It’s 1984, and Winston Smith is not in the least bit happy with the government of Oceania, formerly London. The Party and Big Brother control every aspect of life, indirectly. They create false victories and forge any evidence that could possibly prove their inaccuracies.
The government of George Orwell’s science fiction future is somewhat similar to the current American government in the aspect of falsified or government-created victories.
Recently, five men of the Occupy Cleveland movement, which was inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement, were arrested without bail on terroristic charges. The five men were part of the inner party of Occupy, which was intended to be a nonviolent movement.
The movement would’ve remained nonviolent if not for the interference of undercover government agent Shaquille Azir.
When 20-year-old anarchist and Occupy Cleveland leading figure Brandon Baxter first met Azir, he was jobless, homeless, and disorganized, but overall rearing to get somewhere with the movement. Azir provided the people of the inner party with drugs, alcohol, jobs, shelter, and an overly compliant arms dealer.
He also provided the five leading figures of Occupy with a plan. They had not intended to spark any violence, but it seemed to be the only way to get anything done.
Passive resistance was getting them nowhere. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And desperate measures seem to be blowing things up.
It took a long while for the plans to blow up things to become realistic. The Cleveland Five plus Azir took weeks to figure out what they wanted to do with their C4 explosives and only made a definite decision with insurmountable persuasion from Azir.
Peer pressure got the best of them, and in the end, so did the government. All five Occupy leaders are currently in federal prison for their terroristic act of placing bombs on a Cleveland bridge, which would’ve killed millions-had the bombs been real.
The C4 explosives were dealt by a federal agent, a contact from trusty friend and undercover agent Azir. Naturally, when the Five tried the codes to make the bridge go boom, the FBI was outside of the restaurant waiting for them.
All five are pleading not guilty to charges of terrorism, but the terroristic actions are not where the controversy lies.
The real question is the crime itself. Every accusation of terrorism, every illegal move made by the Occupy members could not and would not have been accomplished or likely even been attempted without the help of Shaquille Azir.
The lawyers for the Cleveland Five are playing with the idea of entrapment as the saving grace of their clientele.
If the ringleaders in the bomb plot can prove that Azir persuaded and provided the means for the crime to be committed, then it is possible that the courts may side with them, convicting Azir of entrapment and proving their partial innocence.
The government is currently bursting with pride over their recent victory against terrorism on the home front. However, can Americans really call this a victory when it likely never would have happened if not for government interference?
The Occupy Five go to court Sept. 14, with the nation split. Some want the terrorists locked up for life, while others choose to see the faults of the government and acknowledge the fact that government interference and entrapment is a factor.
Unless we want the future of America to be similar to that of 1984, perhaps it’s time to get our facts straight and keep the government truthful, or admitting of its faults, at the very least.