Re “Introducing the Department of Mass Distraction” by Alex Beam (Opinion, Feb. 15): Between George Orwell’s “1984” and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” the debate has raged: How will the fall of democracy be realized? Orwell envisioned an autocracy by brute force and coercion while Huxley predicted the distraction and sedation of the masses to accomplish the takeover. Turns out, as Alex Beam suggests, we don’t have to choose. While the institutions of government are threatened and dismantled, the masses mainline daily doses of faux drama, amplified by an oligarchic media. The two dystopian strategies work hand in hand.
As Beam notes, the public is fixated when abuse accusations reported against celebrities are delivered as salacious entertainment. It diminishes the impact on victims and takes up precious news minutes, leaving little time to provide context on the looming threats we face “while the Republic burns.”
“Brave New World” was published in 1932, “1984” in 1949. We’ve had plenty of time to learn these lessons and yet the takeover unfolds before us in real time.
Cindy Layton
Sharon