War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Ignorance Is Strength

Here's a most interesting quote from 1984, by George Orwell:

The new aristocracy was made up for the most part of bureaucrats, scientists, technicians, trade-union organizers, publicity experts, sociologists, teachers, journalists, and professional politicians.

Orwell's magnificently perceptive novel was published on this day in 1949. Seventy-one years later the people of the United States find their republic faced with a host of social and political dilemmas only too present in the book. A month ago most of us likely thought a novel virus would be the worst of our problems but we were wrong. An atrocity in Minneapolis brought simmering racial injustice to a boil spilling across the nation. Students of revolution used these incidents to advance their collectivist cause, one that has been unhinged since the collapse of the Soviet Union almost thirty years ago. Under the guise of protest their destruction and anarchy could well overshadow our attempts to reach common ground and begin to heal the injustices. 

What we are witnessing in protest is a search for peace, freedom, and strength. What we are witnessing in violence is a reality of war, slavery, and ignorance. It is in fact "Orwellian."

If Orwell's book is new to you or it's been a while since you read it, I suggest you find a copy and explore the dance of good intentions and the road to Hell. I suspect you'll come away cautious and careful what you ask for. In the interim, here is a brief article from BBC to whet your appetite.