The Evolution of a Project
For weeks I have worked hard on this project. Entire weekends I have spent in my room reading, writing, blogging, and so on. About what is my project exactly? A topic that I have learned about no more than just two months ago. Totalitarianism. Total power, total control. At first I didn't know anything about it. I didn't even know how to say it right. I wondered "what is totalitarianism?" I was very intrigued by it, I wanted to know more.
At first all I knew about it was that it was the government in Suzanne Collins' novel The Hunger Games. That was the base of this project, the roots of this very website goes back to this book. The Hunger Games was a very inspiring story for me, I simply couldn't not include it. The more I would advance in this project, the more I would learn about totalitarianism, the more I would find it revolting how our history could allow such a thing. Propaganda, censorship, brainwashing, control, fear, power... All of these are key words that I would have yet to see under another aspect, words that I would learn to understand differently, words that will have an entirely new meaning to me.
Over the last weeks I have learned everything or almost everything there is to know about totalitarianism. Its origins, ways that it was employed through history and literature, how it must feel to be a slave to this government, the ways that it has been taught to students like me... It made me realize more than ever how I was lucky to be born here, in a warless, free country. Everyday I am able to be myself, an individual. Everyday I have the right to go to school and learn about what is happening in this world. Everyday I have the right to come home to a loving family and I am free to do whatever I want. I have the right to knowledge, I have the right to have access to resources that are censored or prohibited in other countries. I have the right to have an opinion, to be able to express myself freely without being afraid that I will be punished for my thoughts. I have the right to not be or feel afraid, I have the right to public safety, to feel safe. I do not realize it, but I am lucky. Very lucky indeed because there are people in this world who do not have these rights. We, who live in a democratic society, take all our rights and freedoms for granted. If they were to ever be taken away from us, we wouldn't be able to survive in this cruel world. This is what this project has taught me.
And now this project is done. And I am sad, nostalgic for a time when I was still a clueless, innocent teenager who did not grasp the concept of freedom. Nostalgic for a time where I would read all the knowledge that has been offered to me trough the resources I have access to. Nostalgic for the hours I have spent writing and working on this project.
Never will I truly understand the consequences of living under a totalitarian regime. I thought I would, but books and websites aren't enough. But I do, however, understand the impact that totalitarianism has on me. It makes me learn about our world, or more specifically my world. It teaches me about the freedom I take for granted. And who knows, maybe one day I'll truly understand what it is to "be free".
At first all I knew about it was that it was the government in Suzanne Collins' novel The Hunger Games. That was the base of this project, the roots of this very website goes back to this book. The Hunger Games was a very inspiring story for me, I simply couldn't not include it. The more I would advance in this project, the more I would learn about totalitarianism, the more I would find it revolting how our history could allow such a thing. Propaganda, censorship, brainwashing, control, fear, power... All of these are key words that I would have yet to see under another aspect, words that I would learn to understand differently, words that will have an entirely new meaning to me.
Over the last weeks I have learned everything or almost everything there is to know about totalitarianism. Its origins, ways that it was employed through history and literature, how it must feel to be a slave to this government, the ways that it has been taught to students like me... It made me realize more than ever how I was lucky to be born here, in a warless, free country. Everyday I am able to be myself, an individual. Everyday I have the right to go to school and learn about what is happening in this world. Everyday I have the right to come home to a loving family and I am free to do whatever I want. I have the right to knowledge, I have the right to have access to resources that are censored or prohibited in other countries. I have the right to have an opinion, to be able to express myself freely without being afraid that I will be punished for my thoughts. I have the right to not be or feel afraid, I have the right to public safety, to feel safe. I do not realize it, but I am lucky. Very lucky indeed because there are people in this world who do not have these rights. We, who live in a democratic society, take all our rights and freedoms for granted. If they were to ever be taken away from us, we wouldn't be able to survive in this cruel world. This is what this project has taught me.
And now this project is done. And I am sad, nostalgic for a time when I was still a clueless, innocent teenager who did not grasp the concept of freedom. Nostalgic for a time where I would read all the knowledge that has been offered to me trough the resources I have access to. Nostalgic for the hours I have spent writing and working on this project.
Never will I truly understand the consequences of living under a totalitarian regime. I thought I would, but books and websites aren't enough. But I do, however, understand the impact that totalitarianism has on me. It makes me learn about our world, or more specifically my world. It teaches me about the freedom I take for granted. And who knows, maybe one day I'll truly understand what it is to "be free".