Or when reality seems to feel like fiction. We love dystopian stories because they make monsters visible.
A reflection on dystopian America and the goals of Project 2025 and the Big Beautiful Bill
When we read 1984, we see surveillance without apology.
When we read The Handmaid’s Tale, we see oppression wrapped in scripture.
When we read The Hunger Games, we see the rich watching the poor fight for scraps.
When we read Animal Farm, we see the pigs on two legs pretending nothing has changed.
But what happens when the monsters stop hiding behind fiction?
Surveillance and Control
In 1984, telescreens watch you day and night.
They tell you who to fear, who to trust, what to think.
In this bill, surveillance expands while accountability shrinks.
Eyes are built in the name of safety, and no one can say when they will look away.
Even as the watchers insist:
“If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.”
Moral Cover for Oppression
In The Handmaid’s Tale, Gilead rises by calling oppression holy.
It uses moral panic to justify stripping away rights.
This bill tightens control over who may come, who may stay, who may survive.
It calls itself responsible.
It calls itself patriotic.
But at its core, it is about who gets to belong—and who must be punished for existing.
Hypocrisy and False Equality
In Animal Farm, the animals believe in equality until the pigs stand on two legs.
They say:
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
This bill calls itself fair.
It says everyone must sacrifice.
Yet the wealthiest slip through golden loopholes while the poor are told to tighten their belts.
Spectacle and Distraction
In The Hunger Games, the Capitol feasts while the districts starve.
They call it entertainment.
They call it unity.
This bill keeps the spectacle alive—flag-waving, slogans, endless campaigns—while the hungry are scolded for needing food, the sick are blamed for getting sick, and the tired are told it is their fault for not working harder.
Dystopian Parallels
| Policy / Theme | Dystopian Work | Parallel & Lesson |
| Surveillance Infrastructure | 1984 | Telescreens watch everyone; in the bill, biometric systems expand with no clear limits. |
| Moral Justification for Oppression | The Handmaid’s Tale | Gilead claims moral purity; the bill uses “security” to justify cruelty and exclusion. |
| False Equality & Hypocrisy | Animal Farm | “All animals are equal…” while the pigs hoard power; the bill cuts for the poor while protecting the wealthy. |
| Spectacle & Distraction | The Hunger Games | Capitol distracts with pageantry; the bill uses slogans to mask exploitation. |
| Tax Evasion & Wealth Protection | Animal Farm / 1984 | Elites write the rules; the bill cuts IRS enforcement while claiming fairness. |
| Privatization & Collapse of Commons | The Hunger Games | Districts stripped of resources; public lands and healthcare gutted for profit. |
| Suppression of Dissent | 1984 / Fahrenheit 451 | Thoughtcrime and book-burning; surveillance makes protest riskier and easier to criminalize. |
| Normalization of Cruelty | The Handmaid’s Tale | In Gilead, brutality becomes normal; here, hunger and sickness are labeled “responsibility.” |
Choose Your Story
These books were warnings.
Not instruction manuals.
Not templates.
Warnings.
When fiction starts to feel like reality, it’s time to ask what story you are willing to live inside.
We do not have to accept this ending.
We can write another chapter—one where freedom is more than a slogan, decency is more than a performance, and democracy demands more than applause.
Choose wisely. Because if you wait too long, the last page will write itself.
What You Can Do
✅ Share this with someone who thinks it “can’t happen here.”
✅ Contact your representatives and tell them you’re paying attention.
✅ Support organizations fighting for democracy, transparency, and human dignity.
Also, leaving a comment, share your point of view how you see society reflected in literature in modern day. Lessons hidden throughout time in a library of books. We can take this into the deep.