George Orwell's 1984?

It was odd.

I woke up thinking about "1984".

I've not read the book in over 20 years, so it at least seemed an odd direction to go on a Sunday morning....

Most of what passes for government in America today is corrupt, from the corridors of power in Washington, to the state house in Nashville, to the local level here where I live. Nevertheless, like a lot of Americans I have been surprised, and quite offended by the most recent revelations of treachery perpetrated by the federal government, the revelation of the scope of the metadata being swept up by the FBI and NSA under the auspices of their Verizon telephone warrants.

On the heels of that comes the latest revelations of another surveillance program called Prism and the subsequent release today of a video of the alleged leaker, Edward Snowden. It was jarring to watch as he discussed in measured tones the nature of that program, and his reasons for outing it. Needless to say there are already people lauding his courage and others calling for his head. Irrespective of his stated motivation, I found his point about turn-key tyranny a more than a little chilling. I am gravely concerned over the "1984" authoritarian overtones pervading the federal government. I wonder if O'Brien wouldn't feel right at home?

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty because, apparently, Big Brother is watching you.