Rewind Wednesday: The Worst Company in America

In light of the tumultuous state of our economy, one of my recent posts about The Worst Company in America, once again comes to light. With the demise (and subsequent rise) of AIG, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae many people are left blaming the companies for the country’s economic woes. I am sure that many will view these as “bad” companies just because they failed and are earning tax payer dollars. A few months ago, consumers were asked to pick the Worst Company in America.

Even their logo was pretty bad

There many companies that deserve the dubious award for being the worst company in America, but in the end Countrywide Home Loans was awarded cursed as the worst company in the America. While consumers have voted this company as the worst company, is it just a branding problem?

It is amazing to witness how companies, which deliver great products and/or services, will be viewed in such a different light based on their branding efforts. How can Wal-Mart be one of the most successful companies in American history, but one of the most hated by consumers? Maybe Patrick Hanlon was right in Primal Branding (great book, book review coming soon), great brands simply need “non-believers” to reinforce the relevance of the belief system. I guess it is impossible for a brand to be universally loved (how many Apple haters are out there?).

When thinking about my own personal brand, the single most important part of branding building is disaster recovery, and this is where I think Countrywide Home Loans went wrong.

For more information about the Worst Company in America competition visit the people at The Consumerist. Enjoy this blast for the not so distant past!

Branding Disaster – The Worst Company in America

July 17, 2008

Have you ever dealt with a firm that you believed to be the worst company in America? In branding circles, we often cite companies that are branded well; Google, Disney, Harley-Davidson, and Nike are a few companies that may come to mind when you think of a good brand (company). What companies come to mind when you think of the worst company in America? Well, there is no need to fret as the people at The Consumerist have provided tournament to decide which company is the worst in America.

Who is the worst company in America?

The worst companies were initially picked by the websites readers and each week the worst company advances. Similar to the NCAA’s March Madness, it started off with 64 companies (why didn’t they have the play-in?) that were assigned ranks by the number of votes they received. After many months of companies “battling” it out, four companies have risen (or fell) to the final four; Walmart, Comcast, Countrywide, and Diebold. It will be interesting to see which company will earn the title of the “Worst Company in America” (and the infamous golden “dog pile” award). One thing is for certain, each company has suffered massive branding disasters. As time progresses, it will be interesting to see which of these companies will continue to survive. Walmart has already begun the process of shedding its image with rebranding, what about the other companies?

What is the worst company in the world to you?

Rewind Wednesday: A Halo and Your Personal Brand

Have you ever wondered why a certain person has been promoted over you? In most cases, you might be harder working, better educated, or even more well rounded. Still, you lost out on the big promotion. Chances are you were a victim of a cognitive bias known as the “halo effect“. Most people view other people/objects as generally good, or generally bad. For example, consider the follow test conducted at The California Institute of Technology as reported by Randolph Schmid of The Associated Press:

They asked 20 people to sample wine while undergoing functional MRIs of their brain activity. The subjects were told they were tasting five different cabernet sauvignons sold at different prices.

However, there were actually only three wines sampled, two being offered twice, marked with different prices.

A $90 wine was provided marked with its real price and again marked $10, while another was presented at its real price of $5 and also marked $45.

The testers’ brains showed more pleasure at the higher price than the lower one, even for the same wine

What does this mean for your brand? It means that perception is everything! Most people make the connection of high price, with fine wine and we readily accept it. Think about it, are Tiffany’s diamonds any better than those purchased from other stores? Does a Lexus do a better job than a Ford getting you from point A to point B? Is the guy in the Brooks Brother suit better equipped to lead your department than the man with the t-shirt suit (they are pretty cool)? To be honest, no one can answer these questions with 100% certainty, but because of the halo effect we normally consider one good trait, and make the assumption that something (or someone) is generally good.

When thinking about your brand, the halo effect can really help you by leaps and bounds. Focus on the best traits of your brand and build them relentlessly and people will begin to generally think of you or your product as good. Marketers have done this for years with great success (why do you think celebrity endorsements are so popular?). I encourage you to use this to your advantage in building your brand…
Now let’s rewind to the post that got me interested in this halo effect in the first place.

A Halo and Your Personal Brand

November 15, 2007

Have you ever thought about the bad decisions that you have made in your life? Why is it that people who are considered “smart” do such stupid things? Even the most educated people often fall victim to stupid or irrational actions.

