That's so Orwellian!

Have you noticed how, like, every single gosh darn politician and activist in the entire known universe has, at one point, tried to compare their opponents to the Big Brother regime in Orwell's 1984? It seems we have found a new "reductio ad Hitlerium" - "reductio ad Orwellium". Reducing something to sound like an Orwellian nightmare because you don't have anything more intelligent to say.

1984 is among the most potent and hugely intelligent commentaries on politics and human nature in the last 100 years. But that doesn't mean by making reference to it, your argument suddenly becomes cleverer. It usually has the opposite effect, because such references are hardly ever used thoughtfully and constructively, even by clever people. People don't follow such arguments through rationally, they just tag THEREFORE IT IS LIKE ORWELL on the end of their as-of-yet vaguely sensible argument against a thing, which is idiotic on, like, every level. One hilarious example surfaced on the BBC News Site Commenting Melarkey after the public-place-smoking-ban in 2007. As I recall, it was pretty much like "restricting when and where people can smoke? What's next, huh? CAMERAS IN OUR BEDROOMS?!"

Basically, reductio ad Orwelliums are one of those ridiculous shortcuts for getting out of making a proper argument (like the word extremism). They should stop being used as of now by everyone. Or there may be dire consequences. I mean, there's only a few short steps between lazy debating and THE THOUGHT POLICE!!!

P.S. I know I didn't coin the term "reductio ad Orwellium". So don't be all like "plagarisererer!!!!" on my ass.

P. P. S. It strikes me at this time that "that's so Orwellian!" is actually quite a sassy-sounding phrase.