Some people, especially 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 in fact, those completely separated from the spectrum, believe that the individual should have absolute jurisdiction over his or her own affairs. For starters, people can't do amazing things with government limitations. Many examples of this are found in Ayn Rand's Anthem. When the book shows up, it is revealed that "it's a shame to write this. It's a shame to think words that no one else thinks and put them on paper that no one else has to see" (Rand 1). It is against the laws of the Council to hold different opinions, or even to keep a journal of private thoughts. This opening makes the reader immediately realize that creativity is kept to a minimum, except for scholars and artists, because they were the only people allowed to create things. If today's society was anything like this, people would definitely not want to live here. Even in Russia, where Vladimir Putin has outlawed memes of the president, some people no longer want to live in Russia for this reason. Russians don't get to express themselves freely that often. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Creativity is scarce 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 avoided. Creativity is finished at first glance. When Equality created the light bulb, the Council not only rejected it, but told him, "It must be destroyed!" (Rand 74). Since they did all their work by candlelight, the light bulb would have been a great invention for them. However, they think that all men live for is to work for other men, so the idea of Equality was rejected, simply because the Council is very closed-minded. In fact, their society is so closed that they are afraid of everything they don't already know. Humankind would never progress if authority did not allow citizens to at least explore, let alone try new things. People would live boring lives, never moving forward, never doing anything exciting. Unfortunately, the residents of The City did not have the opportunities that most of the population has today. Instead, they sat like logs, never progressing and barely living. Most people today 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 especially in developed countries like America. These opportunities and innovations are what keep the human race alive. Furthermore, the government keeps its residents in the dark. This happens in both Anthem and George Orwell's Animal Farm. In Animal Farm, the animals were kept in the dark for most of the book. The deception and concealment began with something simple: the pigs take most of the apples and milk to "preserve their health." Squealer explains thus: "Milk and apples contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are workers of the brain. The whole management and organization of this farm depends on us" (Orwell 35-36). Squealer continues to explain that if the pigs failed to stay healthy and think about how to run the farm, Jones, their former owner, would return. The animals had a strong disgust for Jones, so they immediately agreed with Squealer's invention and never spoke of it again. Gradually, Napoleon (their leader) andSquealer continued to convince the other animals of lies like these. Things got progressively worse, such as when Boxer fell and was sent to a "hospital" in Wellington. In reality, he was going to “Alfred Simmons, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler” (Orwell 122). Three days after being sent, Squealer reported that he died in the said "hospital". Anyone with common sense would see that there is no hospital and that pigs are corrupt, deceitful, greedy creatures. Sometimes today officials try to keep things hidden from those who essentially don't work for the government, but that's why the media exists. Not only do journalists and the like 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 tries to keep citizens as informed as possible without being biased. Meanwhile in Anthem, their entire society is based on keeping citizens ignorant, especially about anything related to the Unmentionable Times or anything to do with individualism. They couldn't even say "I". This sentence has such priority that "There is no crime punishable by death in this world, except this crime of speaking the Unspeakable Word" (Rand 49). Equality does not learn about the Unspeakable Word for centuries. “It was when I read the first of the books I found in my house that I first saw the word “I” (Rand 98). Considering that he was twenty-one years old at the time, it was an extremely long time not to know the word “I” ". This is how far the Council would go to keep its occupants in the dark about what is happening. If reporters, journalists, journalists and even the Internet had existed in this society, this most likely would not have happened. The government can still try to control the freedom of speech of civilians, which is immoral, but this still happens people who think differently usually cooperate and eventually take power for themselves, or simply leave the country as Equality did the rest, and people who organize and carry out 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 military was killing innocent civilians , but they were also upset because the government lied about the glory of the war. Their government kept them in the dark about what it really meant to be a soldier. Indeed, the government often tries to keep the population in the dark about events and problems, such as the "weather balloon" during the Battle of Los Angeles, or even the horsemen of Proposition One recently. The government hides many things from its people, seemingly for no reason other than its own personal gain. Furthermore, the government could become corrupt. In Animal Farm, the pigs continually break their rules and change them to suit their desires. It all began when the pigs moved to the farm, where the animals were originally not supposed to resemble humans in any way. "Squealer managed to convince [the animals] that this was not so. It was absolutely necessary, he said, that the pigs, who were the brains of the farm, should have a quiet place to work" (Orwell 66). They did this more often than not, and eventually they got to the point, at the end of the book, where all the pigs walked on two legs, wore clothes, and Napoleon even started carrying a whip. This disconcerted and frightened the other animals, until Napoleon changed the original Seven Commandments into a single precept. The new commandment read, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (Orwell 134). The pigs lost all morals.
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