Category: Chomsky Commentary

  • Foreign Interference – Religion and Politics

    Foreign Interference – Religion and Politics

    You can try to argue that question however you please, but to me, the answer is simple. They cannot compete. If they could, their model for operation would be the one winning the day. It’s just not that complex.

  • The Tyranny of the Majority – Religion and Politics

    The Tyranny of the Majority – Religion and Politics

    If you think the idea of the tyranny of the majority isn’t a “real thing,” please know, it is. If you think it’s not potentially a direct result of democracy, and that most other systems even allow it to exist, understand, you’re in error. It’s on this basis, our country was not founded, and is not today intended to be, a democracy.

  • U. S. Immigration Policy – Religion and Politics

    U. S. Immigration Policy – Religion and Politics

    In the end, it comes down to this. I don’t believe true immigration reform can be had in this country until and unless we deal with the problem of illegal immigration via border crossings and visa overstays; and I don’t think we can deal humanely and effectively with those problems, at least in some measure, until and unless we can help to bring other parts of the World up to a standard of living that makes coming here far less enticing.

  • Global Climate Change – Religion and Politics

    Global Climate Change – Religion and Politics

    So to begin with, all reasonable assessments seem to indicate the change in the remainder of the 21st century, will amount to a pretty small shift in temperature. Additional to that, lots of people have been talking about the coming disaster for many years, giving us ten, or twelve, or twenty years until a major crisis unfolded. Many of the admonitions came more than thirty years ago, yet here we are, with no discernible issues to show for all the doom-saying. Still we work to make things better, and continue to hear the claxons rage. Forgive me if I’m not moved to implement immediate, radical agendas to fix a problem I just don’t see being what it’s cracked up to be.

  • Government at the Lowest Level – Religion and Politics

    Government at the Lowest Level – Religion and Politics

    So you may think (if you’re progressive in what you believe), that a large, robust federal government is a desirable thing. I’m quite sure you’ll find those on the conservative side have no such perspective. This dichotomy means that—unless we can all learn civility—there will continue to be name-calling and saber rattling on both sides of the aisle for the foreseeable future.

  • On Propaganda – Religion and Politics

    On Propaganda – Religion and Politics

    So in the long run, people yelling “Propagandist!” may not be something you should totally ignore, but it is something you should be wary of. People doing so likely have a vested interest in your not believing what the supposed purveyor of propaganda is saying—whether it’s valid or not.

  • America the Colonizer – Religion and Politics

    America the Colonizer – Religion and Politics

    When people seek to imply that the United States of America is a colonizing or empire building country in modern times, they really need to take a minute to compare what happened or happens in entities like the former USSR and other such places, to what occurs here. I think they’ll find the contrast to be quite interesting to say the least.

  • A Great Place to Live – Religion and Politics

    A Great Place to Live – Religion and Politics

    So you can’t just change the way the country is run at your will. Yes, we have problems against which we’re constantly toiling. That said, there’s no place in the World I’d rather be than this one. You can be assured, based on the sheer number of people trying to get here, and the many not interested in leaving that I’m not alone in that.

  • Left and Right – Religion and Politics

    Left and Right – Religion and Politics

    Summing up. I very much doubt the current understanding of a great many terms—particularly in their political application—are anything like universally accepted. In fact, I doubt they could be. This is why one of the things I try to do on a regular basis, is talk about actual positions rather than supposed leanings. Will this issue ever be “fixed?” Based on the fact that things only appear to be getting more indistinct, my current feeling is, that can be answered in a single word, “No.”

  • A Propagandist Media – Religion and Politics

    A Propagandist Media – Religion and Politics

    So wrapping up. To begin with, it’s patently obvious to even the casual observer, Chomsky’s assertion that most of the current day (and certainly past) media is under some controlling entity, is correct. It’s typically also easy to see the entities in question are likely corporate in nature, and managed by powerful individuals (read here, “elites”). There’s hope for more openness, but even it is not guaranteed to result in the potential for propagation of “off kilter” ideas (those that don’t fit within the normally taught modes of thought).