In the ancient legends, Cassandra is desired and then cursed by the Greek god Apollo. She is forced to spend her life uttering true prophecies, but she is never believed. When she dies, her soul is judged worthy because of her piety and her dedication to the gods. This would be great, but nobody listened to her and her accurate predictions and dire warnings went unheeded in life.

In a way, that’s understandable. We have had more than our share of false prophets. From Nostradamus to Harold Camping to Hal Turner and Alex Jones, talking heads and various economic “experts,” it has become a morass of people telling us what is going to happen. Whether we believe them or not has more to do with our biases than our intelligence.

Since 1949 we have read and discussed and joked about the dystopian predictions found in the pages of a book, “1984.” What happens when Voltaire’s predictions begin to take form as if materializing before us in the form of Orwell’s book. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

We watch as power is established for the sake of power. Nothing more. And power is the ability to tear a mind to pieces and then reassemble it in shapes of your choosing.

While…

Down in the street, they’re all singing and shouting

Staying alive though the city is dead

Hiding their shame behind hollow laughter

While you are crying alone on your bed

Pity Cassandra that no one believed you

But then again you were lost from the start

Now we must suffer and sell our secrets

Bargain, playing smart, aching in our hearts

Sorry, Cassandra, I misunderstood

Now the last day is dawning

Some of us wanted but none of us would

Listen to words of warning