In a recent post on PsyBlog titled “Why We Do Dumb or Irrational Things” 10 of the most influential psychological studies are presented. The author provides insight on psychological phenomenons like cognitive dissonance, false consensus bias, social identity theory, and bystander apathy. Each of these studies tell us a lot about our brain, and what forms our decisions. One study, however, remains important in developing your personal brand, the halo effect.

The halo effect exists when individuals make broad judgments (or assumptions) about a product or thing based on a particular trait. For example, consider Paris Hilton. Most people will say that Paris is attractive, therefore, according to the halo effect, we are conditioned to believe that others traits are positive as well. Politicians and celebrities use the halo effect particularly well. Most people who are voting for Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, or any other candidate know very little about what these individuals will do in office. They use the “halo effect” in order to make themselves more electable. Think about the smiles, and positivity that oozes from these politicians, it provides a reason for the general public to “support” their cause.

When considering your own personal brand, the halo effect, can go a long way to build how you are perceived. To some people, this effect comes naturally. People who are really attractive experience success because attractive people are viewed as better. This is precisely the reason you rarely finding unattractive people promoting products. Attractiveness is not the only attribute that can give your brand a boost. Other attributes like wealth, knowledge, or physical strength could have the same effect. The challenge is to create a halo effect for your brand.

Create value for your target market and promote yourself with your very own halo effect. Chances are you will be more successful at achieving your objective than you could imagine.

Rewind Wednesday: Paperwork Hell

After reading this post, I have a renewed interest in a goal that I set out to accomplish two years ago. Reading has always been a favorite pastime of mine, and reading at least twenty books on that list will be accomplished soon. Looking back, I was so much more optimistic about my future as a MBA grad. Considering I did eventually take classes (which ultimately didn’t transfer) overseas, I was so ambitious about earning the degree vs. gaining valuable experience. One thing I have learned is that life has this funny way of teaching us things…

Enjoy!

Paperwork Hell…

February 17, 2005

Well, things are slowing down here (both with the war and my unit) so there is not too much more to report of. I still plan on sitting down and going over my typical day, so stay tuned. This past week I have been on tower duty (basically guarding the perimeter of this base) so I have not done anything too exciting. We (and SGT Kevin, I will just try to use first names) were in the tower and we did not see anything at all out of the ordinary which is of course a good thing. Other than that, things are still the same here.

I am still in the process of applying to take some graduate courses at American Military University (to fill in the core course of the Master’s degree that I am pursuing through Capital University ) and it is very difficult. Not being able to contact people and institutions directly does place somewhat of a strain on myself, but I think everything will work out fine. The military is slated to pay 100% of the education, but it seems that they want me to jump through 10,000 hoops to get there so it is at times frustrating.

In other news I have added another goal to my already ambitious lists (can never have too many goals). I am going to set out to read at least twenty of the books from this list (I already have four) and ten books from the non-fiction list. I guess knowledge is power, and I want to empower myself to the fullest potential.

On the American front, it seems that we are facing very scary times. With the “axis of evil” in the news everyday, I often worry about how long it will be until we launch our next pre-emptive attack on one of these countries. I just pray that our leaders are making the right decisions, I just wish all war could go away. I definitely would like to study more about war (on the theoretical side) just to understand why it becomes necessary, and what is usually resolved (since the policy has moved away from “war” and more towards “police actions”. Oh well, enough rambling for now, better get back to work!

Rewind Wednesday: Trying To Adjust

Every Wednesday, I examine a post from the past and try to make sense of exactly what I was thinking at the moment. This post was written in early 2005 after being in Iraq just under one month. Up until actually arriving in Baghdad, I was scared out of my mind. Images from television, books, and movies formed everything I knew about fighting for my country in a foreign land. After a few weeks, however, my innermost fears where far from reality. Believe it or not, I worked in an office setting and had Seattle’s Best coffee powering my day. The war, however, still raged outside of the comfy confines of Camp Liberty.

After actually realizing what war is (moments of shear excitement, followed by long periods of boredom) I was surprised to FOX News reporting about the heavy attacks on my base, while I watched explosions on TV. Now in my position, we were the first to know about attacks on our base, but Geraldo was telling us, on live TV, that the attacks were coming as revolt to the elections that were taking place. The elections came and went, and over the course of a year in Iraq very little changed, go figure. Since that moment, however, I have been highly suspcious of any reporting done by FOX News, CNN, or even MSNBC. Unfortunately, these outlets are trying to sell a product and in the meantime the real news slips by.

