To accomplish this, Big Brother, America’s ruler, developed what Orwell called Newspeak, such as "Slavery is Freedom!" and "War is Peace." Big Brother did it because, as Orwell explains in the book: "If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. . . . The purpose of Newspeak is to make all other modes of thought impossible."

Well, was the book the product of what might be termed today the paranoia of someone who saw a Communist under every bed and a Fascist in every private club? Or was it a chilling portent of things to come?

I’m going to let you decide.

To lay the groundwork for your decision, I’m going to give you the entire text of Proposition 209, word for word, as submitted to the voters in California a few years back:

"The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting."

In short, equality for all. No edges for anyone for any reason.

Yet given all that, I was handed a pamphlet while out running errands a few days before Election Day. The headline on the first page, in big type, was the following:

"Vote No on Proposition 209 and Say Yes to Equal Opportunity."

And the name of the organization that produced that bit of Newspeak whose purpose was to make all other modes of thought impossible? "Californians for Justice."

Think about it.