Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site spar.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!prls!amdimage!amdcad!decwrl!spar!ellis From: ellis@spar.UUCP (Michael Ellis) Newsgroups: net.philosophy,net.politics Subject: Who needs it? Message-ID: <468@spar.UUCP> Date: Thu, 15-Aug-85 14:00:07 EDT Article-I.D.: spar.468 Posted: Thu Aug 15 14:00:07 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 19-Aug-85 21:00:47 EDT References: <1195@umcp-cs.UUCP> <540@utastro.UUCP> Reply-To: ellis@spar.UUCP (Michael Ellis) Distribution: net Organization: Schlumberger Palo Alto Research, CA Lines: 50 Keywords: liberty flibber dee boo Xref: linus net.philosophy:2051 net.politics:9807 _ I hereby confess a repulsion to the idea, frequently expressed in this newsgroup, that the word `free' is meaningless. After all, do we not read in Orwell's 1984 that: The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the worldview and mental habits proper to Ingsoc, but to make all other modes of thought impossible. It was intended that when Newspeak had been adopted once and for all and Oldspeak forgotten, a heretical thought -- that is, a thought diverging from the principles of Ingsoc -- should be literally unthinkable, at least so far as thought is dependent on words. Its vocabulary was constructed as to give exact and often subtle expression to every meaning that a Party member could hope to express, while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of expressing them by indirect methods. This was done partly by the invention of new words, but chiefly by eliminating undesirable words and by stripping such words as remained of unorthodox meanings, and so far as possible of all secondary meanings whatever. To give a single example. The word FREE still existed in Newspeak, but it could only be used in such statements as "This dog is free from lice" or "This field is free from weeds". It could not be used in the old sense of "politically free" or "intellectually free", since political or intellectual freedom no longer existed as concepts. ... Newspeak was designed not to extend but to diminish the range of thought, and this purpose was indirectly assisted by cutting the choice of words down to a minimum. On the other hand, there are excellent reasons for purging our so called `minds' forever of this idea. After all, was not the idea of `liberty' so horribly abused (with respect to blacks, women, native americans, latinos, &c) in this so called `land of opportunity' as below? We hold these rights to be self-evident, that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, etc... And we must never forget Joseph's McCarthy's despicable Crusade for the `Free World' to stamp out those damn communists. The words `free' and `liberty' have been used to manipulate us for too long. Maybe Rosen's right. If we cannot rigorously define the Sacred Cow (`free'), we oughta nuke it. SMASH FREEDOM!!! -michael