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| Fifth Column |
| Who Is Noam Chomsky? |
| 2006-09-26 |
| by Roger Scruton, Wall Street Journal . . . To his supporters Noam Chomsky is a brave and outspoken champion of the oppressed against a corrupt and criminal political class. But to his opponents he is a self-important ranter whose one-sided vision of politics is chosen for its ability to shine a spotlight on himself. And it is surely undeniable that his habit of excusing or passing over the faults of America's enemies, in order to pin all crime on his native country, suggests that he has invested more in his posture of accusation than he has invested in the truth. To describe this posture as "adolescent" is perhaps unfair: After all, there are plenty of quite grown-up people who believe that American foreign policy since World War II has been founded on a mistaken conception of America's role in the world. And it is true that we all make mistakes--so that Prof. Chomsky's erstwhile support for regimes that no one could endorse in retrospect, like that of Pol Pot, is no proof of wickedness. But then the mistakes of American foreign policy are no proof of wickedness either. This is important. For it is his ability to excite not just contempt for American foreign policy but a lively sense that it is guided by some kind of criminal conspiracy that provides the motive for Prof. Chomsky's unceasing diatribes and the explanation of his influence. The world is full of people who wish to think ill of America. And most of them would like to be Americans. The Middle East seethes with such people, and Prof. Chomsky appeals directly to their envious emotions, as well as to the resentments of leaders like President Chavez who cannot abide the sight of a freedom that they haven't the faintest idea how to produce or the least real desire to emulate. Success breeds resentment, and resentment that has no safety valve becomes a desire to destroy. The proof of that was offered on 9/11 and by just about every utterance that has emerged from the Islamists since. But Americans don't want to believe it. They trust others to take the kind of pleasure in American success that they, in turn, take in the success of others. But this pleasure in others' success, which is the great virtue of America, is not to be witnessed in those who denounce her. They hate America not for her faults, but for her virtues, which cast a humiliating light on those who cannot adapt to the modern world or take advantage of its achievements. Prof. Chomsky is an intelligent man. Not everything he says by way of criticizing his country is wrong. However, he is not valued for his truths but for his rage, which stokes the rage of his admirers. He feeds the self-righteousness of America's enemies, who feed the self-righteousness of Prof. Chomsky. And in the ensuing blaze everything is sacrificed, including the constructive criticism that America so much needs, and that America--unlike its enemies, Prof. Chomsky included--is prepared to listen to. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #8 Another one that says he is a Jew when he is not. Like Soros, of the Synagogue of Satan. |
| Posted by: newc 2006-09-26 17:33 |
| #7 There are plenty of sources that document Chomsky's anti-semitism. Of course, he's very subtle about it, letting others do his dirty work. Try here, for example. Read the whole thing. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-09-26 16:21 |
| #6 anonymous5089 , with all due respect , say what you will about Chomsky but (IMO) to assert that he is an anti-Semitic Neo-Nazi is absurd. I especially found it humorous how the author in the last paragraph of the thesis you linked obviously recognizes his justifications are transparently “guilt by association”. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2006-09-26 11:51 |
| #5 Chomsky was also an apologist for the Cambodian genocide. He also claims there was a American genocide of Afghans. More than a few liberals have gotten cold feet over this fellow (or course others claims not to know about Chomsky's Cambodian statements) |
| Posted by: mhw 2006-09-26 10:44 |
| #4 Chomsky's hallmark is his intellectual dishonesty when faced with pesky facts, as documented here. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2006-09-26 09:13 |
| #3 It will never happen, EE8004. With their vocal support for the extreme America-hating left wing, they have the best of all possible worlds. They get to show they are "down" with the oppressed people of the world, while enjoying a privileged existence in the ivory tower, immune from the economic and social costs of their cherished ideologies. You don't actually think they should have to live like those people, do you? I mean, really....they're needed right where they are to support the struggle....have to raise awareness of the evil that Amerikkka does, you know, and where better to do that than in the very belly of the beast.....besides, you just can't get good help in those countries, and quite frankly, they smell..... |
| Posted by: Swamp Blondie 2006-09-26 09:12 |
| #2 . . . To his supporters Noam Chomsky is a brave and outspoken champion of the oppressed against a corrupt and criminal political class. Supporters of Mao and Stalin said about the same thing about their wonder boys too. Communism - 100 million dead in the 20th Century and still counting. Can't wait to see academia preen over a slaver and monarchist on the faculty too. If you gush over having Marxists, why not those bankrupt human institutions too. |
| Posted by: Elmeque Elmaiting8004 2006-09-26 08:42 |
| #1 Not just amerikkkans, joooooos too. Partners in Hate : Chomsky and the Holocaust Deniers |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-09-26 07:34 |