--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the…" description: "\"“We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of li..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/000/neil-postman-1598_1984_we-were-keeping-our-eye-on-1984-when-the_194813.jpg" --- # We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and… ![“We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares. But we had forgotten…” quote by Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/000/neil-postman-1598_1984_we-were-keeping-our-eye-on-1984-when-the_194813.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/000/neil-postman-1598_1984_we-were-keeping-our-eye-on-1984-when-the_194813.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/000/neil-postman-1598_1984_we-were-keeping-our-eye-on-1984-when-the_194813.jpg) > ““We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares. But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell 's dark vision, there was another - slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley 's Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley 's vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think. What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny " failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions ." In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we desire will ruin us. This book is about the possibility that Huxley , not Orwell , was right.”” [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage contrasts Orwell’s fear of overt oppression with Huxley’s fear of complacent, pleasure‑driven distraction that erodes critical thought. **In simple terms:** Orwell feared forced control; Huxley feared voluntary surrender to pleasure and distraction. Key Takeaway Beware both coercion and self‑induced passivity. Themes politics media technology freedom culture control Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - media literacy education - policy making on digital platforms - personal habit formation - critical thinking workshops Key Concepts totalitarianism consumerism information overload distraction theory Questions to Reflect On - Which danger feels more present today? - How can we resist both oppression and distraction? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on one threat can blind us to the other. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aldous-huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aldous-huxley-2/) [Brave new world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave-new-world/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [George-orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/george-orwell/) [Liberal democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal-democracy/) ## Related quotes > [“he contrasts two pivotal works of dystopian fiction: George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. In Orwell’s vision, he notes, we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-gladstone/he-contrasts-two-pivotal-works-of-dystopian-fiction-george-orwell-s/) [Brooke Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-gladstone/) > [“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/what-orwell-feared-were-those-who-would-ban-books-what-huxley-feared-3/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/what-orwell-feared-were-those-who-would-ban-books-what-huxley-feared-2/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-sasse/what-orwell-feared-were-those-who-would-ban-books-what-huxley-feared/) [Ben Sasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-sasse/) > [“The fact is that the modern implementation of the prison planet has far surpassed even Orwell ’s 1984 and the only difference between our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-joseph-watson/the-fact-is-that-the-modern-implementation-of-the-prison-planet-has/) Paul Joseph Watson > [“What Huxley teaches is that in the age of advanced technology, spiritual devastation is more likely to come from an enemy with a smiling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/what-huxley-teaches-is-that-in-the-age-of-advanced-technology/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“We are all, as Huxley says someplace, Great Abbreviators, meaning that none of us has the wit to know the whole truth, the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-are-all-as-huxley-says-someplace-great-abbreviators-meaning-that/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“What we are confronted with now is the problem posed by the economic and symbolic structure of television. Those who run television do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/what-we-are-confronted-with-now-is-the-problem-posed-by-the-economic/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [For many, the recent disclosure of massive warrantless surveillance programs of all citizens by the Obama administration has brought back memories of George Orwell's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-turley/for-many-the-recent-disclosure-of-massive-warrantless-surveillance/) [Jonathan Turley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-turley/) > [“But wouldn’t you like to be free to be happy in some other way, Lenina? In your own way, for example; not in everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/but-wouldn-t-you-like-to-be-free-to-be-happy-in-some-other-way-lenina/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“You and Aldous Huxley", she said, "both have the same superior hate for the rest of the human race and wouldn't go one inch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-hennessy/you-and-aldous-huxley-she-said-both-have-the-same-superior-hate-for/) Kate Hennessy > [“The quality of moral behaviour varies in inverse ratio to the number of human beings involved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-quality-of-moral-behaviour-varies-in-inverse-ratio-to-the-number/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [I know LSD; I don't need to take it anymore. Maybe when I die, like Aldous Huxley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-hofmann/i-know-lsd-i-don-t-need-to-take-it-anymore-maybe-when-i-die-like/) [Albert Hofmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-hofmann/) > [“It would be pleasant to believe that the age of pessimism is now coming to a close, and that its end is marked by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-gabor/it-would-be-pleasant-to-believe-that-the-age-of-pessimism-is-now/) [Dennis Gabor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-gabor/) > [“He acted as if he could detect in her face nothing but its external beauties of form and texture. Whereas, of course, flesh is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/he-acted-as-if-he-could-detect-in-her-face-nothing-but-its-external/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## More by Neil Postman > [“to whom will the technology give greater power and freedom? And whose power and freedom will be reduced by it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/to-whom-will-the-technology-give-greater-power-and-freedom-and-whose/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [Cyberspace' is a metaphorical idea which is supposed to be the space where your consciousness is located when you're using computer technology on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/cyberspace-is-a-metaphorical-idea-which-is-supposed-to-be-the-space/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [Textbooks, it seems to me, are enemies of education, instruments for promoting dogmatism and trivial learning. They may save the teacher some trouble, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/textbooks-it-seems-to-me-are-enemies-of-education-instruments-for/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [The whole problem with news on television comes down to this: all the words uttered in an hour of news coverage could be printed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-whole-problem-with-news-on-television-comes-down-to-this-all-the/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“There being no international copyright laws, “pirated” editions abounded, with no complaint from the public, or much from authors, who were lionized.