Just finished 1984. I'm trying not to draw too fine a comparison to present-day (it was published in 1949), but some of it is so prophetic, it's scary.
What seems to me most alarming is the debasement of the language. In "Newspeak," English was pared down, so fewer and fewer ideas could be expressed. There simply were no words that could reflect them. Slogans, axioms, and catch phrases were repeated over and over and over until they lost all meaning; they were purposely created to disallow deep thought.
Now think of "support our troops," "fighting for our freedom," and similar cliches. What do these actually mean? Nothing much and they're not supposed to. Their purpose is to instill a automatic vague but positive response, that promotes the idea of "patriotism," shading into nationalism, then to support of this immoral and illegal war.
Now McCain and Palin are trumpeting the idea that they're "mavericks," who will "bring about change" in Washington. Say what?! Aren't they republicans? Didn't he vote with Bush 90 % of the time? Isn't she about the most reactionary rightist it's possible to be?
Hey, the truth is old stuff--it's illusion that counts.*
*I read this sentence years ago in The Last Angry Man. It stuck with me, as it seems so perfectly to fit our century.