1984... or is it?

Rock the Junta paints a different picture of what it is like to live in a fascist state. I found this short story very interesting. When I hear someone mention 1984, “V for Vendetta,” or Fahrenheit 451, I paint the same basic picture of oppression, poverty, and violence in my head. The same goes when I hear about Afghanistan, Darfur, and anywhere else in the world that is suffering a “Conflict.” It won’t come as a surprise then when I say that based on the first paragraph, I expected Rock the Junta to be yet another story of poverty, violence, and oppression. But it was not. Whereas the normal “Orwellian” picture’s colors are vibrant and stark, this picture of Fascism was filled with muted colors.
The Government control method in Myanmar is very different from the typical fascism (if there is such a thing.) Here, the government rules by supreme censorship. In Myanmar, you are allowed to listen to music. You are allowed to watch American television. You are even allowed to be whatever religion you please. But the government forces you to take everything in moderation. At first I thought that this sounded like an okay deal, until I learned later in the story, that everyone was afraid that they were being watched by the government at all times. This would disturb me greatly. Everyone in the United States seems to take “Freedom of Speech” for granted. What I mean by this is; I say a lot of things, to a lot of people, about a lot of stuff regarding the government. Basically the only thing that I fear is that the person I am talking with disagrees with me. Never have I had to worry that person I am talking to, or that the person standing 10 feet behind them, could potentially report me to the government, ensuring that I get arrested. What a scary thing this would be, not knowing who you could talk to openly, and who might be listening in on your conversation.
So while the situation in Myanmar might seem tamer than those situations portrayed in books, or talked about on TV, I think that the people suffer equally. Just the fact that Scott Carrier (or whoever actually went to Myanmar) didn’t really get a straight answer from anyone is evidence to the total mind control that the government there has exercised on its people.