They Could Spy Upon You Night And Day By George Orwell

In today’s society we are being watched way too much. Some of the times we are being watched, we know about it and other times, we don’t. The government, with a few clicks of a button, can watch what websites you go to, your text messages, even the pictures you send to your grandmother last Christmas, without your knowledge of them doing so. They hold too much power over surveillance of U.S. citizens. There are plenty of incidents where the NSA (National Security Agency) was caught taking files of citizens’ messages,

1984, a novel by George Orwell, represents a dystopian society in which the people of Oceania are surveilled by the government almost all the time and have no freedoms. Today, citizens of the United States and other countries are watched in a similar way. Though different technological and personal ways of keeping watch on society than 1984, today’s government is also able to monitor most aspects of the people’s life. 1984 might be a dystopian society, but today’s condition seems to be moving towards that controlling state, where the citizens are surveilled by the government at all times.

George Orwell’s novel 1984 reflects on the society of dystopian city Airstrip 1 where main character Winston Smith lives. Along with the many other citizens, Winston is controlled by the Inner Party by constantly being monitored via telescreens that keep sight of everybody and their actions. Besides using telescreens the government also easily arrests people in any case of “thoughtcrime” which consists of any thoughts that regard disobedience towards the government. Thoughtcrime and telescreens are two of the several factors that reflect the extreme surveillance in 1984. Orwell uses surveillance as the central theme of the novel to spread his idea that the usage of more extreme surveillance could eventually lead to a totalitarian society. On a less extreme scale, today’s society also has a significant amount of surveillance but many question whether or not more surveillance is necessary. With the many current text sources, it is certain that we need less surveillance in order to keep a stable society that does not take away the individualism of people.

“Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves”(Reagan). In the book, 1984, Winston recognizes the power the government has over the citizens of Oceania. The citizens lack privacy from the government. George Orwell warns society about a government with total control in 1984. Based on Dana Hawkin’s article, “Cheap Video Cameras Are Monitoring Our Every Move”, as well as Beech Etal’s, “The Other Side of the Great Firewall”, society may truly have something to fear in the form of surveillance and information manipulation.

Government surveillance is beneficial in moderation, but can quite easily become excessive. A well-known example of this is the controversy regarding the NSA monitoring U.S. citizens discreetly on American soil. This unwarranted watch crosses the fine line between monitoring criminal suspects for security, and blatant overreach of authority in spying common citizens. The personal infringement of information has been commonly associated with the NSA’s PRISM, but their MUSCULAR program is much more disconcerting. According to Harry Bruinius in “Why Tech Giants Are Now Uniting Against U.S. Surveillance”:

No one likes being overly supervised and watched. Whether it is a teenager with protective parents or an adult in the workplace with an ever-watching boss the feeling of continuously being watched is unnerving. Throughout history the levels of government supervision have fluctuated from lows to extremes but sometimes the future seems to hold even more watchful governments. These were the feelings when George Orwell wrote the novel 1984. George Orwell showed a world without the freedoms that citizens in the United States live with every day. From looking at the text of 1984 it is obvious how scary a world it is, however this would never be possible in the United States, where inhabitants are

In a case where it would be justified, is when a crisis could have been prevented. The Boston marathon bombing is one case that brought on a new effort to concentrate on anti terrorism. The two men that were accused of the bombing could’ve been heavily monitored, which may have prevented the entire incident. They had to communicate somehow, and cell phones probably came into play. But that still may not give the government the right to spy on everyone.

Tanks to technology and, mostly, its applications in the field of communication, governments and business corporations from all around the world have now more power than ever to track and influence what we buy, what we listen to, what we read, what we watch and, ultimately, what we believe. Recent terrorist threats and armed conflicts that have taken place around the globe have prompted a general feeling of vulnerability among the international community. Now most citizens are not likely to complain, or even ask questions, when they are deprived of their individual freedoms and privacy, they assume that this reduction of individual freedoms is

Unless someone is wanted by the police, everyone tends to live their lives in peace and normalcy. The average person wakes up, takes a shower, eats breakfast, and then prepare themselves for the daily activities that await them. The last thing to cross someone’s mind is whether anyone is watching their every move or not. However, should we not be worried about how easy it is for the government to gain access into the private lives of every citizen? Is it not scary how every move is recorded and carefully watched for suspicious activity? In George Orwell’s 1984, he suggests that each and every day the government is taking more extreme measures to get an insight into the lives of anyone and everyone.

The 21st century has brought with it a great deal of new technology. These technologies are profoundly useful to many people, but at the same time bring up many issues and controversies. Many of these technologies keep an eye on its citizens similarly to 1984. People are constantly surrounded by surveillance, whether it’s through their phones, the Internet, or security cameras, the parallels to Orwell’s nightmarish 1984 are terrifying.

Orwell, in 1984 uses the dystopian element is surveillance which shows that his warnings are still valid today in order to convey that powerful governments in today’s world restrict their citizens freedom through heavy surveillance.

There are other governmentally run programs, similar to PRISM, which are invasive towards the privacy of the public. They often collect personal data from technology databases and servers which they may or may not be allowed to access. These programs, such as “The top-secret PRISM program allows the U.S. intelligence community to gain access from nine Internet companies to a wide range of digital information, including e-mails and stored data” (NSA slides explain the PRISM data-collection program). These programs can have a huge impact and interfere in one’s life, as they are able to access personal information through emails, through stored data, and through other means, potentially disturbing rights of privacy towards people. These programs allow the potential for the government to be secretive and hide the information they are conducting, abuses their powers, and invades the privacy of many people. The actions of these programs goes against the Fourth Amendment, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” (Constitution) as these programs search through people’s information which would be against the law according to the Constitution.

The book 1984 depicts a society unimaginable to most; however, a further look shows us that we actually do live in an Orwellian society. Orwell describes a country called Oceania made of multiple continents which is ruled by the dictatorial “Big Brother” who uses different systems like the “thought police” and “telescreens” in order to have full control over the country. Our democratic government, through organizations such as the NSA and NGI, can look through our most private conversations and moments using spyware. Due to the secrecy of the government, citizens in 1984, as well as those in our society, fear the government.

Thomas Jefferson once said that “Everyone has the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” If the government spied on its citizens, the citizens would carry the burden of having the government constantly watch every move being made, interfering with citizens pursuit of happiness. With that being said, if a citizen’s privacy was invaded then their pursuit of happiness would be demolished. The government should not be able to spy on its citizens because it is a major invasion of privacy, people become fearful of the government, and is a large violation of the rights citizens are permitted.

Living in a world that continues to make advancements technologically and politically, a book written more than 50 years ago still warns the world of what could happen if government becomes too forceful. Because of George Orwell's strong hatred for totalitarianism and its life dictating qualities, readers can get a taste of the perfect "dystopia". Though the people of today have been warned and are afraid of an all controlling government, they continue to allow the concept of 1984 to become more and more real. If people continue to just watch their governments make decisions and not ask questions, they will fall victim to its power. If a man not of this time understands the terror of totalitarianism, everyone should