Today, the daily happenings in Iraq or Afghanistan take a back page to Paris Hilton’s latests exploit or the dumbest slip-up by John McCain or Barack Obama. Still, there are men and women putting their lives on the line to help make America a better place. They deserve much better from the media, and American public.

Time turn back the clock to January 26, 2005…….

Trying to adjust…

No, I have not been slacking on writing, but it has been difficult trying to adjust. We are in the middle of trying to replace a unit that is now leaving, and I guess it will take a few more days. In the meantime, I am currently working a twelve hour shift – everyday. They say things will slow down, but we shall see!

Anyways, Iraq is a lot different than what I thought it would be. For instance, it is very cold and has rained for three days straight (it is extremely muddy). The city is in very poor shape (obviously). On this morning, around three o’clock (a.m.) I got another reason to hate our media. In the Tactical Operations Center (where I work) there is a satellite television (for intel purposes). So usually the television is on FOX News, and Geraldo Riveria was reporting live from Camp Liberty (the base that I am at in South Baghdad). So I guess as he was giving his report illumination rounds went off (not the kind that kill, they just light up the sky) and he was just going ballistic as to give the impression that we were getting attacked. Nonetheless, that very image can be misconstrewed in the states to look like an attack (we speculated that FOX News, and all there sensationalism called for the rounds), but really things are not that bad here. Still we are taking special precautions (can’t go into detail for obvious reasons) for the up coming elections. I just hope all goes well!

Rewind Wednesday: Mr. VIP is Coming to Town

As the 2008 elections start to rev-up into high gear, I am reminded about my experience with politicians while in Iraq. For the most part, most troops really could care less about these politicians. They come over to Iraq for a day, walk around, shake some hands, and then leave. This gives them experience “on the ground”. Most of my fellow soldiers would get upset over the fact that these VIPs often attracted a unusual large contingent to protect them. Of course, as important pieces of our powerful country, they do need the protection, but the importance of our lives was usually taken for granted. As a solider, however, this is something that you come to expect. We often wondered how much these individuals REALLY cared about our well-being…

Donald Rumsfield was not the only VIP that showed up to Camp Liberty during my deployment. We also had visits from Toby Keith (he was cool for a country singer), Vince Vaughn (he was a jerk), President George Bush, 50 Cent (can you believe the Kevlar helmet hurt his neck? What a wimp), and the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.

As difficult as things can get over there, it was still nice to know that someone cared…Enjoy (-:

___________________________

REWIND!!
___________________________

4.10.2005

Mr. VIP is Coming to Town !

Well, I am still here and the war is STILL going on. Today is kind of special, it marks the sixth month of me being deployed. It is safe to say that I am COMPLETELY in the military mode. These six months have fully transfered me from an ordinary joe, to a complete soldier. It seems like all the time that I have been in the National Guard, I never really FELT like a soldier, well now I do. The walk, the talk, the jargon are all part of my daily life now. I try to keep myself grounded (reading or talking to my wife via Yahoo! IM) but it is slowly creeping over me, like a thief in the night…I am becoming a different person. Not different in the sense of bad (or good for that case) but different in the way that I view the world, my family, and myself. One can never know the true beauty of being alive, until everything is taken away, that is how I feel at this time. It is somewhat hard to explain. It is remorse, but not sadness. It is joy, but not happiness. It is everything, but not anything. My life has become…simple. I am not quite sure if that is a good thing, or bad, but it just is. I do know that I have a full appreciation of everything that I have. My wife, kid, family, friends, job, car, and even taking the garbage out will have a new meaning when I return. I have gained more than just appreciation but my vision is clear, I definitely have a lot more meaning to my life…enough about me though.

Here on base everyone is going crazy in anticipation of the “VIP.” While there is speculation about who the VIP is (it is classified information) everyone has narrowed the list to the five most important political people in America. I do have my guess, and everyone has a guess but I guess that we will just have to wait and see. Nonetheless, a visit from this individual has effectively shut down nearly half the base, so I figure that this person is REALLY important. My guess is that it is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (if you can figure that out). I guess we will have to wait and see! I know that other VIPs that have come (the Secretary of the Army and the Joint Chiefs of Staff) have not commanded as much attention, so this “highly visible” individual should be interesting. Unfortunately, I was not put on the list to meet this person, but I will get photos!

