Who Is Noam Chomsky?
“Any dictator would admire the uniformity and obedience of the U.S. media.”
-Noam Chomsky
“I have often thought that if a rational Fascist dictatorship were to exist, then it would choose the American system.”
-Noam Chomsky
“If the Nuremberg laws were applied, then every post-war American president would have been hanged.”
-Noam Chomsky
The remainder of this post will be an initial commentary on remarks made by Naom Chomsky at Tufts University shortly after the attacks of 9/11. Check it out here, read my response, then let me know what you think.
My cousin Jason asked me to check this out and I must say that my initial reaction was not positive. In order for me to like what this guy is saying, I would have to abandon a universe of opinions that I hold quite dear. For me to rally around this guy, I would have to admit to a naiveté so profound that stupidity could be the only excuse. Suffice it to say, I’m not quite ready to do that… however I like to think that I have an open mind so let’s consider it.
The main thrust of Noam’s remarks are encapsulated in his sentiment that the only thing remarkable about the events of 9/11 is who was vicitmized. According to Chomsky, the U.S. government and Osama Bin Laden are quite similar. They each disdain their “evil” enemy and laud the “rightousness” of their own cause. Then Chomsky draws distictions… saying that the death toll that we sustained on 9/11 was quite mundane when compared to the terrorist acts waged by the United States in Nicaragua, Iraq, and Afghanistan. What is 3000 dead when that is the monthly toll of Iraqi children who die because of our sactions?
Commenting on U.S. power, Chomsky says “It’s only in folk tales, children’s stories, and the pages of journal’s of intellectual opinion where power is used wisely and well to eradicate evil in the world.” He derides the fact that the United States is so dominant and with the wave of his hand asserts that only through willfull and dedicated ignorance does one not see that we misuse our power. He contends that through coercion, we reap the many benefits of compliance: money, deference, access to pleasures. He intimates that those who succeed through violence think that violence pays. Who is left to teach the victor his lesson?
Without further background on Mr. Chomsky and his research , and left to the facts that I have gathered in my own head as a thinking, rational, adult American, I am of the following opinion: We are very different from Osama Bin Laden and other fascists that have terrorised the world. We show remarkable restraint and are so dedicated to the sactity of human life that we even put our own soldiers in harm’s way rather than bowl over our enemies with the excessive force we have at our disposal.
Who will teach us a lesson?!? We, indeed, learned our lesson: by and by, violence does pay. Are we not still reaping the rewards that our violent invasion of Normandy affords us today. Would we be better off if Hitler had taught us a lesson? Is the world not a better place for the violent stand we took against fascism and tyrrany? And will it not be better after our violent opposition to the world Osama Bin Ladden would have us live (or more likely die) in?
America is different. We live by the rule of laws, not of men. We have a constitution that defines the limits of government power, not the extent of it. And we wield our power in accordance with the will of the American People… in a Democracy… where power does not lie in the hands of a dictator, but is spread among the three pillars of our government: Legislative, Judiciary, and Executive.
Am I wrong? Have we been duped? Am I merely a parrot for the ideas of my high school government teacher? Is the United States terrorizing the world? Do we deserve such contempt from the likes of Mr. Noam Chomsky?
October 12th, 2004 at 12:55 am
Well the fact of the matter is, yes, with thirty-two years now under my belt, that I do think we’ve been duped to a large degree into believing that the U.S. is a place with much nobler intentions in theory than it does when one looks past all the rhetoric. I am not knocking the ideals toward which our forefathers would have had us strive, but when looks at our own sordid history as a nation, from the eradication of countless tribes of indigenous peoples on this continent to the systematic enslavement for a couple hundred years of millions of people from another continent, one can hard call our practice over the years noble. It is exactly because we are so powerful that we do not have to question our own motives or morals. Did the Nazi Germans not truly believe that they were a superior race of humans? Of course they did. Do we not think we are morally superior to the rest of the world today because we stand for such noble causes as freedom, individuality and the (unbridled) pursuit of happiness (material gain and pleasure)? Of course we do. The question is who else in the world can call us out on the carpet and finally make us look into the mirror we are all so dreading to have to stand in front of. In my opinion, this is all Noam Chomsky asks of us–to inform ourselves, to dig deeper into all the news that the mainstream media consciously chooses to ignore and ultimately to make up our own minds. I consider myself to have an extremely discerning and keen intellect (as I’m sure we all do) and rarely do I hear someone speak that I feel transcends the pettiness of right vs. wrong and party vs. party who really wants to look at all the facts of power and growth and hegemony, but Chomsky does and I cannot help but listen to such a cool and objective intellect. Never does he indulge in bashing or name-calling but always points to examples and encourages people to look into the matters for themselves. Yes, to really hear what he has to say means to have to throw your entire understanding of the world (or your country, at least) on its head and I, for one, am willing to head down that road to see where it leads. I would love to think that I will run into contradictions to what Chomsky offers time and time again but everything in me tells me I will not. I, like my cousin, will strive to keep an open mind and hopefully there will be much spirited debate to follow, even if only for the two of us ;) Thanks for taking a look, cuz, and let’s keep reading and listening!
October 15th, 2004 at 12:55 pm
Noam is alive and quite well, something that would be denied to him, in whole or in part, in many other countries. I would like to know if he can offer examples of countries that meet his requirements, Switzerland, Tonga, Sweden? I hope his examples would include large, complex economies in countries that encourage virulent and continuous criticism of the government, a small unobtrusive government, a flourishing market-driven economy with no large companies in league with the government to dominate any industries, completely voluntary self regulation of business without expensive federal or state oversight, free medical coverage for everyone, no foreign military presence with an underlying business-driven goal, etc. etc.
Nevertheless, hooray for a country that permits the idealogue, the critic with no solutions, the Noam Chomsky’s, the Ralph Naders, to constantly peck at the heals of the guys in power. And that’s where they can do the most good. Fear the day they themselves come to power.