Arshak Andriasov

My conversation with George Orwell.

Arshak Andriasov: Thank you, George Orwell, for talking with me. Not only have your works been able to decipher the Soviet Union, but also the United States, Britain, and other powers that be. Why do you think they all fall, even though they presumably fight for “freedom”?

George Orwell: “Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it. On the whole human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time. Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.”

Arshak Andriasov: Like in your work, “1984.” It is to this day one of my favorite books of all time. Severely depressing though, unifying a completely horrific surveillance of the past and sharing your thoughts of a crumbling future. This was going to be the future of Soviet Union, but the baton was taken away by the United States in my opinion. I see so many wars being created by the United States, but everyone seems to be sedated by a media that chooses to show only the bad in other parts of the world.

George Orwell: “War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent. All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting. The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.”

Arshak Andriasov: This is why most politician’s rhetoric is fake, written by those who want to fool the public.

George Orwell: “Political language — and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists — is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. Threats to freedom of speech, writing and action, though often trivial in isolation, are cumulative in their effect and, unless checked, lead to a general disrespect for the rights of the citizen.”

Arshak Andriasov: Then what do you consider true journalism?

George Orwell: “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations. The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.”

Arshak Andriasov: What advice would you give our writers?

George Orwell: “A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: 1. What am I trying to say? 2. What words will express it? 3. What image or idiom will make it clearer? 4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?”

Arshak Andriasov: Thank you, dear Mr. Orwell, for putting everything in perspective. Hopefully, we will garner more knowledge and objectivity due to your unwavering stance in the plight for justice and fairness.