To the editor:

George Orwell’s book, “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” written in 1949, is a dystopian novel about a totalitarian society ruled by the omnipresent party and its figurehead, Big Brother — the Thought Police. This is where one’s personal and political thought was unapproved. I can’t help but think about the context of this novel and how it is being reflected in the United State today, in 2025. Are we undergoing a dismantling of freedom of speech right now?

Brendan Carr, a Trump lackey, and a key writer of Project 2025 and current chair of the FCC has the power to regulate licensing of electronic and other forms of media. In Project 2025 which he helped write, he said the FCC should control persons who make commentary on air such as comedians and journalists if they speak poorly of the government. In just the beginning eight months of this administration, we have seen several journalists and late-night hosts fired, because Donald Trump didn’t like what was said about him. Many network executives, along with companies, have been threatened with upcoming mergers and pulling their broadcast licenses unless they fired certain people. What happened to freedom of the press?

It is written in our First Amendment Right under the U.S. Constitution that it protects our opinions so long that they are not obscene and allows for a free press, where individuals can express themselves through publication. It also allows for peaceful gathering with the right to protest government. Under the current regime, this entire First Amendment is under siege. Trump only wants us gathering if we are praising him, and only making commentary that flatters him. Sounds like Big Brother to me.

Deleting various data from independently run studies is another form of stomping all over our freedom of speech. During his first term, Trump suggested that we not print the scientific data and results of the number of COVID deaths, and it would go away. Who will know? And, he’s doing it again with a number of scientific publications that he doesn’t like. That is another example of control and censorship.

Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” is another novel that is reflective of Nazi Germany. It depicts a future American society where books are burned and outlawed. Everyone also has a big screen TV in their homes which is used to spy on them. The book has been banned by many schools and it’s not just for a curse word. The relevance with Nazi Germany is happening in our own country with government censorship and suppression for what we read or allow our children to read under our own supervision.

Recently, Trump demanded a sculpture of a Black slave be taken from a museum. Are our Black and Hispanic soldiers the next thing to be extinguished from the military? Five people of color were found hung last week and there was no mention of it from this administration. No condemning. No condolences. Not even thoughts and prayers.

Kathy Antinone

Steubenville