Is Thoughtcrime present in today's society? Do people get in trouble for thoughtcrime today?
The answer to this would be a combination of both yes and no. No in the fact that I could log into Twitter right now and call President Obama whatever I please and nothing bad would happen to me. However, it is a crime in some instances. There is not really any clear list of thoughtcrimes in 1984, it is up to the interpretation of the Party on what a thoughtcrime is. Winston plotting to overthrow Big Brother and parading around with Julia are both examples of his thoughtcrime. Working in Minitru gives him many other opportunities, though. If he attempted to expose wrongdoings of the Party, that would probably be considered thoughtcrime and he would be killed. So is thoughtcrime an actual crime in the US today? Yes. in 2013 Edward Snowden exposed the NSA for spying on American citizens. He had to flee to Russia to avoid being put on trial for treason by the US government, a crime punishable by death, just like in Oceania in 1984.
I think we practice thought control in much more subtle ways--take a look at the education system--isn't that thought control? Religion? Sports or entertainment? All around us people are telling us what to think or how to act--why did we start thinking we were incapable of thinking in the first place?
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