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Essay / The People and Their Rights
Some people, primarily those on the left side of the political spectrum, believe that the government should control every aspect of an individual's life. Others, on the opposite side, think differently. Those on the right side, or indeed those on the far side of the spectrum altogether, believe that the individual should have absolute jurisdiction over his or her affairs. For starters, people can't do amazing things with government limits. Many examples of this can be found in Ayn Rand's Anthem. When the book comes up, it is revealed that "it is a sin to write this." It is a sin to think words that no one else thinks and to put them on paper that no one else must see” (Rand 1). It is forbidden by the Laws of the Council to hold differing opinions, or even to keep a journal of one's private thoughts. This openness lets the reader know right off the bat that creativity is kept to a bare minimum, with the exception of scholars and artists, as they were the only ones allowed to create things. If today's society were like this, people definitely wouldn't want to live here. Even in Russia, where Vladimir Putin banned memes of the president, some people no longer want to live in Russia because of it. Russians do not often have the opportunity to express themselves freely. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Creativity is rare there, but not as much as in The City in Anthem. Not only is creativity almost absent, but when someone expresses themselves, they are shunned. No, more than shunned. Creativity stops at first glance. When Equality created the light bulb, the Council not only rejected it, but they told it, "It must be destroyed!" (Rand 74). Since they did all their work by candle light, the light bulb would have been a great invention for them. However, they believe that the only reason men live is to work for other men, which is why the idea of Equality was rejected, simply because the Council is very closed-minded. In fact, their society is so closed-minded that they are afraid of anything they don't already know. Humanity would never progress if authority did not allow citizens to explore, let alone try new things. People would live boring lives, never moving forward, never doing anything exciting. Unfortunately, the city's residents did not have the opportunities that most of the population has today. Instead, they sat like logs, never progressing and barely living. Today, most people have the opportunity to have new experiences, venture out into the world, and invent things if they want. Not so much in third world countries like Latin America, but more so in developed countries like America. These opportunities and innovations are what keep the human race alive. Furthermore, the government leaves its residents in the dark. This happens in both Anthem and George Orwell's Animal Farm. In Animal Farm, the animals remained unconscious for the majority of the book. The deception and cover-up started with something simple: the pigs take most of the apples and milk to "preserve their health." Squealer explains: “Milk and apples contain substances absolutely necessary for the well-being of a pig. We pigs are brains. The whole management and organization of this farm depends on us” (Orwell 35-36). Squealer continues to explain that if the pigs fail to stay healthy to consider how to run the farm, Jones,their former owner would return. The animals had a strong distaste for Jones, so they quickly accepted Squealer's fabrication and never spoke of him again. Little by little, Napoleon (their leader) and Squealer continued to convince the other animals of such lies. Their situation gradually got worse, such as when Boxer fell and was sent to a “hospital” in Wellington. In fact, he was going to see “Alfred Simmons, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler” (Orwell 122). Three days after being sent, Squealer reported that he had died in said "hospital". Any sane person would understand that there is no hospital and that pigs are corrupt, deceitful, greedy creatures. Sometimes today officials try to hide things from those who don't primarily work for the government, but that's why the media exists. Not only do journalists and others keep us informed, but most of the time it's the truth. With the exception of Fox News and a few other news companies, the media attempts to keep citizens as informed as possible, without bias. Meanwhile, in Anthem, their entire society is based on keeping citizens in ignorance, especially about anything related to the Unmentionable Times, or anything to do with individualism. They weren't even allowed to say "I." This decision is such a priority that “there is no crime punishable by death in this world, except that of speaking the unspeakable word” (Rand 49). Equality doesn't learn the Unspeakable Word for ages. "It was when I read the first of the books I found at home that I first saw the word "I" (Rand 98). Considering that he was twenty-one years old at the At the time, it was an extremely long time without knowing the word "I". That's how far the Council would go to keep its occupants in the dark about what's going on. had existed in this society, this probably would not have happened The government can always try to control the freedom of speech of civilians, which is immoral, but it always happens People who think differently usually collaborate and end up taking over. power for themselves, or simply leave the country as Equality others did, as well as those who organize and lead revolutions, have similar ideas Just look at how Americans reacted when they saw. what real war was like during World War II. Most were not only outraged that the army was killing innocent civilians, but they were outraged as well. also upset because the government lied about the glory of the war. Their government kept them in the dark about what being a soldier really was. In fact, the government often tries to keep the population ignorant of events and issues, such as the "weather balloon" during the Battle of Los Angeles, or even the Proposition One Horsemen recently. The government hides many things from its people, seemingly for no reason other than its own personal gain. Additionally, the government could become corrupt. In Animal Farm, the pigs continually broke their rules and changed them to suit their desires. It all started when the pigs moved to the farm, in which the animals were originally not supposed to resemble humans under any circumstances. "Squealer managed to convince [the animals] that this was not the case. It was absolutely necessary, he said, that the pigs, who were the brains of the farm, had a quiet place to work" (Orwell 66 ). They did this more often than not, and eventually got to the point at the end of the book where all the pigs.