Thanks for the link, Splotch. I think his phrase “the impression of a free and open society” pretty much says it all: we can vote and debate and blog all we want, but the govt will do whatever it wants. We have no control, period. Just because you and I aren’t in gulags (or Gitmo–yet) doesn’t make us that much different from past dictatorships; we’re all just living in the illusion of a free society. We have no power. Whoever is elected will simply continue the “we own the world” policy we started back in the 1800s, perfected in the 1900s, and now rub in everyone’s faces in the 2000s.
d, I’d like to think his words weren’t so despairing.
A lot of people criticize Chomsky for painting a bleak picture (some would call it unrealistically bleak) of dominant power structures.
Chomsky is interested in pointing out when the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes, something he is particularly good at.
The thing that’s sometimes troubling is that he gives you all the information, but doesn’t provide a roadmap to effecting change. However, it’s not that difficult to see what’s not working and what might be a better solution — I’m sure between us we could quickly come up with twenty problems that would benefit from our energy, time and thoughts.
In many of his books, he points out what people have done to fight injustice over the past 100 years. He’s actually quite optimistic about the increasing involvement of people asserting their voices over the squawking media and political elites, who assure us they have our best interests at heart.
It may be easy to get discouraged when things don’t go the way you wish them to, but that’s no reason to stop fighting.
I think Chomsky has always argued that it’s people like you and me that effect change. And people do, every single day.
Thanks for the link, Splotch. I think his phrase “the impression of a free and open society” pretty much says it all: we can vote and debate and blog all we want, but the govt will do whatever it wants. We have no control, period. Just because you and I aren’t in gulags (or Gitmo–yet) doesn’t make us that much different from past dictatorships; we’re all just living in the illusion of a free society. We have no power. Whoever is elected will simply continue the “we own the world” policy we started back in the 1800s, perfected in the 1900s, and now rub in everyone’s faces in the 2000s.
d, I’d like to think his words weren’t so despairing.
A lot of people criticize Chomsky for painting a bleak picture (some would call it unrealistically bleak) of dominant power structures.
Chomsky is interested in pointing out when the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes, something he is particularly good at.
The thing that’s sometimes troubling is that he gives you all the information, but doesn’t provide a roadmap to effecting change. However, it’s not that difficult to see what’s not working and what might be a better solution — I’m sure between us we could quickly come up with twenty problems that would benefit from our energy, time and thoughts.
In many of his books, he points out what people have done to fight injustice over the past 100 years. He’s actually quite optimistic about the increasing involvement of people asserting their voices over the squawking media and political elites, who assure us they have our best interests at heart.
It may be easy to get discouraged when things don’t go the way you wish them to, but that’s no reason to stop fighting.
I think Chomsky has always argued that it’s people like you and me that effect change. And people do, every single day.