The Ayatollah of Anti-Americanism

[bfp]

This is a good article about Noam Chomsky and his 'documented evidence' that everyone claims is unbiased.


[Here]

[Adam D]

I was hoping this thread would be about me.




Please...all of those accusations have been rebutted repeatedly both by Chomsky and many others, using very clear evidence.

[Keith P]

Chomsky would eat this journalist alive in a debate.

[Adam D]

Originally posted by Keith P
Chomsky would eat this journalist alive in a debate.

Indeed.

[bfp]

Can I see these rebuttals?

[Adam D]

Originally posted by bfp
Can I see these rebuttals?

I'd try to find them for you, but since you refuse to read anything Chomsky has actually written it wouldn't matter.

Originally posted by Adam D
I'd try to find them for you, but since you refuse to read anything Chomsky has actually written it wouldn't matter.

very true statement...without knowing----it doesn't matter

but I liked the ending...maybe an overall conclusion would strike more interest...

Chomsky's numerous writings, then, are not the fruits of historical knowledge or reasoned analysis. Rather, they are driven by one thesis: that as Horowitz puts it, "America is the fount of evil in the modern world." Even a casual familiarity with history shows that the United States is unusual not for its abuses of power but for its restraint. The story of how a critical mass of Americans, the freest and richest ordinary people in the history of the planet, has come to despise their own country despite its virtues, is long and complex. Paul Hollander, in Understanding Anti-Americanism: Its Origins and Impact at Home and Abroad, crystallizes the dynamic of this bizarre phenomenon:


Domestic anti-Americanism often is a reflection of unhappiness with life in a largely secular, excessively individualistic society which--while it provides a wide range of choices and options-- offers little help to its member in finding meaning and guiding values in their lives. The openness, freedom, and moral-ethical free-for-all that are characteristic of American culture can become troubling and burdensome.

In other words, anti-Americanism is a psychological and sociological phenomenon, a symptom of moral and spiritual uncertainty. That is why someone like Chomsky with the sensibility of a religious fanatic is the high priest of this dangerous cult. Passionately committed to a discredited and destructive political creed, socialism, Chomsky must hate the one society whose commitment to the freedom of the individual has done more than any other to disprove the claims of so-called "progressives" to improve human life by bestowing power to elites. Thus, as Horowitz concludes this indispensable collection, Chomsky must "kill the memory of American achievement along with the American idea. This, surely, is Noam Chomsky's mission in life and his everlasting infamy."

[Adam D]

Too bad CHomsky doesn't hate the US.

[MysteryMeat]

Originally posted by Adam D
Too bad CHomsky doesn't hate the US.

I love the fact that in today's day and age, the true patriots and democratic voices of dissent are called anti-American.

[Krash]

Originally posted by MysteryMeat
I love the fact that in today's day and age, the true patriots and democratic voices of dissent are called anti-American.

Whereas those that do not dissent when they feel they should are the REAL anti-americans.

[Adam D]

Originally posted by MysteryMeat
I love the fact that in today's day and age, the true patriots and democratic voices of dissent are called anti-American.

If opposing violence and oppression as Chomsky does is anti-American, I'll be proud to be anti-American.

[MysteryMeat]

Originally posted by Adam D
If opposing violence and oppression as Chomsky does is anti-American, I'll be proud to be anti-American.

In all honesty, this thread is the first I've read of Chomsky, though I've heard the name I really had no idea who he is (I don't watch TV nor do I listen to the radio).

Adam : can you recommend a good book on Chomsky and his thoughts for a n00b?

[psyon]

well done bfp...your anti-Chomsky article is getting poeple to read Chomsky

[Adam D]

Originally posted by MysteryMeat
In all honesty, this thread is the first I've read of Chomsky, though I've heard the name I really had no idea who he is (I don't watch TV nor do I listen to the radio).

Adam : can you recommend a good book on Chomsky and his thoughts for a n00b?

Certainly. I hear his newest book, Hegemony or Survival is supposed to be good, but I haven't read it yet. Deterring Democracy is another good one, and it's quite lengthy. All of them are pretty dry reads, because he gets very specific in providing examples of what he's talking about. The downside is that sometimes he refers to something he's explained in or is explained in the source given in the footnotes, and you won't know exactly what he's talking about.

It's going to be pretty shocking some of the things he points out, if you're unfamiliar with thinking in a more radical perspective. You might want to start out with something easier to digest than one of his full books. South End Press produced three pamphlet-sized books that you can buy seperately or as a package (the package is like $20) that breaks down what he talks a lot about into more direct and simpler concepts. I'm not saying you're inable to understand his other books, but it's helpful to have the basics down first. At least I found it to be easier that way. I bought one of them and read it before I picked up any of his other books.

You can also jump over to http://www.zmag.org/weluser and look at his articles posted over there.

[question]

You might want to start with Linguistics as well. He heads up the program at MIT.

http://web.mit.edu/linguistics/www/b...y/noambio.html

Originally posted by MysteryMeat
In all honesty, this thread is the first I've read of Chomsky, though I've heard the name I really had no idea who he is (I don't watch TV nor do I listen to the radio).

Adam : can you recommend a good book on Chomsky and his thoughts for a n00b?