Prologue It has been 60 years since George Orwell published his novel titled “1984”1 which paints a most disturbing picture of the evolution of the government 39 years after World War II. He describes a system that is severely totalitarian in nature that relentlessly monitors its citizens and shamelessly spreads lies and propaganda to further its cause. Many of the concepts described in Orwell’s society are still used today when describing extreme governments, such as “Big Brother is Watching You”, “Newspeak”, “Doublethink”, “Thought Police”, and the continual state of war or the threat of invasion by an enemy, producing strong patriotic feelings and loyalty to the ruling class. It is therefore ironic that many of these practices, which were believed to be monstrous exaggerations at the time, are being implemented by contemporary societies in one way or another without any significant opposition from the people, and in fact are hailed as essential to a “secure and progressive” way of life. Typical examples of “Big Brother Watching You” include the constant surveillance we are subjected to not only as we drive to work or go to the bank; but in department stores, the local grocery store, our hospitals and doctor’s offices, virtually all public places, and during the use of our personal computers. No matter where you go, you can be sure that someone is watching you. It is also becoming common practice by modern journalists and historians to re-invent world history to shape it to satisfy their own political purposes. This is truly an example of “Newspeak”. And there is a strong movement prevalent in today’s society labeled “Political Correctness” which employs much of the techniques of thought control utilized in Orwell’s book by the “Thought Police”. The need to constantly create the impression that a nation is at war is a tool that is being used by many contemporary dictatorships. The most blatant example of this propaganda device is the ridiculous assertion by North Korea of an unprovoked attack by the United States. As we all know, following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the security provisions in the United States have significantly increased with the passage of the Patriot Act and subsequent covert operations conducted not only by the CIA and FBI, but also by the newly formed Department of Homeland Security. And although there has been much criticism leveled at the day-to-day operations of these organizations, it must be said that they should be credited with preventing another attack on U.S. shores without wholesale violation of citizen’s civil rights. But as Mr. Orwell and others have warned, these undercover operations can easily lead to more stringent controls of innocent civilians in the name of security that can result in tyranny if left unchecked. All of these “violations of basic human rights” have been discussed by the great scholars of the world many times before, but it appears that each new generation must be retaught the lessons of the past. We are told by some of our most respected political experts that we live in the greatest world society the human race has ever known, and we should abide by the decisions of the great governing body, the United Nations. Yet time after time, we see that that the UN is powerless to stop severe conflicts between nations and ethnic groups. Would we be any better off under a more powerful UN or would that simply lead to a more threatening agency that would be a means to achieve universal domination? It would surely mean that such an organization would have a significant effect on our future history. The great wars of the 20th century should have proven that dictatorships and fascist states are not to be trusted. The path to peace and prosperity is to grant the basic freedoms this country was founded on to the people of the world, and eventually to the settlers of the planets of our solar system and beyond. Originally, the intention of the book was to show how little the projected future of society has changed since the time of George Orwell’s book of 1949. But coincidentally, reading from Robert Zubrin’s book, “The Case for Mars”2, I was surprised to note that the foreword, written by Arthur C. Clarke, included the following passage: “There was a time, soon after the first landing on the moon in 1969, when we were optimistic enough to imagine that we might have reached Mars by the 1990’s. In another of my stories, I described a survivor of the first ill-fated expedition, watching the Earth in transit across the face of the Sun on May 11-1984! Well, there was no one on Mars then to watch that event- but it will happen again on November 10. 2084. By that time I hope that many eyes will be looking back towards the Earth as it slowly crosses the solar disk, looking like a tiny, perfectly circular sunspot. And I’ve suggested that we should signal to you then with powerful lasers, so that you will see a star beaming a message to you from the very face of the sun.” Hopefully, Mr. Clarke’s aspiration for the title year of this book will be fulfilled and we will have established colonies on the planet by the time of the next Earth transit of the sun. I would be remiss in not mentioning another excellent reference which I discovered after much of my story had already been developed. It is the illuminating and entertaining book by Robert Zubrin titled “How to Live on Mars”3 which details many of the concepts I’ve tried to present in this book. It was gratifying to see many of my initial ideas verified by such a respected authority on Mars as Dr. Zubrin. Robert Kaiser Continues... 1 “Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell, Published by Harcourt Brace Co., 1949 2 “The Case for Mars, The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must”, by Robert Zubrin with Richard Wagner, Published by Touchstone, 1997 3 ”How to Live on Mars, A Trusty Guidebook to Surviving and Thriving on the Red Planet”, by Robert Zubrin, Published by Three Rivers Press, 2008 | 
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου