You probably know him as George Orwell, but that was his pen name. His real name was Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950). He was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under that pen name. Key themes in his body of work are social criticism, opposition to all totalitarianism (both authoritarian communism and fascism), and support of democratic socialism. Many of you, perhaps, read his best-known allegorical novella, “Animal Farm” (1945), back in your High School days. Then Orwell wrote the dystopian novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four” (1949).
“Nineteen Eighty-Four” is a futuristic speculation 40 years hence from Orwell’s day (i.e. 1984), that raised critical cultural and political issues that he saw coming. In a real sense “Nineteen Eighty-Four” has proved prophetic in our day, some 80 years after Orwell wrote it. The novel centres on totalitarian government, mass surveillance of the population and repressive regimentation of people and behaviours using harsh censorship, the banning of “false information” and the like. “Nineteen Eighty-Four” is often regarded as a classic and has been acknowledged for its impact on twentieth-century literature. In these last ten years it has been referenced many times as governments everywhere have sought to overreach their mandate and impose unwarranted ideological conditions on the population.
By now, this may be sounding a bit familiar to you as we look back at the COVID lockdowns in Victoria. The experience is still fresh for many of us. But the onward march of socialist left ideologies in Western Democracies has not slowed. The overreach has increased to the point where real citizens in our day are being arrested for nothing more than the respectful expression of freedom of speech and religion. More on that presently …
“Nineteen Eighty-Four” sketches a fictional future. Much of the world is in perpetual war. Great Britain, now known as Airstrip One, has become a mere province of the totalitarian superstate, Oceania, which is led by Big Brother, a dictatorial leader supported by an intense cult of personality manufactured by the Party's Thought Police. (Sounding familiar again?). The Party engages in omnipresent government surveillance of its citizens through the Ministry of Truth (this is getting more and more familiar, right?), historical negationism and constant propaganda to persecute individuality and independent thinking. By the way, “negationism”, or historical negationism, is the deliberate falsification, distortion, or denial of established historical events, (most commonly used in reference to the Holocaust), but is now rampant in Australia where historical narratives of indigenous cultures are concerned. New narratives are created and, unlike legitimate historical revisionism, which is about correction by means of proven facts, it uses non-academic, often ideologically driven techniques, to rewrite history for political purposes. (OK, this is now all too familiar!).
Orwell described his book as a "satire" and a display of the "perversions to which a centralised economy is liable", while also stating he believed "that something resembling it could arrive". He examines the role of truth and facts within societies and the ways in which they can be manipulated with false narratives and the negating of other voices. Parallels have been drawn between the novel and real-world totalitarianism, mass surveillance and violations of freedom of expression, among other themes, today. But no longer are these limited to totalitarian regimes and dictatorships – it’s happening in Britain, Europe and now in Australia.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a Christian, has been criminally charged by British police because she “stood outside” an abortion facility in Birmingham, UK, and silently prayed. She appeared in court for a first hearing on January 29th, and pleaded “not guilty”. Isabel was charged under the Public Order Act (2023) last December by Police and the Crown Prosecution Service for silently praying in an abortion centre “buffer zone”. Her defence council argued the charges fall outside the scope of Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023, which introduced 150 metre “buffer zones” around all abortion facilities in the country, yet the magistrate determined that Isabel should stand trial. Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023 prohibits “influencing any person’s decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services” within 150 metres of an abortion facility. Yet, Isabel was charged because she “stood outside” the abortion facility – 148 metres away. She did not say anything to anyone, she carried no placards, wore no protest apparel. She prayed. Silently. The Public Order Act does not specify, or even hint, at mere presence, standing or silently praying in a “buffer zone” as any kind of offence. Nowhere in the British legal code is silent prayer - on its own – near enough to constitute criminality unless it is accompanied by evidence of “overt” activity. Yet Isabel now faces an expensive trial regardless of the fact she has broken no laws. She prayed. Silently. For less than 2 minutes. The charge is contrary to her Article 9 European Commission on Human Rights right to freedom of thought and religion. But this hasn’t deterred the zealots of the British police or judicial system. Isabel is not the first to be persecuted like this – there are dozens of others, including the arrest of a pastor in Wales after he peacefully commented on Islam and transgender ideology while street preaching in Bristol City Square - a favourite place for all kinds of public speakers on their soap boxes. Yet, he was arrested and jailed without bail for a day. He awaits trial, too. A church elder in Finland has also ended up in court for tweeting a piece of Scripture. There’s a growing list of targets being pursued by the thought police.
Ms Vaughan-Spruce has been arrested twice before for her silent prayers. She was cleared in court in February 2023 after her first arrest and, after being arrested a second time in March 2023, the police dropped their investigation. In 2024 she won a payout of £13,000 from West Midlands Police after she lodged a claim for unlawful arrests and the breach of her human rights. This is but one example of Nineteen Eighty-Four style overreach by “democratically elected” governments seeking to increasingly control their citizenry. The seeds of Nineteen Eighty-Four were sown years ago in our nation, too. Not content with the voluntary Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation & Misinformation (2021), the federal government recently passed new laws - The Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill – significantly beefing up the arbitrary powers of the already powerful Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA). This is Australia’s version of the “Ministry of Truth”. But who decides what is truth? And by what criteria? Unelected leftie bureaucrats appointed by government? It has already started with digital platforms, but don’t think they won’t come after other Isabels here. The issue is overreach in comparison to sensible laws that actually do prevent harm. But a line has been crossed – we’re not in Kansas anymore, as Dorothy might say.
Our freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression – basic human rights, which are NOT explicitly enshrined in the Australian Constitution, by the way – are being systematically and systemically eroded by government. This is not conspiracy theory paranoia – it is happening democratic systems. Christians simply MUST pray against this, and they MUST visit their local and federal parliamentarians to emphatically voice their objections. Doing nothing will guarantee that the “Ministry of Truth” becomes entrenched for ever, and we’ll be in Nineteen Eight-Four for real.
PRAY. Speak up. Write letters. While you still can.
Ps Milton
[Sources: A significant portion of the introduction to this BLOG is edited extracts from Wikipedia and other websites that provide biographical data on George Orwell. Other sources are, the ADF International website (https://adfinternational.org) where Isabel’s story is detailed at length. ADF International is a faith-based legal organisation headquartered in Vienna, Austria, that advocates for religious freedom, life, free speech, and marriage.]