We continue to read 1984 because of the similarities people perceive between our society and that of Oceania. The most prominent is surveillance. With revelations by Edward Snowden and others about domestic spying by the NSA, it is not hard to apply the slogan "Big Brother [meaning the government] is watching you" to contemporary US life. Privacy concerns in terms of our cell phones, the internet and e-mail accounts continue to be a major concern in our society. A question we keep asking is the following: to what extent does the government have a right to look into our electronic data?
Second, many argue that we stay in a state of perpetual warfare, in our case, the "war on terrorism," in order to justify the government spying on its citizens in the interest of national security. Some people also believe that, just like in the world of Oceania, citizens here are deprived of material goods and infrastructure improvements to finance a perpetual war machine.
On the other hand, levels of personal freedom and material well-being are far higher in our culture than in Oceania. We more or less live the lives that Julia and Winston long for, which include having friendships and love affairs, keeping journals, and having free time that isn't programmed by the state. We also have better food, better clothing and better living conditions than the people of Oceania. For example, chocolate isn't rationed in this country.
The fact that we argue about the degree to which we are a surveillance state or spend too much on wars shows we are a free society in a way that is not possible in Oceania. We have the freedom to speak our minds and criticize the government. However, we read the novel so that we can be reminded to safeguard freedoms while we still have them.
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