Newest momentAM radio Contributor: Noam Chomsky

September 6, 2008

This is what Noam Chomsky wrote, possibly after checking out our site, when asked by e-mail if he would be willing to write something we could include in our momentAM radio project. He may be the smartest guy in the world. Or, as L. Fitzgerald has been heard to say, “Hobbes, Locke, Chomsky.” He said:

“A serious person viewing the world can hardly fail to see that we face critical problems, even problems of survival of the species. Every four years attention is focused on the presidential election, which makes good sense, though we should recognize that what the chosen candidate will do depends substantially on the pressures created by activist popular movements. That has always been true in the past, and we can confidently expect that it will be a decisive factor in the years to come. There can be no more urgent task than to develop and sustain these pressures, and the organizations that will construct and implement them.”

I googled the language to see if this may have been something he had already written because it is hard to believe that Noam Chomsky would take the time to respond to a little blog like ours. I didn’t find anything. In any case, the comment bespeaks not only a profound generosity, but also a big streak of optimism.

This is what his comment caused me to think about: Elections seem to be more and more about which side produces the most marketable hero. That’s why Bush won and why Palin is dangerous. Americans are more easily and effectively motivated through our hearts than through our minds. I am, for sure. This represents a big institutional problem with democracy in America, but I think of it as a distraction during this election. We need a win. A win is important in the larger scheme. And I think a win will require more heart from left (and more mind from the middle). When people invest their hearts, I have to imagine, they are more apt, after victory, to apply the pressure that Mr. Chomsky refers to, and maybe a little more likely to be heard.

We are grateful to Mr. Chomsky. Check out the ad we made out of his words on AM 1350.

:Mark

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Posted in ideas, obama, politics