Big Brother Says

I've always enjoyed pessimistic, paranoid writers. In fact, some of my favorite stories are those depicting dismal futuristic distopias. You know: 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, Anthem, A Clockwork Orange, V for Vendetta, etc. The worlds they depict are depressing and creepy, because they resemble our own. They show us how easily democracy can slip into something more sinister and that ease is frightening. But these tales are, in the end, relieving. They allow us to say things like "that's only fiction" and "our government/country/world is not that bad.

...Or at least they used to. Now a days, I don't feel so reassured. Everyday I increasing feel as though the only thing we can honestly say anymore is "Our government/country/world is not that bad yet."

The Patriot Act
War, lies, false pretenses
Secret Prisons
Torture
NSA Wiretapping
Internet and Phone Companies being forced to hand over consumer/client records
Financial tracking
Proposed amendment DENYING citizens rights (Gay marriage ban) - it would be the first such amendment
Reporters arrested for not revealing sources
Attempt to ban flag burning (the most paradoxical thing ever seeing as how burning a flag is an expression of the freedom the flag is meant to represent)
And on, and on, and on...

And now, THIS.

Treason? Really? Treason? WTF. Seriously, What The Fuck. Treason and Democracy cannot logically co-exist. Just so everyone remembers:

AMENDMENT #1
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

I.E. in our country, people and the press are free to think, believe, and say whatever the hell they want. dissent is not only legal, it is the cornerstone of our democracy. if the US government wants to start throwing the word treason at people who are speaking an acknowledged truth, then it might as well be honest and admit we no longer live in a democracy (if anyone believes we ever did, that is).

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

the fact that one could effectively argue that any of those slogans are our government's right now has completly ruind my love of sci-fi dystopias. thanks a lot, America.