1984 revisited?

For those too young to remember or had not heard of 1984, a novel written by George Orwell and published June 8, 1949, this is a wake-up to what we may be facing in our nation today and beyond.

With the onslaught of Covid-19 and the race to find a vaccine that must save millions of people around the world, we have become imprisoned from the very freedoms the Bill of Rights guarantees us.

If we were left to our own discretion without seeking some protection from our politicians, the cry would certainly go out against Washington D. C. as why didn’t you do something as disastrous results appear to encompass us?  

Yet, here we are now at the discretion of government leaders, appearing to look after our well-being while asserting power, almost too overbearing in a totalitarian manner that may remind us of the novel by Orwell.   

The first Amendment to the Constitution of the United States  in the Bill of Rights, guarantees us freedom of worship. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech. or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” 

Here we are, a people who will adhere to all the measures put to us for safeguarding our well-being.  But, the guidelines are becoming a means to subject us as in a threatening way with arrest, malfeasance, and controlling activities by law authorities. 

It is easy to rely upon those who govern our very lives in war, peace, and everything in between.  However, there is a point when the “Powers That Be” are willing to take control of the masses they rule over and those become like puppets with no where to find freedom.  The Powers That Be have removed the dictates of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.  That constitution is covered with the blood of hundreds of thousands of patriots who stood for freedom.

Does this sound too far fetched to be real?  When tyranny enters a society and the people it affects allow it the end result will be too disastrous and difficult to overcome.  

We are told that if history does not teach us lessons of the past that crush the spirit of God-fearing people, we are destined to repeat it.  

O how easy it is for those in the position of authority to let power go to their heads and soon forget that they also had to grow through adversity and climb the corporate ladder to where they now sit as leaders of business, corporations, or even the head of a nation.  One stroke of a pen can mean the imprisonment of even death of subservients that may threaten their power.  

The world has seen this scenario too many times and history will bear that out.  The Passion of Jesus is one example.  His gospel of love and forgiveness was too much for The Powers That Be and He suffered a cruel crucifixion for it.  

Be aware that the time is coming when our freedom, the most cherished entity mankind has fought for, will be threatened and our children will become the victims of tyranny like the world has never seen.  

Ralph B. Hathaway, May 2020