Ask a group of politicos on any side of the spectrum, and love or hate him, one would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't know the name Noam Chomsky. Some call him an "America-hater." Some call him "Saint Noam." At Agape last Sunday, he was welcomed like a movie star. And in his unassuming yet unequivocably rich oral tradition, Noam Chomsky spoke of the American legacy
I showed up at the Agape Spiritual Center an hour and a half early and already there was a line snaking through the parking lot, filled with cars bearing peace flags, "Peace is Patriotic" and "War Is Not The Answer" bumper stickers. The buzz outside the Center was absolutely electric with excitement and anticipation. I leaned over to my friend and remarked, "Is it just me, or is the mood remarkably fannish?"
It wasn't The Stones or Mel Gibson that these people were expecting, but that's sure what it felt like. Instead of stalking a stage door or movie premiere, the sellout crowd stood patiently waiting to listen to one of the most prominent intellectual minds of our time. After some delays (made entertaining by a spontaneous round of singing led by Blase Bonpane), Noam Chomsky appeared, walking down the aisle through the beautiful Agape sanctuary. Someone yelled, "There he is!" and the crowd leapt to their feet in an enthusiastic standing ovation. It was at that point where I realized that this crowd was much more than simply "fannish" in the gloss-mag, flashy, fickle rock-star way. Their cheers and applause were born out of a deep, honest admiration for a humble linguist whose words had touched so many minds.
A Legacy to Defend
Chomsky began by addressing the movement - this incipient global social movement that has been unprecedented in its scale and rapid rise to prominence. He addressed the fears and cynicism many in the peace movement are battling now in the face of war, reminding us that we are privileged to live in these times - for we now have the remarkable ability to be able to organize and speak out against government actions that threaten our life and liberty. "Freedom," he admonished, "is not a right, it's a legacy" - that centuries of struggle, of people actively seeking justice and fighting repression, have won for us the freedoms we now enjoy. As a result, this privilege confers on us a responsibility to uphold and protect the legacy of freedom that has been created for us. That it is a choice, for we the people, to take on the responsibility of upholding our freedoms - or stand idly by and let them be eroded. This rich legacy of democracy and self-determination can be taken away if we do not continue to defend it - and with that much at stake the choice for many people would be hard but obvious.
World Opinion
He then proceeded to give us a glance at the war situation from the outside - world opinion, a factor pathetically underrepresented in the United States of CNN. People around the world - including Iraq's neighboring countries - are of the mind that this war is just the beginning of something bigger, a plan to dominate the earth and its resources. Many - especially in Iraq's neighbor states - "are more concerned with the unbridled use of US power than they are of Saddam Hussein." Iraq, he claimed, is the weakest country in the region, decimated by twelve years of sanctions and bombing. He spoke of US allegations of Iraq's violations of UN resolutions, and raised the question of why we would choose to go after a state on that basis when many other countries (including Israel, Turkey, and Morocco) have violated many more UN resolutions than Iraq has. He also brought up the USA's rampant use of its veto power in the Security Council to block resolutions that would have otherwise provided for the protection of human rights around the world, including Bush's withdrawal of the US from the UN World Conference Against Racism, his withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol, and his unsigning of the ratification of the International Criminal Court.
In the eyes of world opinion, Chomsky continued, Bush's war against Iraq has transformed Saddam's image from one of a pitiless tyrant into a "figure of reverence" in the Arab world. He noted that ninety-five percent of the Arab population believes that the United States has no other intentions in Iraq than controlling its oil and the territory over which to transport it. Far from eliminating terrorism, Bush's success seems to have been in "fulfilling Osama Bin Laden's wildest dreams" by creating an anti-American, fundamentalist reaction throughout the Arab world, a breeding ground for more terrorist attacks.
"How did we get to this point?"
The American legacy of war and fear
Chomsky began his illustration of American militarist policy by citing the National Security Strategy of the United States, which is seen by many in the world as a doctrine where the US intends to rule the world by force - permanently - and "protect itself" by destroying any potential power that rivals it. He criticized Bush/Cheney/Rusmfeld (et al.)'s policy of preemptive strike, noting that a preemptive war doctrine - if one were to legally exist - should fall within the boundaries of international law, including being in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter. Instead, the Bush doctrine appears to stipulate to the world that the US intends to arbitrarily attack "any power that may threaten" it. This is causing a "wave of hatred throughout the world," Chomsky warned, and said that in world opinion the Bush administration is "probably the most hated and feared administration in history."
Fear is a powerful tool for control, and Chomsky pointed to the midterm elections of 2002 as a Republican move to "stay in power by generating fear." He outlined how the Administration, using color-coded terror alerts and sabre rattlings from Baghdad, manipulated "fear to draw focus from domestic issues," which grow more woeful by the day. He examined the Administration's uses of fear by illustrating two basic attitudes that are prevalent among the uninformed masses in America: first, that Saddam Hussein poses an immediate threat to our survival as a nation, and secondly, that Saddam Hussein planned the 9/11 attacks. These beliefs, he revealed, are unique to the US and are not shared by the majority of the world's population (as those who watch anything other than US media know, they are simply not true). Despite this, he noted that many people in the US seem to have been aware that something was afoot, as the Republicans had gained control of Congress by only a small margin of votes.
He cited America's own campaign of "terrorist" fear abroad, and recalled US attacks on Panama, Grenada, and Nicaragua, the latter of which the United States was condemned by the World Court for international terrorism.
Chomsky noted the reports and footage of US soldiers in Iraq, portrayed as proudly claiming that they are "liberating Iraq for 9/11". When anyone else in the world sees these attitudes, he explained, they tend to come to one of two conclusions: either Americans are so "fanatically racist that they would take revenge for 9/11 against any Arab" regardless of distinction, or "Americans are indoctrinated with lies."
Almost out of time (as the event had to be over and cleared by 5pm, a disappointment to many attendees), he wrapped up with a mention of the October resolution by Congress to authorize the use of force in Iraq, which coincided with two events that went nearly unnoticed in US media: the 40th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis (now revealed as the result of a US terror campaign to effect "regime change" in Cuba), and the US-Israel veto of two UN resolutions: one, a veto of the reaffirmation of the 1925 treaty banning chemical and biological weapons**, and the second, a veto on a treaty banning the use of weapons in space.
"How long are free people willing to let this go on?"
This was one of the last questions he posed, as the lecture hurriedly wrapped up in an all-too-brief Q&A session and dismissal. Unfortunately there was no time for discussion, for an in-depth look at this question. It was five o'clock, and the audience was rushed out of the hall, leaving many of us feeling a little gipped.
Still, it was clear that many in the audience were not ready to really leave. As the crowd exited into the parking lot, many people remained to talk amongst themselves, unwilling to let the discourse end so easily. Watching the throng cheer and applaud Saint Noam, as he walked to his car and was driven away, I could tell that all of us - who had given our Sunday afternoon not to fear, but to education - held that question in our hearts and minds.
What is to be our legacy? The legacy of fear, terror, and militarism of tyrants? Or the legacy of peace, freedom, and justice fought for by ordinary people over centuries of struggle?
To the lingering crowd in the parking lot, at least, the answer seemed obvious.