Florez

= United States Examples =

cell phones || information ||
 * 1. Surveillance/ Monitoring of the public ||
 * 2. Being able to track your whereabouts through
 * 3. Hacking to gain knowledge of people's personal
 * 4. Removing of information, changing history ||
 * 5. Constant conflict ||
 * 6. Dream Police ||
 * 7.Blaming other countries ||
 * 8. Racial Profiling ||
 * 9. Watching your Spending ||
 * 10. Censorship ||

=1. Surveillance/ Monitoring=

In today's society, surveillance cameras are just about everywhere. You see them on streets, grocery stores, restaurants, and basically everything in between. Just the day, multiple cameras were installed all around the school, monitoring every square of the building, with the exception of the bathrooms. So now, as students go about their day, their every move is documented. Being watched is now acceptable in our society. Most people are strongly encouraged to have them installed in their house, and even some are having cameras put on the windshield of their cars. With most locations having some type of camera system, we are being watched almost everywhere we go. The main reason is for safety purposes, which is understandable. With shootings happening frequently, cameras are almost a necessity in places with a lot of people. But I feel that safety is not always the case. Sometimes, it just feels that cameras are there just to watch you, which in some cases, makes people think it is an invasion of privacy. Regardless, the abundance of cameras, means that you always have eyes on you, which can relate to the telescreens in 1984.


 * 2. Cell phone tracking **

Nowadays, just about everyone has a cell phone. They are vital to communication, and are so important in today's society that the government hands them out to those who cant afford it. They are capable of doing just about anything a computer can do, but can fit in your pocket. But these aren't just used for texting and social-networking. With the proper technology, people can track your location by finding the coordinates of your cell phone. Not many people know about it, but it is possible. It is mainly used by the authorities to find the whereabouts of a criminal, but in today's society, it wouldn't be hard to learn how to do it.


 * 3. Hacking Electronics **

Cell phones aren't the only electronic that is commonly used in today's world. There is also iPods, tablets and laptops are also common. Most people own at least one at least one of things listed, and some even own all. These electronics are filled with personal information. Phone numbers, billing information, credit card numbers, etc. The list goes on and on. With so much information held on these gadgets, people frequently worried about losing one of them, and having someone get a hold of their data. An easy way to solve that problem: just don't lose of it, and make sure you keep track of it. But that's not the case these days. Not all people need your electronic to gather your information. With modern day technology, and a little bit of intelligence of computers, someone who you may have never met can hack into your apparatus and steal your vital information. It doesn't tack much, and it could be done very quickly. After the hacking has been done, it is very difficult to find out who the hacker was. That are ways you can prevent hackers through firewall software, but they can even surpass those, too. You just have to take your chances, and hope it doesn't happen to you.


 * 4. Rewriting history/ changing information **

In the book 1984, the Inner Party changed information on almost every bit of documentation they had of their mistakes, so they would look innocent. It seems horrible, but not many people realize that America has done the same, telling the details of the good in our history, and covering up the dark details of it. I will use Christopher Columbus as an example. Citizens on the United States are taught the "glorious" ways of this man. The man who is thought to be the first person to discover and colonize the American continent, is not all what he is made out be. Yes, he stumbled upon America, and our society may not be how it is today if it wasn't for this man. But in the events of colonizing the land he found, he slaughtered, raped, and pillaged the natives of the land he found. This man killed hundreds of thousands of natives along his voyages, but somehow gets a national holiday in his honor. The government would rather the public not know of the dark past of our country, and to keep the information from being known, keep it on the down-low, and only teach about the good.


 * 5. Simultaneous conflicts with other countries **

Although we are known as a superpower of the world, I feel that the United States has built up a reputation of constantly being in a war or conflict with other countries. We had so much problems with the Middle East, having been in a war with Afghanistan for many years, as well as problems with other countries like Pakistan and Israel. Now as things seemed to settle down over there, we enter a conflict with North Korea. This just resembles Oceania in 1984, who was constantly engaging in warfare with the other countries.
 * 6. Dream Police **

In the book, there are the Thought Police, who crack down on people's thoughts and examine their behavior. How do they related to modern-day United States? Scientists have developed a new brain analysis technology, which can extract the images straight from a persons mind, and display them on a computer screen. They are called "Dream Police", and this breakthrough could limit the privacy in your own mind. Imagine a world where not even your thoughts are protected, like the citizens who lived in Oceania. This technology is exactly like the Thought Police from 1984. Since the technology is new, the image displayed is not of best quality, and is only in black and white. But as the years go by, I wouldn't doubt that our thoughts are monitored sometime in the future.


