Clive Lilwall

1994 Clive Lilwall

"1994: The Year of Trying to Live Happily Ever After" describes a year in the life of someone who attempts, with mixed success, to help himself and others avoid the pitfalls of faulty language, learn to think reasonably and so increase chances of happiness. George Orwell's "1984" and "Animal Farm" are warnings of how language can be used to manipulate and control us. Who can forget "1984"'s Ministry of Peace, which was used to promote war? Or Napoleon's slogan in "Animal Farm": "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others"? Present day technology has strengthened the role of the manipulators and propagandists. Those who profit from the misuse of language besiege us with their twisted words. We have to be aware of how they distort the facts.