If one harbours anywhere in one's mind a nationalistic loyalty or hatred, certain facts, although in a sense known to be true, are inadmissible.
George OrwellRead
Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And that process is continuing day be day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except the endless present in which the party is always right.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the manipulation of truth and history by those in power.
In this quote, George Orwell articulates the concept of perpetual alteration and control over reality by a governing body, symbolizing how history is rewritten to serve the interests of the party. It suggests that the distortion of facts and the rewriting of past events renders the truth meaningless, leading to a state where only the present, defined by the party's narrative, holds significance, emphasizing the dangers of totalitarianism and the loss of objective reality.
Themes
HistoryManipulationTruthPowerTotalitarianismReality
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about media freedom, one might use this quote to illustrate the importance of unbiased history.
More from George Orwell
All quotes →The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
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Political writing in our time consists almost entirely of prefabricated phrases bolted together like the pieces of a child's Meccano set. It is the unavoidable result of self-censorship. To write in plain, vigorous language one has to think fearlessly, and if one thinks fearlessly one cannot be politically orthodox.
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Not to expose your true feelings to an adult seems to be instinctive from the age of seven or eight onwards.
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As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents.
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It is fatal to look hungry. It makes people want to kick you.
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