Rewind Wednesday: Disaster

In America, we love disasters. For whatever reason, they give real meaning to our lives. Somewhere in the world disaster is causing multiple deaths and grieving. Unfortunately, not a day goes by that disaster is not a part of the regular newscast at CNN, or any other news outlet. Part of me believes that this is because we, as Americans, are interested in the problems of others. Why else are reality TV shows becoming so popular?

Today, the world is smaller than ever before. We literally have unlimited information at our fingertips. News blurbs alert us of the next big disaster within hours (if not minutes) of it happening. Most people will discuss the tragedy and within the next few days, it disappears from our minds. Of course, those who are connected to the latest tragedy suffer for much longer than most of us. In the end, you have to wonder, what is the purpose?

This Rewind Wednesday post focuses on two disasters that occurred while I was serving overseas. One of the disasters, Hurricane Katrina, touched nearly everyone in the United States. To this day, people are still suffering as result of this tragedy. Most of us (myself included) really forget about the impact that it had on our fragile nation. The second disaster, however, did not come up on the “disaster machine” of our media. While in Iraq, nearly the same amount of people were lost after marching for religious beliefs.

In all, there is something to be learned from disasters. Life is precious. Life is beautiful. Life is valuable. Whether you are a rich and famous person like the late Sean Taylor or a lesser known person like my fallen friend Michael Gwinn. We should take disaster seriously, and extend help to those that are suffering.

Time to rewind….please overlook the OBVIOUS spelling error, I was in a war zone you know (-:

___________________________

REWIND!!
___________________________

9.01.2005

Diaster….

We having all been following Katrina, and her affects and it is simply terrible. Not only is this the largest natural diaster in America dollarwise, but many lives have been lost. It is terrible to see the lawlessness that has ensued, sad also. I just read an article that reports a large number of people are running around with weapons and chaos is the norm. Wow, it is crazy how a diaster can bring out the good in some, and the evil in others. On a side note, there has been a tragedy here in Iraq also. On yesterday thousands of Shitte commenced on a annual pilgrimage to the burial place of one of their Imans (something like Christian’s 12 disciples). During this pilgrimage many individuals carry blades and swords to cut themselves to remember the Iman’s sacrifice. Yes, it is a scary site seeing all of the Iraqis carrying weapons, but it is a ceremonial thing, something that they could not do during Saddam’s regime becuase it was outlawed. Anyways, during the course of the march someone within the march yelled out a suicide bomber was admist them. A melee ensued and hundreds of people were tramppled and others drowned after jumping into the Tigiris (the stampede occured on a bridge) and drowning. The last numbers have approximately 800 dead, and 300 injured. The sad thing is that a suicide bomber was not found. This is the largest loss of life in Iraq since after the invasion. Sad…tragedy across the world. Are things getting better? Or worse? I sometimes worry…

On a brighter side of things, I recently recieved a movie of my daughter scooting! She is progressing really well. She can scoot (backwards) and hold her head up really well. It is suprising because she has advanced soooo much in the two months since I last seen her. It is also amazing how technology has truly made the world a smaller place. For instance, my wife can send me a video she just made in a matter of seconds! A website called megaupload allows users to send up to 150 MBs of info in a matter of minutes! What a beautiful thing.

I will continue to post with additional updates, and thoughts on Katrina…

Have you ever been affected by a disaster?

Rewind Wednesday: Shed So Many Tears

Almost two years have passed since I first step foot in Iraq, and unfortunately, not too much has changed. As a matter of fact, it appears that things are taking a turn for the worse. More troops are dying, more families are being separated, and more people are left wondering why America continues to occupy Iraq. Is there really an end in sight? If you listen to all of the people running for the presidency, especially Barack Obama, yes there is an end in sight.

