--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is not some alarmist Orwellian…" description: "\"This is not some alarmist Orwellian scenario; it is here, now, financed by $20 billion last year and $15 billion more this year of federal money approp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f09/william-safire-5116_administration_this-is-not-some-alarmist-orwellian-scen_2970859.png" --- # This is not some alarmist Orwellian scenario; it is here… ![“This is not some alarmist Orwellian scenario; it is here, now, financed by $20 billion last year and $15 billion more this year of federal money appropriated out of sheer fear. By creating the means to monitor 300 million visits to the United States yearly, this administration and a supine…” quote by William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f09/william-safire-5116_administration_this-is-not-some-alarmist-orwellian-scen_2970859.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f09/william-safire-5116_administration_this-is-not-some-alarmist-orwellian-scen_2970859.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f09/william-safire-5116_administration_this-is-not-some-alarmist-orwellian-scen_2970859.png) > “This is not some alarmist Orwellian scenario; it is here, now, financed by $20 billion last year and $15 billion more this year of federal money appropriated out of sheer fear. By creating the means to monitor 300 million visits to the United States yearly, this administration and a supine opposition are building a system capable of identifying, tracking and spying on 300 million Americans.” [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mass surveillance funded by billions monitors 300 million Americans, creating a system that tracks and spies on citizens, driven by fear. **In simple terms:** Huge government spending enables extensive citizen monitoring. Key Takeaway Advocate for privacy protections and oversight. Themes privacy surveillance government fear Mood alarmist critical Type political cautionary When to use this quote - legislative reform - public awareness - technology audits Key Concepts mass data collection civil liberties Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards exist? - How does fear shape policy? A Different Perspective May overstate effectiveness of surveillance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [300 Million](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/300-million-385272/) [Administration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/administration/) [Alarmists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alarmists/) [Billions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions/) [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Identifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identifying/) [Last year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-year/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Million Visits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/million-visits-4572990/) [Millions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millions/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition/) [Orwellian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orwellian/) [Scenarios](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scenarios/) [Sheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheer/) [Spying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spying/) [Spying 300](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spying-300-4572988/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Tracking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tracking/) [Tracking Spying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tracking-spying-4572989/) [United](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [In lieu of those checks and balances central to our legal system, non-citizens face an executive that is now investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/in-lieu-of-those-checks-and-balances-central-to-our-legal-system-non/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [My dream is to turn Europe into 300 million princes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/my-dream-is-to-turn-europe-into-300-million-princes/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [I'm a big fan of huge populations of people, so you'd think with 300 million people in the country, you don't even have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/i-m-a-big-fan-of-huge-populations-of-people-so-you-d-think-with-300/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [We can't tell an electorate...when you have something like in excess of 300 million people without any access to electricity at all that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronen-sen/we-can-t-tell-an-electorate-when-you-have-something-like-in-excess-of/) [Ronen Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronen-sen/) > [It will be good for us in the long run, and I mean there are, you know, six and a half billion people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/it-will-be-good-for-us-in-the-long-run-and-i-mean-there-are-you-know/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [If 300 million people were to offer up the details of their private lives, you would need to hire another 300 million people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-m-elahi/if-300-million-people-were-to-offer-up-the-details-of-their-private/) [Hasan M. Elahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-m-elahi/) > [“When a country goes from a population of 3 million to a population of 300 million (to say nothing of the radical increase in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/when-a-country-goes-from-a-population-of-3-million-to-a-population-of/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [The population of the U.S. is nearly 300 million, including many of the best educated, most talented, most resourceful, humane people on earth. By…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-population-of-the-u-s-is-nearly-300-million-including-many-of-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Kennedy said that if we had nuclear war we'd kill 300 million people in the first hour. McNamara, who is a good businessman and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-thoma/kennedy-said-that-if-we-had-nuclear-war-we-d-kill-300-million-people/) [Norman Thoma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-thoma/) > [Obama is for the 300 million souls of the United States what Andreas Lubitz was for the 150 souls of the Germanwings flight...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bachmann/obama-is-for-the-300-million-souls-of-the-united-states-what-andreas/) [Michele Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bachmann/) > [Someone, or some group in George W. Bush administration, took 300 million people to war against their will, based on a very giant lie.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/someone-or-some-group-in-george-w-bush-administration-took-300/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [A bubble in early-stage funding means maybe there's $300 million at work when maybe there should be $150, as opposed to a bubble in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-mcclure/a-bubble-in-early-stage-funding-means-maybe-there-s-300-million-at/) [Dave McClure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-mcclure/) > [With 300 million people in America, you can fail to impress 299 million of them and still go platinum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/with-300-million-people-in-america-you-can-fail-to-impress-299/) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/) > [Whenever you have dynamic interactions between 300 million people and the American economy acting in really complex ways, that introduces a degree of almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/whenever-you-have-dynamic-interactions-between-300-million-people-and/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) ## More by William Safire > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/last-but-not-least-avoid-cliches-like-the-plague/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Decide on some imperfect Somebody and you will win, because the truest truism in politics is: You can't beat Somebody with Nobody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/decide-on-some-imperfect-somebody-and-you-will-win-because-the-truest/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/knowing-how-things-work-is-the-basis-for-appreciation-and-is-thus-a/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [What a joy it is to see really professional media manipulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/what-a-joy-it-is-to-see-really-professional-media-manipulation/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [What do you call a co-worker these days? Neither teammate nor confederate will do, and partner is too legalistic. The answer brought from academia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/what-do-you-call-a-co-worker-these-days-neither-teammate-nor/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [This is what it's all about. From what I could see, you could get a bunch of people together, whip up the press and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/this-is-what-it-s-all-about-from-what-i-could-see-you-could-get-a/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [When I need to know the meaning of a word, I look it up in a dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/when-i-need-to-know-the-meaning-of-a-word-i-look-it-up-in-a-dictionary/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [A man who lies, thinking it is the truth, is an honest man, and a man who tells the truth, believing it to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/a-man-who-lies-thinking-it-is-the-truth-is-an-honest-man-and-a-man/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [The Latin motto over Poindexter's new Pentagon office reads Scientia Est Potentia - "knowledge is power." 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Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If you want to serve in a Trump administration, you're going to serve this country, not yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-spicer/if-you-want-to-serve-in-a-trump-administration-you-re-going-to-serve/) [Sean Spicer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-spicer/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. 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