Well I think between the Department of Homeland Security, the Waterboarding is not torture point of view many people still have, and popular entertainers like Glenn Beck telling people what to think and how to vote, the two visions are not mutually exclusive. The environment that is in the US is one of big business (compare to Huxley) and big government (compare to Orwell) they can coexist in the Military Industrial Complex.

I believe that entertainers bluster about terrorism and they spread fear about the degrading of traditional values. This entertaining through fear, is like modern reality horror, people understand that there are enemies out there, but this form of entertainment lets them dwell on it. It encourages people to see opposing views as the enemy. The irony is that it is they who scare me by spreading paranoia, and tricking people into believing that they are "news".

I am not alone in my view, "The Unreality Industry: the deliberate manufacturing of falsehood and what it is doing to our lives" Ian Mitroff and Warren Bennis Proposes that Orwellian goals can be achieved by Huxleyan means.

Great question.

I believe that there is little chance of 1984 happening any time soon. Even though the government adds more control over our lives, our basic principles of freedom will keep us from falling down the slippery slope that Orwell warned about. Whenever the government brings a new restrictions, there are thousands of voices in the US that point out that concerns that they have about it, and usually, the restrictions change.

Take for instance, the Patriot Act. There are many aspects of the Patriot Act that have come into question over the years, and have been modified from the original wording. There are also many aspects about that bill that have expired, and have never been renewed.

I have written a lot of articles over the years about symbolism in horror movies. One of my favorite themes is a general fear that is held by many Americans about loosing their rights. There are more Americans that ar worried about loosing the rights granted by the Constitution than almost any other common phobia. This fear is what drives us to question when our rights might be taken away.

As for Brave New World, that might come closer to becoming a reality. Remember that one of the underlying issues that was pointed out in Huxley's masterpiece was the loss of religion. People forgot about religion as it was overrulled by science. With the number growing ever year of more and more people that are fleeing traditional religion, this aspect might turn into a reality in our lifetimes. Remember, most churches are sustained by the faith of the older generations. As they die off, so do many of the churches.

The aspect that science is the replacement for a god, is becoming a reality in many countries. As more secrest are found int eh universe, we find that there is not a place for God where science is involved.

We have already had cloning become a reality. Granted, there are mnay UN restrictions about human cloning, but for how long? How long until one company or government begins human cloning on their own, and the old restrictions fall by the wayside?

There are tons of medical tests that a person can take while pregnant. We can find some of the most minute birth defects with simple tests. These tests grow every year in scope, and accuracy. Abortion is considered ok by many if a child might be born with a major defect. There is only a matter of time until this becomes a norm. With the failing religious circles, these warnings from Brave New World could come to pass.

Medical marijuana might be the first step towards overall acceptance of marijuana in society. Could this be the Soma that is spoken about in Brave New World?

1984 is already here. When the gov. told you that you can't smoke in a bar even if the owner of the bar wantedit. Now California has a law that you can't smoke in your own apartment and wants other tenants to turn you in. When fast food restaurants were forced to post their food data on the wall by the Gov.. When you go to places all over the Country now there are cameras watching the streets and someone is monitoring them. We have taken the first steps in giving up our civil liberties and we are telling the Gov. we want it to make us feel safe. This will continue and when it feels intrusive it will be to late to complain. Since when does a Jurist decide where we can smoke over a person who actually owns the property.

We worry entirely too much, and spend too much time devoting to negatives. Wasting time is the thing to worry about, live life with love in your heart and appreciate everything that we do have!

I worry most about "Idiocrasy" - i.e. the stupid people on earth are re-producing at an alarming rate, more kids by more fathers, starting at younger and younger ages - while the smart people are reproducing slowly and carefully at older and older ages when risks for birth defects are higher

1984 and Brave New World are here. You're living it.