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In George Orwell’s 1949 satire Nineteen Eighty-Four, he describes an imposed language reform (Newspeak) meant to control both thought and expression in the citizenry. The big question in 2012 is: How long is it going to take Newt Gingrich supporters to reject the authoritarian, right-wing, hubristic “Ministry of Truth” version they so thoughtlessly leap to their feet to applaud?1
If Newt wins, here is a prediction: Within four years or less, America will know she was suckered by Newtspeak — a depressing, 21st Century, déjà vu remake of Nineteen Eighty-Four.
The purpose of [Newtspeak] was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of [Newt], but to make all other modes of thought [and inquiry scorned or] impossible. It was intended that when [Newtspeak] had been adopted once and for all and [Moralspeak] forgotten, a heretical thought — that is, a thought diverging from the principles [and ideas] of [Newt] — should be literally unthinkable [and unspeakable]. …
[Newtspeak] was designed not to extend but to diminish the range of thought, and this purpose was indirectly assisted by cutting the choice of words [and questions] down to a minimum [that he was willing to answer]. …
Countless … words such as honor, justice, morality, … democracy, science, [accountability, integrity] … meant almost the exact opposite of what they appeared to mean. Some words, on the other hand, displayed a frank and contemptuous understanding of the real nature of [American] society. … Other words, again, were ambivalent, having the connotation ‘good’ when applied to [Newt & company] and ‘bad’ when applied to [his] enemies.
(From pp. 241-247, Appendix “The Principles of Newspeak” Nineteen Eight-Four by George Orwell, Penguin Modern Classics.)
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1. Newt’s competitors seem to have their own Orwellian “Ministries of Truth” but there is something about Newt and hubris (e.g. “despicable” media questions vis-à-vis despicable candidate behavior) that are predictive of unpleasant times ahead if America doesn’t get a better moral compass. What makes us think that Newt will honor a (renewed/revised?) “Contract with America” when he has been unable in several instances to honor far more personal contracts?