The history of mankind can be viewed as a struggle between despotism and spiritual freedom. Mankind is slowly awakening from the false claim that evil has authority to control and destroy individuals, cultures, races, and nations. The practical power of Christ, Truth, implied in Christ Jesus' words "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free"John 8:32. is dawning on human thought.
This year, hundreds of thousands of people are reading, or rereading, George Orwell's famous novel 1984. Sometimes described as a book that presents a negative utopia, 1984 depicts a fictional character who is subjected to so much brutality and thought control by the state that he eventually loses even the desire to break free of the despotism of the empire. His desire for individuality had been crushed.
In this extremely discouraging portrayal, government has become "Big Brother," which, in the exercise of absolute power, totally subjects its citizens for negative ends, including the glorification of war. Literary experts point out that the book is not a prophecy—that the author did not have a certain year in mind when designated evil events were to come about in a certain place. In fact, the title of the book was arrived at simply by reversing the last two digits of the year in which it was written, 1948.
