We're living '1984' today

[CG6468]

We're living '1984' today
By Lewis Beale, Special to CNN
updated 9:22 AM EDT, Sat August 3, 2013

Lewis Beale: We live in age where authorities, companies collect information about us
He says after Snowden spying revelations, sales of George Orwell's "1984" spiked
He says elements like "doublethink" and "endless war" have parallels today
Beale: In a modern surveillance state, we're all suspects
 
Editor's note: Lewis Beale writes about culture and film for the Los Angeles Times, Newsday and other publications.

(CNN) -- It appears that the police now have a device that can read license plates and check if a car is unregistered, uninsured or stolen. We already know that the National Security Agency can dip into your Facebook page and Google searches. And it seems that almost every store we go into these days wants your home phone number and ZIP code as part of any transaction.

So when Edward Snowden -- now cooling his heels in Russia -- revealed the extent to which the NSA is spying on Americans, collecting data on phone calls we make, it's not as if we should have been surprised. We live in a world that George Orwell predicted in "1984." And that realization has caused sales of the 1949, dystopian novel to spike dramatically upward recently -- a 9,000% increase at one point on Amazon.com.

Comparisons between Orwell's novel about a tightly controlled totalitarian future ruled by the ubiquitous Big Brother and today are, in fact, quite apt. Here are a few of the most obvious ones.

Thank you, ****ed up obastard.

[JohnnyReb]

It's all OK.....didn't Nancy Poorlucy promise us in 2007 the most ethical, transparent government EVAH?

[CG6468]

It's all OK.....didn't Nancy Poorlucy promise us in 2007 the most ethical, transparent government EVAH?

...and we're still waiting................

[Freeper]

And it seems that almost every store we go into these days wants your home phone number and ZIP code as part of any transaction.

The stores do that so they can send you advertising. However every transaction can be tracked since most of us use debit and credit cards for every purchase.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Unfortunately there are just as many so-called Republicans as DemonRats who think the whole thing is just peachy-keen, including McCain, King, and Christie.

[thundley4]

The stores do that so they can send you advertising. However every transaction can be tracked since most of us use debit and credit cards for every purchase.

Cash only is what I use, and I refuse to give my cell number but I will give my ZIP code.

I was told that zip codes are used by the stores to determine which areas get their flyers put in newspapers and also where stores send their bulk mail advertisements.