Should people be mere "interested spectators of action," not "participants," restricted to lending their weight periodically to one or another sector of the "responsible men," as advocates of "manufacture of consent" have recommended? Or should their rights transcend these highly restricted bounds?
Noam ChomskyThe war against working people should be understood to be a real warโฆ. Specifically in the U.S., which happens to have a highly class-conscious business classโฆ. And they have long seen themselves as fighting a bitter class war, except they donโt want anybody else to know about it.
Noam ChomskyIt's a lesser-known story, but the Japanese government (after the Russian-Nazi pact, which split Poland) did allow Polish Jews to come to Japan, with the expectation that they would then be sent to the United States. But they weren't accepted, so they stayed in Japan.
Noam ChomskyYou might recall, perhaps, that we were probably the only commentators to rely on the most knowledgeable source, State Department intelligence.
Noam ChomskyThe drug problem is in the United States, not in Mexico. It's a demand problem and that is to be dealt with here, and it is not being dealt with. It's been shown over and over that prevention and treatment are far more cost effective than police action, out-of-country action, border control, and so on.
Noam ChomskyThe American Revolution was a small part of a major world war going on between France and England, so the French intervened and that was a big factor, but the domestic contribution was basically guerrilla warfare.
Noam ChomskyIn the United States, the day when you pay your taxes is a day of mourning because this alien force - the government - is coming to rob you of your hard-earned money. That's the general attitude, and it's a tremendous victory for the opponents of democracy, and, of course, any privileged sector is going to hate democracy. You can see it in the healthcare debate.
Noam Chomsky