Orwell's 1984 and the madness of the West

Observer

26-04-2025

This article is a plea from a Brit to his Omani brothers and sisters, especially younger Omanis: never look to the West as your model. Don't be dazzled by their technology or their slogans. Remember that a society without truth and compassion — no matter how wealthy — is a broken society.
And never forget how blessed you are to live in your beloved Oman.
As a teenager I read Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell's powerful novel written in 1949. It's a dystopian vision of the future and a stark warning of what could come. Sadly, Orwell wasn't just imagining a far-off nightmare — he was describing what we now see unfolding across the so-called 'civilised' West.
He described a world where people are trained not just to accept lies, but to believe them. In Orwell's novel, Winston Smith is forced to say and believe he sees five fingers when there are only four — and eventually, under torture, he does. This is exactly what has happened to many Westerners. Their eyes are open, but their hearts and minds are blind. They see a rise in mental illness, depression and suicide.
They read about exploding rates of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. They witness the rise in violent crime, the silent suffering of elderly parents abandoned in uncaring Care Homes.
They see cities filled with homeless, broken souls. And yet they rarely ask why. They think it's normal. Chaos has become routine. In the UK knife crime dominates the headlines. Teenagers stab each other in the street. But the public no longer reacts. It's just part of life in a 'modern democracy'.
And then there's Gaza. The UK government funded the bombs that killed Palestinian children, defended the Zionist occupiers at the UN, and criminalised protest at home. And yet they still tell themselves, 'We are the good guys.' This is Orwell's world.
A complete reversal of morality. 1984 warned us of a time when truth would be destroyed, language twisted and people pacified with distractions, fear and propaganda. That time has come. Too many Western societies, despite their wealth, are rotting from within. They are ruled by greed and delusion — not wisdom. And instead of fighting back the majority embrace the madness. Why are they sick? Why are their children lost?
In Orwell's world, silence was enforced by the State. In today's West, silence is chosen. Most people don't want to see the truth. Just like the brainwashed citizens of 1984 they look at injustice, suffering and madness and say, 'This is fine because we have democracy.'
But it's not fine. And tragically, they no longer know the difference between a healthy society and a broken one. The real danger?
That the rest of the world follows them blindly — right into disaster. Will we wake up before the West drags us into another war, perhaps even nuclear war, that could destroy all of mankind?
I take no pleasure in writing this. I am British. I was once proud of that. But the Britain I loved no longer exists.