Welcome to a Conversation
with History. I'm Harry Kreisler of the Institute of
International Studies. Our guest today is Noam Chomsky.(Portion of a longer
interview.)
Not everyone is Noam Chomsky and can
produce the extraordinary opus of works on these issues. What is
your advice for people who have the same concerns, who identify
with the tradition that you come out of, and who want to be
active in opposing these policies? What is it they need to be
doing that would be productive?
The same as the factory girls in
the Lowell textile plant 150 years ago: they joined with others.
To do these things alone is extremely hard, especially when
you're working fifty hours a week to put the food on the table.
Join with others, and you can do a lot of things. It's got a big
multiplier effect. That's why unions have always been in the lead
of development of social and economic progress. They bring
together poor people, working people, enable them to learn from
one another, to have their own sources of information, and to act
collectively. That's how everything is changed -- the Civil
Rights movement, the feminist movement, the solidarity movements,
the workers movements. The reason we don't live in a dungeon is
because people have joined together to change things. And there's
nothing different now from before. In fact, just in the last
forty years, we've seen remarkable changes in this respect.
In that sense, in
addition to ending the war in Vietnam, the protest movement of
the sixties really did change our consciousness.
Totally changed the country.
It changed the behavior
of governments, what they had to do to get what they wanted.
Yes. This is a good time to talk
about it. This month, March 2002, happens to be the fortieth
anniversary of the public announcement by the Kennedy
administration that they were sending U.S. pilots to bomb South
Vietnam, that's U.S. bombing of South Vietnam. It was the
initiation of chemical warfare to destroy food crops, driving
huge numbers of people into concentration camps. Nobody was there
except the U.S. and the South Vietnamese. And it was a U.S. war
against South Vietnam, publicly announced. Not a peep of protest.
You know, the war went on for years before a protest developed.
But by the time it did, not just the antiwar movement, the Civil
Rights movement, and other rising movements changed the popular
consciousness. The country just became a lot more civilized. No
American president could possibly dream of doing that today.
The same is true in many other
areas. Go back to '62, there was no feminist movement, there was
a very limited human rights movement, extremely limited. There
was no environmental movement, meaning rights of our
grandchildren. There were no Third World solidarity movements.
There was no anti-apartheid movement. There was no anti-sweat
shop movement. I mean, all of the things that we take for granted
just weren't there. How did they get there? Was it a gift from an
angel? No, they got there by struggle, common struggle by people
who dedicated themselves with others, because you can't do it
alone, and made it a much more civilized country. It was a long
way to go, and that's not the first time it happened. And it will
continue.
I gather it's your
belief that when we focus on heroes in the movement, that's a
mistake, because it's really the unsung heroes, the unsung
seamstresses or whatever in this movement, who actually make a
difference.
They're the ones, yes. Take,
say, the Civil Rights movement. When you think of the Civil
Rights movement, the first thing you think of is Martin Luther
King. King was an important figure. But he would have been the
first to tell you, I'm sure, that he was riding the wave of
activism, that people who were doing the work, who were in the
lead in the Civil Rights movement, were young SNCC [Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee] workers, freedom riders,
people out there in the streets every day getting beaten and
sometimes killed, working constantly. They created the
circumstances in which a Martin Luther King could come in and be
a leader. His role was extremely important, I'm not denigrating
it, it was very important to have done that. But the people who
were really important are the ones whose names are forgotten. And
that's true of every movement that ever existed.
If students were to
watch or read this interview, how would you advise them to
prepare for the future if they identify with the goals that you
are putting on the table?
Be honest, critical, accept
elementary moral principles. For example, the principle that if
something is wrong for others, it's wrong for us. Things like
that. Understand the importance of the fundamental anarchist
principle, namely, prior illegitimacy of power and violence,
unless you can justify it, which is not easy. It's their burden
of proof, not yours. And that's true whether it's personal
relations in a family, and whether it's international affairs.
Beyond that, try to join with others who share your interests to
learn more and to act responsively to improve the many very
serious problems of the world, which can be done.
There's an important
element of courage in this kind of work, is there not? And what
is involved in that courage?
In a country like the United
States, the level of courage that's involved is extremely low. If
you're a poor black organizer in the slums, yes, it takes
courage, because you can get killed. If you're a relatively
well-off, educated white person, the level of courage is
minuscule. I mean, just see what other people face elsewhere.
Like I said, I just came back from Turkey. The people in the
southeast living in a dungeon, millions of them, show real
courage when they wear Kurdish colors, or speak open Kurdish as a
language. They can end up in a Turkish prison or worse, and
that's not fun. But let's even go to Istanbul, more Western. I
actually went there for a political trial. The government was
putting on trial a publisher who had published a couple of
sentences of mine on repression of the Kurds. Well, in Istanbul,
the leading writers -- journalists, artists, intellectuals, and
others -- are constantly carrying out civil disobedience. When I
was there, they purposely co-published a book of banned writings,
writings of people in jail which are banned. Co-published it.
