Thursday 21 May 2015

"Unlearn...Privacy" Cards (1970s)


During the 1970s, the Scarfolk Education Publishing company produced packs of cards which taught children about society and its expectations. In particular, the cards focused on eradicating any false notions that children may have picked up from prohibited books, unauthorised wise people and illegal time immigrants (a flood of which materialised in 1979 to stockpile cake following a devastating pudding famine in the future).

In addition to the 1979 'Unlearn Privacy' pack, examples from which can be seen below, other series included 'Unlearn Altrusim', 'Unlearn Democracy' and 'Unlearn Contentment'.


The aforementioned time immigrants claimed that, by the year 2017, surveillance and the invasion of privacy become so ubiquitous that citizens' brains are connected to a central network. No thought, conscious or otherwise, is permitted expression unless it has been approved by a state computer programme nicknamed 'Brain O'Brien'. However, a backlog quickly accumulates, and many people go without a thought of their own for months, if not years at a time.

Fortunately, the government predicted such an emergency and prepared in advance a series of standardised thoughts, ideas and opinions which it inputs directly into citizens' minds. No doubt it is this considerate civic gesture which leads to the overwhelming majority vote for the incumbent party in many subsequent elections.


The bonus card above comes from an earlier pack, 'Unlearn Compassion', which was published in 1971.

3 comments:

  1. "Unlearn Contentment"? See the Scarfolk Labor party, all five living members and the myriad ghosts of bitter betrayed communists they summon to assist them, had a hand in drafting this. I voted for their assassination back in 1972, but was overruled on the grounds that "in death they will only become stronger".

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    1. Ha! You gave yourself away by typing Labour without the U, you US infiltrator! Please stand by to be picked up by the proper authorities.

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    2. The Guardian free for comment moderation team has flagged your Anglophobic spelling. The authorised approval for Australians to use and participate in British ethnicities has lapsed. Please immediately return to the BBC World Service segmentation programming suitable for your designated regional citizenship. Thank you for your visit.

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