Thread: Noam Chomsky: A Linguistic Genius

Originally Posted by Accidental Ajarn

So have all you Chomsky supporters ready to admit the error of your ways

It's a ways back in the thread, but no doubt you remember his being voted the worlds most important intellectual, and the most quoted man alive.

I've also told you that, whilst his politics are not my own, his exposes of what is really happening, or has happened, in various arenas such as Central America- often to a public reluctant or unwilling to believe- are Important. Yes, he is a dissident, and makes a special point of investigating US and Western abuses. Predictable that several don't like that, but you only need pick up a commercial newspaper to read what our reviled enemy of the day is doing bad.

I also find his political musings stimulating- I particularly like the way he exposes the semantic abuses of the new Right more adeptly than anyone else I can think of. Terms such as 'Liberal' and 'Conservative'.

He is an Important scholar, and an important dissenting voice. Whilst several in your (and my) society dislike him for his views, or exposes, he lives in safety in that society, and is free to have and express his views and findings. Thats important, too. So no point me making this personal against those US citizens that don't like him or appreciate his work.

If you fail to appreciate the Importance of Dissidence in general, and Chomskys work in particular, thats up to you, and frankly not really important. If however you advocate a society in which the likes of Chomsky should be silenced, that is important. I have no evidence that you do.

When it comes to Politics, and the nature of Power in general, I am definitely a cynic. I do not trust Politicians, their spin doctors or a compliant media to tell me the whole Truth- unless it suits them. History and current events prove my cynicism correct, repeatedly. Therein lies the importance of informed dissidence, and investigative journalism. It surprises, and slightly concerns me, how many people in our society are still quick to label any dissenting voice from the government of the day 'traitorous' or 'loonie'. In numbers, they are the dangerous ones- not Chomsky.

So don't expect me to continue debating the Importance of Noam Chomsky ad infinitum- it is already established, and I bore easily. Feel free though to tell us where he has been wrong where you can- this does not negate the importance of his body of work, no more than does the fact that Isaac Newton believed in alchemy negate the importance of his work. Who knows, I might even learn something, and you might too. Vapid right wing references to 'hating America' will not get you far in Issues though, outside of a predictable few.