In turbulent times, stick to the facts – Mary T. O’Sullivan

By Mary T. O’Sullivan, MSOL, contributing writer

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.” – Abraham Lincoln

In George Orwell’s 1949 novel, 1984, a dystopian, authoritarian society exists in continuous turbulence. People don’t know what to believe, live in constant confusion, fear, and  controlled mayhem. Critical thinking and individuality are actively suppressed, through constant surveillance, and manipulation of language.  The ruling “Party’s” language, “newspeak”, a version of what we know as “double talk”, is designed to limit individual expression and personal thought, itself. Furthermore, all citizens in the novel are encouraged to hate and distrust anyone not aligned with the ruling Party. 

The Orwellian society came into being as a result of an internal power struggle, with the country’s totalitarian party ultimately seizing power, and altering facts and history to align with its story and most importantly to maintain control.  At this point in the book, there is no hint of what the previous regime looked like or how it operated. We don’t know if all the enemies of the Party or its perceived enemies were overruled and purged, what existing laws were violated, or if there were courts ignored. All we know is that the Party, in the form of “Big Brother”, controlled history and “facts” and any hint of actual accounts or memories were regularly rewritten, and previous “facts” were destroyed. A vigorous propaganda machine spewed out the Party line, and citizens were told that events they actually experienced never happened.

While we currently live in a constitutional democracy, certain actions and policies mirror the world of 1984. The shaping and control of public perception in the novel are controlled by “Newspeak” (making up words deliberating confusing and ambiguous, as using the fake word “plusgood” instead of the words “better” and “great”) to diminish people’s range of thought. Orwell also introduces us to the concept of “Doublethink” which is the ability to hold two contrary views at the same time. How many times recently have we heard “two things can be true at the same time”? In Orwell’s world, this phenomenon occurs as the result of careful political indoctrination. According to a study by George Mason University, “Winston Smith, the protagonist of 1984, doublethink is ‘To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic…’”.

Today, we have the new buzzword, “sanewashing”,  which is defined as distilling a prominent figure’s jumbled and incoherent speech into logical, understandable language. The Poynter Institute defines “sanewashing” as “the act of packaging radical and outrageous statements in a way that makes them seem normal.” New York University has pondered the response to “sanewashing” with the introduction of yet another buzzword, “truth sandwich”:  “1. Start with the truth. 2. Indicate the lie. Avoid amplifying the specific language, if possible. 3. Return to the truth. Always repeat truths more than lies.”

Promoting false information, or disinformation causes confusion and ultimately invites people to tune out. For instance, current politicians have been accused of similar behavior, such as promoting false claims about election integrity and attempting to discredit media outlets that publish unfavorable coverage. For example, there have been calls for the FCC to revoke the licenses of “fake news” media outlets, which is a blatant political effort to suppress the truth.

These are only a few examples from the novel that come close to our current experience. While we are not yet in a total authoritarian, dystopian society, certain actions and policies today may exhibit similarities that cause worry about the wearing away of our democratic principles. The manipulation of information, suppression of dissent, and centralization of power are trends that deserve attention to preserve American fundamental values: those of Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Adams, Franklin, and Washington, the founders of  American democracy.

“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell

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Mary T. O’Sullivan, Master of Science, Organizational Leadership, International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach, Society of Human Resource Management, “Senior Certified Professional. Graduate Certificate in Executive and Professional Career Coaching, University of Texas at Dallas.

Member, Beta Gamma Sigma, the International Honor Society.

Advanced Studies in Education from Montclair University, SUNY Oswego and Syracuse University.

Mary is also a certified Six Sigma Specialist, Contract Specialist, IPT Leader and holds a Certificate in Essentials of Human Resource Management from SHRM.