They went to the prosecutor -- I went with them -- demanding to
be prosecuted. That's no joke. Some of them have been in jail;
some will go back to jail. They face repression, but they're not
making a big fuss about it, they just do it in their normal
behavior, and not waving flags and saying, "Look how
courageous I am." That's just life. That takes courage.
As compared with what they face
every day, what we face is so pathetically small that we
shouldn't even be talking about it. Yes, unpleasant things can
happen, but not in comparison with what goes on in the world.
Coming out of science
and the level of complexity in your field of linguistics, I'm
curious as to whether this accounts for what I think I detect is
a moderate or almost conservative view on your part of how much
things can change in the short term. I don't know if that's a
fair comment on you. But is it the case that, in some sense, by
seeing so much you understand that very little sometimes can be
accomplished, but that may be very important?
Very important. What's more, I
don't think we should give up long-term visions. I agree with the
factory girls in Lowell in 1850. I think wage slavery is an
attack on fundamental human rights. I think those who work in the
plants should own them. I think we should struggle against what
was then the "new spirit of the age": gain wealth,
forgetting everybody but yourself. Yes, that's all degrading and
destructive, and in the long term -- I don't know how long -- it
should be dismantled. But right now there are serious problems to
deal with, like 30 million Americans who don't have enough to
eat, or people elsewhere in the world who are far worse off, and
who are, in fact, under our boot, we're grinding them into the
dust. Those are short-term things that can be dealt with. There's
nothing wrong with making small gains, like the gains that I was
talking about before, from the sixties until today. They're
extremely important for human lives. It doesn't mean that there
are not a lot mountain peaks to climb, there are. But you do
what's within range.
The same in the sciences. You
might like to solve the problems of, say, what causes human
action, but the problems you work on are the ones that are right
at the edge of your understanding. There's a famous joke about a
drunk under a lamppost looking at the ground, and somebody comes
up and asks him "What are you looking for?" He says,
"I'm looking for a pencil that I dropped." They said,
"Well, where did you drop it?" He says, "Oh, I
dropped it across the street." "Well, why are looking
here?" "This is where the light is." That's the
way the sciences work. Maybe the problem you would like to solve
is across the street, but you have to work where the light is. If
you try to move it a little further, maybe ultimately you'll get
across the street. The same is true in human affairs. I think the
same is true in personal relations. You have problems with your
kids, that's the way you have to deal with it.
One final question, and
I understand your unwillingness to focus on heroes or to be made
into a hero, but if an activist is watching or reading this
interview, what lesson might they draw from your life about what
they can do in their life, with regard to the issues that are of
concern to them?
Last night I gave a talk in
Berkeley to a big mob of people about U.S. and the Middle East,
and Israel and Palestine, and Turkey, and these things. Who is
responsible for that talk? Not me. I flew in from Boston, came
over and gave a talk. The people responsible for that are the
people working on it, the people working day after day to create
the organizational structures, the support systems, to go up and
back to work with oppressed people over there. Maybe their names
won't enter some record, but they're the ones who are leading
everything. I come in and it's a privilege for me to be able to
join them for an hour, but that's easy. You know, get up and give
a talk, it's no big deal. Working on it day after day, all the
time, that's hard, and that's important, and that's what changes
the world, not somebody coming in and giving a talk.
Noam, thank you very
much for joining us today. It was a fascinating discussion of at
least some aspects of your life and your work. Thank you.
Thank you.
And thank you very much
for joining us for this Conversation with History.
I went to my Doctor this morning, my checkup was fine. When I
told her I had a new job, she threw her arms around my neck, and
gave me a big hug! I told her I love her, and how grateful I am
to her for her care.
Then I paid a delightful visit to Inglewood Books, where I had a
chat with Barb, the owner. She enjoys having books which can be
found nowhere else. Her specialties are Cooking, Science, Film,
Crafts, New Age, Philosophy, Women's Studies, Antiques,
Gay/Lesbian, Mysteries, Literary Fiction. Barb owed me $3 credit
from last week, so she let me have this priceless little
treasure:
FATHERS, SONS & GOLF
Lessons In Honor And Integrity
by Andrew Shanley
Canada $30.95
HYPERION, November, 1997
Hardcover First Edition
"His two boys were good kids, yet Shanley felt
something was missing-a fundamental depth of character, a sense
of honor. His solution was to spend one memorable summer teaching
them to play golf-the perfect classroom for lessons in integrity
and the thoughtful conduct of life. By the season's end, this
father had not only grown closer to his sons, but had come to
more deeply appreciate his relationship with his own father and
his love for the game of golf."
Alan Jacobs
Advaitin
Ramana
Maharshi and Creation
Dear friends,
In Swami Nikhilananda's masterly long introduction to the Atma
Bhoda {Sri Ramakrishna Math 1975]
he makes the following interesting point which may be helpful to
this discussion .
on page 61.
