununu’s “guidance” (that is, give up your freedom). It is akin to arguing the slaves are taking away the slaveowner’s freedom (to be a slaveowner) by running away.
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH in Oceania meant that the people believed the Party’s propaganda, not their “lying eyes.” The Party had made people (or at least the vast majority of people) give up independent thinking, which made society more cohesive and, therefore, stronger.
Over the past year, a clear majority of people in New Hampshire have given up independent thinking and adopted COVID-doublethink. This surrender has taken the form of a clear majority of people accepting pablum such as “we’re all in this together” when it is undeniable that there are different rules for the authoritarians … Newson caught dining after he banned dining, Birx violating her Thanksgiving COVID “guidance”, Chris Cuomo not “quarantining”, etc. etc. etc … than for the rest of us. Not questioning that “two weeks to stop the spread” became “until there is a vaccine” became “until July 4th, maybe.” Ignoring that the IFR (infectious fatality rate) for COVID is essentially the same as the seasonal flu. Ignoring that there is no data that masks work and continuing to comply with mask-mandates.