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/there-being-no-international-copyright-laws-pirated-editions-abounded/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“The television commercial is not at all about the character of products to be consumed. It is about the character of the consumers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-television-commercial-is-not-at-all-about-the-character-of/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Many decisions about the form and content of news programs are made on the basis of information about the viewer, the purpose of which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/many-decisions-about-the-form-and-content-of-news-programs-are-made/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“the world we live in is very nearly incomprehensible to most of us. There is almost no fact, whether actual or imagined, that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-world-we-live-in-is-very-nearly-incomprehensible-to-most-of-us/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Tüketici psikodramalarla yatıştırılan bir hastadır.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/t-ketici-psikodramalarla-yat-t-r-lan-bir-hastad-r/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Huxley grasped, as Orwell did not, that it is not necessary to conceal anything from a public insensible to contradiction and narcotized by technological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/huxley-grasped-as-orwell-did-not-that-it-is-not-necessary-to-conceal/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“The written word is assumed to have been reflected upon and revised by its author,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-written-word-is-assumed-to-have-been-reflected-upon-and-revised/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [We do not measure a culture by its output of undisguised trivialities but by what it claims as significant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-do-not-measure-a-culture-by-its-output-of-undisguised-trivialities/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“In America, the least amusing people are its professional entertainers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/in-america-the-least-amusing-people-are-its-professional-entertainers/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“The question is not, Does or doesn't public schooling create a public? The question is, What kind of public does it create? A conglomerate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-question-is-not-does-or-doesn-t-public-schooling-create-a-public/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/but-in-huxley-s-vision-no-big-brother-is-required-to-deprive-people/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) [Explore all 220 Neil Postman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) ## More 1984 quotes > [If he were allowed contact with foreigners he would discover that they are creatures similar to himself and that most of what he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-he-were-allowed-contact-with-foreigners-he-would-discover-that/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The trick is not to be isolated―if you're isolated, like Winston Smith in 1984, then sooner or later you're going to break, as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-trick-is-not-to-be-isolated-if-you-re-isolated-like-winston-smith/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“As soon as he touched her she seemed to wince and stiffen. To embrace her was like embracing a jointed wooden image. And what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/as-soon-as-he-touched-her-she-seemed-to-wince-and-stiffen-to-embrace/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“You do not exist. I think I exist. I am conscious of my own identity. I was born, and I shall die. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/you-do-not-exist-i-think-i-exist-i-am-conscious-of-my-own-identity-i/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“I'm not interested in the next generation, dear. I'm interested in us .' - Julia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/i-m-not-interested-in-the-next-generation-dear-i-m-interested-in-us/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Hasta que no tengan consciencia de su fuerza, no se rebelarán, y hasta después de haberse rebelado, no serán conscientes. Éste es el problema.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/hasta-que-no-tengan-consciencia-de-su-fuerza-no-se-rebelar-n-y-hasta/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The fact is that the modern implementation of the prison planet has far surpassed even Orwell ’s 1984 and the only difference between our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-joseph-watson/the-fact-is-that-the-modern-implementation-of-the-prison-planet-has/) Paul Joseph Watson > [“The program of the ruling elite in Orwell's 1984 was: "A foot stamping on a human face forever!" This is naive and optimistic. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/the-program-of-the-ruling-elite-in-orwell-s-1984-was-a-foot-stamping/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“What we are confronted with now is the problem posed by the economic and symbolic structure of television. Those who run television do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/what-we-are-confronted-with-now-is-the-problem-posed-by-the-economic/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Wealth and privilege are most easily defended when they are possessed jointly. The so-called ‘abolition of private property’ which took place in the middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/wealth-and-privilege-are-most-easily-defended-when-they-are-possessed/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The Ministry of Truth, which concerned itself with news, entertainment, education, and the fine arts. The Ministry of Peace, which concerned itself with war.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-ministry-of-truth-which-concerned-itself-with-news-entertainment/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“When you make love you're using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy and don't give a damn for anything. They can't bear you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/when-you-make-love-you-re-using-up-energy-and-afterwards-you-feel-2/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [ “The girl from the fiction department… was looking at him \[Winston\]… She was very young, he thought, she still expected something from life… She… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-girl-from-the-fiction-department-was-looking-at-him-winston-she/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Of course he chanted with the rest: it was impossible to do otherwise. To dissemble your feelings, to control your face, to do what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/of-course-he-chanted-with-the-rest-it-was-impossible-to-do-otherwise/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“There were things, your own acts, from which you could never recover. Something was killed in your breast: burnt out, cauterized out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/there-were-things-your-own-acts-from-which-you-could-never-recover/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) Browse all 52 1984 quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares. But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell 's dark vision, there was another - slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley 's Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley 's vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think. What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny \" failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions .\" In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we desire will ruin us. 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