"The ignorant ses the manifold universe,Sankara calls this
maya.Maya cannot be known.Even if known
, it cannot be explained.In order to determine the relation of
the Absolute to the visible
universe,the finite mind would have to know the infinite
Absolute.And when the Absolute is
known,the finite universe and the finite mind cease to
exist.Therefore Sankara does not advance
any explanation of creation ."
I feel Ramana Maharshi would agree with this as his standpoint is
that of Ajata Vada[see Be As You
Are -Godman chapter 17 .This chapter fully discusses his point of
view and gives his answers to
questioners on Creation Theory}.
Various theories of creation he would tolerate as
concessions to questioners of an intellectual
bent who needed some mental quiet before they could start
to practice Atma Vichara or its
support practices and move towards Realisation of the Self.
Regards to all , Alan
from
Advaitin
kamesh ratnam
wrote:
> I am unable to understand the following words of
> Ramana,
>
> Whatever is to happen will happen, u cannot stop or
> push things foward or backward.
> so the best way is to remain silent.
>
> Has bhagavan told this in a way for life or for sadana
>
>
>
> Kamesh B
The words of Sri Ramana were for his mother,
so that she would lose all hope of bringing Sri Ramana back home.
The word Silence or Stillness often appears in Sri Ramana's
teaching.
It refers to Silence of the mind or the thoughts.
"The best way is to remain silent".
The "Silence" is both the method and the goal.
This "Silence" refers to pure consciousness that is
untouched, original,
naked, transparent
and the One without a second.
The ancient sages simply called it Sat-Chit-Ananda as Eternal,
whole,
unbroken Being-Consciousness, Biiss.
Sri Ramana often said that the highest teaching is given in
Silence
and pointed to DakhshinaMurti's Silence in response to the
disciples.
Love to all
Harsha
Daily
Dharma
"Try:
Reminding yourself from time to time: 'This is it.' See
if there is anything at all that it cannot be applied to.
Remind yourslf that acceptance of he present moment has
nothing to do with resignation in the face of what is
happening. It simply means a clear acknowledgment that what
is happening is happening. Acceptance doesn't tell you what
to do. What happens next, what you choose to do, that has to
come out of your understanding of this moment. You might try
acting out of a deep knowing of 'This is it.' Does it
influence how you choose to proceed or respond? Is it
possible for you to contemplate that in a very real way, this
may actually be the best season, the best moment of your
life? If that was so, what would it mean for you?"
~Jon Kabat-Zinn
From the book, "Wherever You Go, There You Are,"
published by
Hyperion.
From: 'Call
Me By My True Names - Collected Poems
of Thich Nhat Hanh'
I wrote this poem after visiting the
Ajanta Caves in India in 1976.
Padmapani
Flowers in the sky.
Flowers on Earth.
Lotuses bloom as Buddha's eyelids.
Lotuses bloom in man's heart.
Holding gracefully a lotus in his hand,
the bodhisattva brings forth a universe of art.
In the meadows of the sky, stars have sprung up.
The smiling, fresh moon is already up.
The jade-colored trunk of a coconut tree
reaches across the late-night sky
My mind, traveling in utmost emptiness,
catches suchness on its way home.
Jan Sultan
NDS
Whenever you meet
anyone, no matter how briefly, do you acknowledge their being by
giving them your full attention? Or are you reducing them to a
means to an end, a mere function or role?
What is the quality of your relationship with the cashier at the
supermarket, the parking attendant, the repairman, the
"customer"?
A moment of attention is enough. As you look at them or listen to
them, there is an alert stillness - perhaps only two or three
seconds, perhaps longer. That is enough for something more real
to emerge than the roles we usually play and identify with. All
roles are part of the conditioned consciousness that is the human
mind. That which emerges through the act of attention is the
unconditioned - who you are in your essence, underneath your name
and form. You are no longer acting out a script; you become real.
When that dimension emerges from within you, IT ALSO DRAWS IT
FORTH FROM WITHIN THE OTHER PERSON.
Ultimately, of course, there is no other, and you are always
meeting yourself.
Eckhart Tolle
Stillness Speaks
'Capitals' mine,
this is very true.
When you look at someone with that sparkle of love in your eyes,
you will catch the reflection in the other persons eyes. Love
brings forth love in others. Fear of another, brings forth hate
in you which then brings forth hate in the other.
Don't take my word for it, try it and see.
--Jan Sultan
Sleeping in
the Forest
I thought the earth remembered me, she
took me back so tenderly, arranging
her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds. I slept
as never before, a stone
on the riverbed, nothing
between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated
light as moths among the branches
of the perfect trees. All night
I heard the small kingdoms breathing
around me, the insects, and the birds
who do their work in the darkness. All night
I rose and fell, as if in water, grappling
with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.
