Even as Churchill hailed such [terror-bombing] raids, George Orwell,
then a commentator for BBC radio, denied Britain followed a policy of
exterminating civilians. In his broadcast of June 6, 1942 ("Orwell:
The War Commentaries," Pantheon Books), he announced: "These
attacks…are not wanton and are not delivered against the civilian
population, although non-combatants are inevitably killed in them." As
the tide of the air war turned against Germany, Orwell broadcast, "The
people of this country are not revengeful, but they remember what
happened to themselves two years ago, and they remember how the
Germans talked when they thought themselves safe from retaliation." <
I've known for awhile that Orwell's _1984_ involved not just a
critique of Hitler and Stalin, but also reflected his own personal
experiences, as part of the British World War II propaganda machine.
It's clear from the above that he was sucked into the doublethink that
plays such a large role in his dystopia.
Of course, the same thing happened after the war, when he got sucked
into the doublethink of British McCarthyism. A smart guy, but weak
(especially when sick, as after WW2). He had good principles, but had
a hard time living up to them.
--
Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own
way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