After really deep thought, the war in Iraq is probably a good thing, if you look at the totality of the situation. In order to maintain its supremacy in the world, America must take aggressive actions to secure its position. If this means war in the Middle East to secure a great share of the world’s oil supply, then so be it! At least that is the best I can think of…

As the war drums begin to beat louder in support of war with Iran (please no!) I recall a post that I made after recent attacks on Camp Liberty while I was in Iraq. The sentiment has not changed for me, we need to become more aggressive in Iraq or completely abandon the situation. Enjoy (-:

___________________________

REWIND!!
___________________________

6.03.2005

Shed So Many Tears…

Things are really starting to become a tad bit dangerous here, even on base. It seems as if our increased pressure on the insurgents has caused a spike in attacks directly on our base. They are definitely becoming a lot more bold when it comes the coalition (who am I fooling, the AMERICANS). In the past few days, there have been multiple rocket attacks on base that have cause some casualties and two deaths. It is pretty weird, everytime you think things are safe something happens. Everyone jokes about the possibility of getting hit somewhere on base, but I think that people are afraid. The only problem is…what can you do? Stop going out of my room? Stop eating? Stop going to work out? There is really no choice, you got to continue living your life and avoiding thinking about the consequences of your actions, whatever they maybe. I simply wish I was not here, the only thing you can do is occupy your mind with other things and be aware of your surroundings. The likelihood of attacks base is minimum (there have probably been about 10 in my immediate area since I have been here), but you NEVER know which one could have your name.

In my opinion, things really need to change here. I have always thought of myself to be a passive person when it comes to war, and violence – but that is changing quickly. Why don’t we (America) take a more aggressive approach? This is war and the sad thing is there WILL be innocent people killed we can’t help that, but why should we continue to stay here a play defense and becoming sitting ducks? It does not make sense, you always hear in the news about all of these trained Iraqi soldiers, but trust me I have seen a lot of these soldiers and though I respect them for what they are doing they are FAR from ready to handle this complex insurgency. FAR from it… Nonetheless, the longer we stay here the more difficult the situation will become. There are many reasons that this is so. First, it is difficult to win over the hearts of those that are deep entrenched in their faith. For those fighting in what they believe, they are willing to sacrifice their lives for what they believe is right. How can you defeat a person with that type of attitude? Second, the deep division between the different ethnic/religious groups makes it impossible for us to be able to obtain a unified front. The Sunni’s and Shia are on the verge of civil war and the Kurds just want their own independent state. How can we make one happy without alienating the others? While all groups have equal representation in the new government, we could never understand the deep hatred that they all have for each other (in general). Third, there are many poor people here willing to do whatever they can to support their family. Their is no way the economy here can do well if they are under constant military watch. What is my solution? Obviously, we need to pull all of our troops out of the country. It is inevitable that whether we pull out now or later, there will be a huge vacuum of power as murder and coup’s will replace diplomacy and working together. Sad, but true… What really needs to happen is that we (the West) needs to reduce its dependency on oil. There have to be other ways for us to produce energy. Depending on foreign oil is so costly, we have shed to many tears over this black gold. When will it end?

Rewind Wednesday: The Beginning

The following is the first ever post to this blog. Oh how times have changed! I can remember how scared I was before I actually stepped foot in Iraq. Uncertainty was the greatest fear. We often watch what is happening on the news, and for most that is reality. Thank goodness the news is not reality! In actuality, I learned a lot from serving the US Army in Iraq. There were lessons that were valuable, and honestly it has improved my life (for the most part).

It is hard to remember exactly how I felt three years ago around this time. I had a pregnant wife, and a lot of worries. By the grace of God I made it back in one piece.

Enjoy (-:

___________________________

REWIND!!
___________________________

9.27.2004
The Beginning

I don’t know what to think…I don’t know what to feel…I don’t know how to act…I don’t know how to prepare… one thing I do know is that I have been called to protect America in it’s war on terror. I am a soldier, a buffalo soldier…a keeper of the peace, yet I am unsure of how things will work out. My unit, the 612 th Engineer Battalion, has been called to serve the Ohio National Guard (more likely America) to defend against the threat of terror. While I am happy to stand up a fight for America, I am worried about what the future holds. Recently I married a wonderful woman (whom I love very much). Even more recently, I have learned that I will be a father. Yet these exciting times are juggled (no better word comes to mind) as I have been called to duty. The worry of missing the birth of my first born is prevalent. So is the difficulty of leaving my wife, but duty calls and I am inclined to respond. It is my full intention that one day I can look back on these times and realize the beauty, pain, and frustation of it all. This is my story…….

Rewind Wednesday: Toy Solider

Operation Iraqi Freedom faces a very unique challenge. Unlike any other conflict in the past, troops must fight in a conflict AND deal with the realities of instant information. Not only do most soldiers have blogs and cell phones, but the media receives and disperses information almost instantly.

