Pynchon's foreward to 1984

[Terrance]

Mutualcode at aol.com wrote:
> 
> NYC, 53rd between Park and Madison...
> 
> I'm just leaving the nyc demonstration for peace- stopped at an  Internet cafe. it's cold out! Rally was generally peaceful and heartwarming.
> 
> New from other anti-war rallies I've participated in- cell phones, video tape, internet coverage, and most importantly:
> 
> THE WAR HASN'T STARTED YET! At least not overtly.
> 
> When and if it does- and we all hope it never does- We're on record and we'll keep coming back.
> 
> respectfully

Of course the WAR never ends. That was part of the message today. Stop
the War. Stop them all. End the War that has been going on since Cane
killed Able. A nice idea. Of course, it's not possible. War is eternal.
And, even when a particular war ends, some are in a position to control
and dominate others. If Iraq (Iraq, we should remember,  has been at war
ever since Saddam came to power) can hold off the war long enough, the
world will withdraw the military force around his nation, the world will
sell him arms, make business deals for oil, permit him to continue his
genocide. If the world backs off, Iraq  will dominate and control the
region. It's a chess game and the UN and NATO are losing now. While
fools argue that the USA is losing, that Bush is losing, this is utter
nonsense. The real losers are the would be winners when and if Saddam is
removed and Iraq is disarmed. The USA is far down the list. Some prefer
losing  a game of chess to winning at war. They should consider reading
both GR and 1984. Very different novels. 

In 1984, there is War hysteria. And that is what I witnessed today. The
banners, the slogans, public display of outrage and  frustration about
everything good people hate, from racism, to colonialism, to corporate
greed, to genocide, was nothing more than an integral part and
confirmation of the status quo. It was an organized hysteria
manufactured and produced for TV. And although some of the technologies
used and some of the faces out front were different, it was an exact
duplicate of the terrorist attack hysteria manufactured by the
government. Both are integral parts and confirmations of the status quo.
The government won this game. Not because it used its power. Not because
the courts are corrupt. Not because it has better technologies. The
government upset the timing of the protesters. And timing is everything.
The protesters hope to upset the timing of the UN. But it's too late.
Timing, in 1984, is what makes power powerful. And the goal of the game
is to make power powerful. So what can the protesters do now? Well, they
can go buy a maga-ball lottery ticket ($125 million). It is what proles
live for. Or, better said, it is a confirmation of the status quo. The
proles' lives are arbitrary and a game of chess is not for a game for
arbitrary men, a game of chance is. So, it's quite fitting the Slothrop
ends up in a casino. Isn't it? The game of chess is played by the Party
attendants. You, old fellow, are not invited to play. It's a game of
chess and it's complex. So buy your lottery ticket and cross your
fingers, say whatever magic words (Fuck you!) will make you feel a
little better. 

War never ends. War is Eternal. 
The alliances keep shifting, but these shifts have no real significance,
no fundamental change effects the War. Because the War is a game. It's
not a problem with a solution. Stop the War. The war won't solve the
problem. War is an activity engaged in for its own sake. God is Dead. No
cause and effect. No Teleological principle or prime mover. War is a
game. There is no hope for resolution because the rules don't state that
resolution is an objective. There are lots of objectives, but these are
all part of the game. Some are social. Some are economic. Some are
political. For example, War uses up surplus production. It does so in a
socially useless manner. Imagine that! War uses up surplus production
while maintaining the status quo (in other words, wars are not good for
economies, they don't raise the standard of living anywhere, nope, not
even at the Carlyle Group or General Dynamics). Wars provide a reason
for the Elite to exist. THEY must conduct the War. However, since the
War is going on in a far away place, they simply do not provide the
PARTY Elite with the use of power for its own sake (the ultimate goal
and purpose of the Party) at home. The boot in face of the public can
not be got by conducting a far away war. Ah, but there is fire on the
Prairie and with a sustained and manufactured  threat, with homeland
security, with most of the people supporting the Party, with the poor
sheep playing the lottery, there are but a few who might cause problems
and give birth to dissidents. The enforces of Party power can actually
begin to feel frustrated because there is aren't enough people to kick
around. The Party needs opposition. It needs resisters in order to
exercise its power, to slam the boot in the face. Controlling and
dominating every aspect of life makes its very difficult for any real
opposition to be born. Power over others is inseparable from domination.
When no slow learner exists, when Winston is not possible, O' Brian is
not possible.