In 1984 it is the Ministry of Love (Miniluv in newspeak) that acts as the interior ministry to enforce loyalty to Big Brother through mass surveillance, brainwashing and enforcement by the Thought Police. Fear is the primary driver utilized by this ministry, fears of being caught committing thought crimes and being taken away by the Thought Police to become an unperson (deleted physically and historically).
Your name was removed from the registers, every record of everything you had ever done was wiped out, your one-time existence was denied and then forgotten. you were abolished, annihilated: vaporized was the usual word.
George Orwell, 1984
As powerful as Miniluv was for keeping people in check through fear, this is not the use of fear I’d like to focus on in this brief blog. Rather it’s the fear of a common enemy that becomes the driving force of a propaganda machine, uniting the people and ensuring their obedience. In the world of 1984 it was the supposed war between Oceania and it’s enemy (either Eurasia or Eastasia). The Ministry of Peace (the war ministry) kept the people in a constant state of emergency due to the fierce battle with Eurasia (or Eastasia), requiring much sacrifice and hardship on behalf of the citizens. Big Brother was keeping them safe, however, from the imminent threat of annihilation and so it was the reasonable duty of the people to submit to harsh but ‘necessary’ restrictions and dictates of the Party. But from Winston’s perpective (the main protagonist) the war was only ever reports from the Tele-programmes Department - you couldn’t be absolutely certain the war was real (but of course such thoughts would be thought crime - after all, Big Brother loved the people and it was inconceivable that the war could be a farce).
Jump forward to 2020 and the fear driven propaganda machine cranked up to unbelievable levels - on our telescreens. Not that fear campaigns are anything new when facing public health crises, but it seems the Australian Government at least has pulled out all the stops (reminiscent of the HIV campaigns with the Grim Reaper - remember those ads?). Here’s the standout example, complete with horror movie green colour grading, camera creeping in on the subject - a young person who would most likely not be in this condition (and at the time not even eligible for the vaccine).
(Today this video has over 2K dislikes and only 288 likes. Just for fun you should have a look at the comments below the video on YouTube. )
OK so that melodrama didn’t work so well for the Australian ministry of propaganda. It’s probably an outlier - an overly enthusiastic overreach. But what about the broader fear campaign that’s been much more effective at rallying people around a common enemy and having them give up certain liberties so the governenment can keep them safe? This is the broad and relentless mainstream media coverage of the pandemic. Every death (‘with’ covid), every “case” (+ve PCR test), and questionable statistics, all consuming prime-time (and every other time) on air. A relentless barrage of news reporters, talk show hosts, and ‘experts’, talking ad nauseam about the virus as if the bodies are mounting up in the streets and may take you out at any moment. There’s NO commentary contrary to the myopic narrative that a holy trinity of lockdowns, masks, and vaccines are the ONLY savior in this apocalyptic nightmare. The differences between what we are fed from mainstream media and what Winston got from his telescreen in 1984, is we that we can 1) turn it off, and 2) have alternative channels of communication online - out of the reach, so far, from the big tech censors.
The point is that fear is the primary driver. It’s not the isolated and rather poorly conceived video above, it’s the entire ‘official’ narrative – There is an enemy, be very afraid, do what we tell you and you will be safe.
It works exceptionally well in an anxious and fearful society, primed with feelings of insecurity, vulnerability, and little to no spiritual footing.
Fear causes us to be reactionary, it turns off our capacity to reason, to be curious and explore (and certainly it stops us from being creative). Fear turns down the activity of our prefrontal cortex (the front part of our brain) where we can reason and make better informed judgements, and instead turns up those parts of our brain that are concerned with survival. In a state of fear we are less likely to think critically, we are more likely to simply follow the official protocol to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. The building is on fire, don’t stop and ask questions, quickly move to the emergency exit! Don’t think, just obey. This works if we really are in a burning building. But what if we are not in imminent danger and we’d do well to NOT be in a state of fear? What if the ‘crisis’ of the moment was hijacked and amplified by a propaganda machine with a larger agenda?
Even in a burning building, completely reacting in fear isn’t ideal - that’s how people die in stampedes or can’t find the right exit - we need our prefrontal cortex to be ‘on’, we need to think critically, rationally, with all our faculties, not just the adrenaline driven survival impulse.
And another thing about fear - we are very impressionable in states of fear. For good survival reasons we lay down strong memory traces in fear states. That’s why we get PTSD. If you want to alter, in a robust way, the way people respond to a situation emotionally, then a good dose of fear is in order. Fear of death will do it very nicely. Careful application of fear over a period of time (invoking a type of complex trauma) is a good way to manipulate a people into a mass psychosis to think and do as you’d want them to.
First step to escaping the mass psychosis: don’t be afraid.
Turn off the continual flow of mainstream media (including the heavily curated social media channels). Find alternative channels, but consume in moderation as these can become alternative sources of fear and anxiety.
Try a meditation practice (mindfulness, prayer, breath work) to calm the mind and body
Become grounded in a spiritual reality that lifts you above all that’s going on (my faith is in God and this relationship dispels fear)
Eat well, exercise and get good sleep (all essential for reducing anxiety)
Connect with others who are open minded, curious, supportive and not afraid to question the status quo. When you are exploring and curious you light up parts of your brain that makes it very difficult to be anxious at the same time.
Read a novel, enjoy a hobby, do something that is completely divorced from the current mass psychosis and obsession.