In this post, the media picked up on a story about an missing solider. Not only was this solider in the US Army, but he was part of my unit. The media picked up this story, and ran with it so fast that it was scary. The photos of the “hostage” can be seen on the right. Fortunately, it was a false alarm …

Enjoy (-:

___________________________

REWIND!!
___________________________

2.02.2005

Toy Soldier…

On last night we received a scare, but it actually has a funny ending. On last night we were interrupted from our sleep for an accountability formation. The rumor was that someone had been kidnapped from base since we don’t usually take accountability for soldiers in the middle of the night. Turns out that a guy in my section, SPC John Adams, was thought to have been kidnapped. Once we were able to account for him (he had to speak to a two-star general to confirm he was fine) we had found out that the bad guys had a photo of a John Adams that was going to be beheaded if certain terrorists (bad guys, I hate using that buzz word) were not released. The story has been all over CNN, but it appears as if it is a toy soldier as no US soldiers are missing “So-called U.S. hostage appears to be toy” so the whole thing was a hoax and it appears to be a toy. I guess there is a propaganda war being waged by the bad guys to scare or intimidate in any way possible, luckily these time they did not succeed.

On the homefront, I am getting closer and closer to becoming a father and honestly I don’t know what to do. I am afraid of what to do or how to act, but I guess (or hope) it will come naturally. I am definitely looking forward to what will be the happiest day of my life. My wife is now eight months pregnant and beginning pregnancy classes on tomorrow. It is really difficult to not be there and support her at this time. Honestly, I have been a lot more moody about it lately, but the is nothing I can do…

As a side-bar we do have CNN in the area that I work and it is a shame that the Michael Jackson case is getting more attention than the important work we are doing here in Iraq. It just shows how fickle people are, oh well, just had to vent because it looks like this Jacko case will be a deal for months to come.

Rewind Wednesday: Book Review 1984

For those that missed the last post, every Wednesday we will step into a time machine and explore a post from my original blog, Buffalo Solider: An American Solider.

In this post we will explore a review on one of the greatest books ever, 1984. Most people have read the classic with the government slogans:

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORE IS STRENGTH

Enjoy (-:

___________________________

REWIND!!
___________________________

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Book Review: 1984

The book 1984 is quite simply one of the best books that I have read, period. The book was written by George Orwell (real name Eric Arthur Blair) short after World War 2. Similar to myself, Orwell fought in a war as a Sergeant for the British Army. According to Orwell that purpose of the book was to “to alter other people’s idea of the kind of society they should strive after.” With that goal in mind, I believe that Orwell did a wonderful job in constructing a society that would definately alter any idea about a totalitarian society.

The reader is introduced to Winston Smith who is a citizen in the imaginary super-state of Oceania (present-day Great Britian and the Americas). Under the strict totalitrian rule of Big Brother (the “ruler” of Oceania) Smith becomes increasingly anxious about “being a human being.” The novel follows his journey to overthrow life (and government) as he knows it, in his quest to become a human being.

In the book, Orwell does a wonderful job of introducing his character and creating the surrealistic world of 1984. One would guess that is characters came from real life experiences as a working class individual under British Imperialism in his homeland of India. Orwell’s ability to develop his characters leads the reader to sympathize with (or maybe hate) those in the novel. The characters are nicely placed under the all-seeing “Big Brother” and the reader does feel this tension throughout the story.

The theme of is straight forward, as stated eariler Orwell want to paint a picture of what he believed might become of the different political and social organizations of his day. While the way Orwell presents his thoughts might seem outlandish at first, a through reading of the book does give the reader a erie feeling of the current political situation of America. For example, Orwell discusses the need for war to maintain society:

“The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of humna labor. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent.”

While the reader may disagree, Orwell understood all to well the function of “war” in our society. In addition, Orwell discusses “classism” and other relatively socio-political aspects of government formation in this novel. Within all of the different discussion of these things, Orwell still manages to produce a wonderfully entertaining story.

While we have not (in America) reached a totalitarian state, the novel does present an erie allusion to the current state of the world. Nonetheless, I believe that this book is a must read for anyone who loves books. You definitely will not be disappointed! Orwell’s style makes this book an easy read and a highly intellectual lesson.