 * 7. Blaming other countries **

Like Oceania, the United States finds ways to blame other countries for our problems. When things aren't going good for us, the government seems to always find a scapegoat for the things that are going wrong with our country. We commonly hear things about the countries in the Middle East, like Pakistain and Afganistain, and most recently North Korea, but I feel that we have to be doing something to "add fuel to the fire" when it comes to our conflicts and problems. The government tries to make it seem like we are innocent, when that's not the case. It can't be just be the other countries that are causing problems. We aren't whaat you would call the "good guys" in every situation. Often, we do things that you would think would only come from the countries we are convinced to hate, like Iraq.


 * 8. Racial Profiling **

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the government had brainwashed us into hating Muslim/ Middle-Eastern people. They were basically labeled as demons or the root of all evil, when that wasn't always the case. Just because people of the same race were the ones who attacked the World Trade Center, these people were shunned in our society, even if they had absolutely nothing do to with it. The same happened years ago, when everyone in America feared communism. Communism used to have been thought of as the worst thing every composed, and the United States wanted nothing to do with it. So in both cases, society grew stereotypical towards these people who were thought to be so repulsive. Even to this day, Muslims are looked at differently in public. They are often victims of "random screenings" at airports, and many other things. This is similar to when Winston first saw Julia, and he completely despised her.

**9.** **Watching your Spending**

In the U.S., everything you buy is tracked. What you bought, when you bought it, and etc. That also happens in our country, as well. The government can see any purchsed you have made, the time, the location, the credit card number, and any other things they may have a despire to know. This does have it's benefit, too. If your credit card is stolen, or if authorities are trying to find a fugitive, they can check to see if any recent purchases have been made on the card. If so, they can check the information on the purchase. But is that always the case? For all we know, the government could be monitoring certain things we purchse. There is a possibility your last purchase was seen by a goverment official. They could be watching our purchses without probable cause, and we couldn't do a thing about it. This is similar to the Inner Party knowing everything in there society. In the book, it was very difficult to keep a secret from them

**10.** **Censorship**

Now a days, almost everything is censored. Parents and TV stations can control what you watch, schools block certain websites that may be inappropriate or not for educational purposes, and even music is censored. some censoring is nessecary, but at times it seems too extensive. Many websites that are used for students to do research on are blocked, and labelled as "blogs". If someone choses to do something, they should be aware of the circumstances. Why does the government get to dictate what I can watching on TV, or listen to ion the radio? The government is beginning to look like the Inner Party.


 * Examples Throughout The World **


 * 1. North Korean propaganda ||
 * 2. Poor Working Conditions ||
 * 3. Limiting Electricity ||
 * 4. Totalitarian Government ||
 * 5. ||
 * 6. ||
 * 7. ||
 * 8. ||
 * 9. ||
 * 10. ||


 * 1. North Korean Propaganda **

In North Korea, the government is very big on propaganda. They have convinced their citizens that what they are doing is the right thing, and that the United States is the problem in this conflict. Although we know that is not true, they do not. Every where they go, they see news coverage, posters, videos, and many other forms of propaganda, telling them things that aren't true. But since they have no other source of information, they are forced to believe that what they are hearing is true. media type="youtube" key="Qd1qR66gcLQ" width="375" height="285" align="left"


 * 2. Poor Working Conditions **

Here, in the United States, we take the workplace very seriously. There is an abundance of laws regarding safety while working. Inspections are often done, making sure that all machines are safe, and to eliminate any chances of death on the job. Although working in America is nearly as safe as can be, that isn't always the case in other countries. Places like China or Mylasisa don't take the precaustions that we do when it comes to the work place. Machines in the factorys of these countries are nowhere near safe, and many injuries occur, as well as deaths too. In America, we have a minimum wage set at $8, which might even be rasied. In these countries, some workers just make pennies a day, which is not enough to provide food for families. These conditions compare to the ones in Oceania, where not much care is put into the working conditions

**3. Limiting Electricity**

In the book 1984, the Inner Party limited what the people could have. In the book, it was razor blades. Something similar to that is going on today. In North Korea, thr government wants to have more control over their people. To do this, the have limited the amount of electricity available in their country. As you can see in the image below, is a satellite picture above the Sea of Japan. South Korea and China are both all lit up and illuminated, while North Korea is just darkness.


 * 4. Totalitarian Government **

Oceania is ruled under a totalitarian government. The Inner Party controlled all aspects of life, public and private. Not one person had a say in government, which is foreign to us Americans, since we have the freedom to elect our leaders and vote on issues. Like Oceania, North Korean is under totalitarian ruling. Everything in North Korea is controlled by the government. Supplies, goods, electronics, food. Anything you can possibly think of is controlled by the leader, and not one person has a say it what the government does.

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