Us humans pride ourselves on our intelligence. We certainly use our brains differently to all other animals, often in unusual and surprising ways. Does being clever make it likely that human beings as a species will survive for a long time? Far from it, Chomsky suggests.
The problem is that we look at the world through a set of beliefs and values that prevent us acting in our own long term interests. The US, the world’s most powerful country, is far more interested in projecting its power across the globe than in tackling problems like global warming and falling oil reserves. Where goals conflict, it is the pursuit of power that wins out. It has to be said, that Chomsky himself is more interested in describing the role of the US as a global …show more content…
One easy success in the war on terrorism would be to cease funding it he notes sardonically. Terrorism is the weapon of the weak, it is often said. Not so. It is a weapon of the powerful, like all the others. Does terrorism justify a pre-emptive strike to prevent something worse happening? Well if it does then countries like Cuba and Nicaragua that have been on the receiving end of US covert operations have the right of a pre-emptive strike on Washington.One of the main theatres for the war on terror is the media. Chomsky contrasts the way similar acts are reported depending on who has committed them. Some news stories just stick in the memory. I can still remember being sickened by the news story in 1985 about the cruise ship the Achille Lauro. It was taken over by a group of Palestinian terrorists who threw an elderly disabled passenger overboard in his wheelchair. Somehow this almost casual act of brutality is particularly shocking and …show more content…
British journalists found the story behind it. The disabled Palestinian had been shot by Israeli troops, while trying to surrender then crushed by a tank. I am pretty sure I never heard that story before reading it in this book. It is easy to ignore news stories about massacres and atrocities when they are abstract statistics. It is only when you hear the human stories involved that your natural sympathies are aroused. The media can report facts with complete accuracy, but still mislead by the different ways the two sides are treated. To illustrate the difference, Chomsky considers how different the events surrounding the Janine massacre would sound if it were carried out by Syria on Israel.It’s a useful exercise. The rights and wrongs of a particular conflict are often pretty much a matter of perspective or opinion. But we all respond to particular stories of human suffering. We hear a lot about the very real security problems that Israelis suffer from. We hear a lot less about the much greater security problems that the Palestinians suffer
The problem is that we look at the world through a set of beliefs and values that prevent us acting in our own long term interests. The US, the world’s most powerful country, is far more interested in projecting its power across the globe than in tackling problems like global warming and falling oil reserves. Where goals conflict, it is the pursuit of power that wins out. It has to be said, that Chomsky himself is more interested in describing the role of the US as a global …show more content…
One easy success in the war on terrorism would be to cease funding it he notes sardonically. Terrorism is the weapon of the weak, it is often said. Not so. It is a weapon of the powerful, like all the others. Does terrorism justify a pre-emptive strike to prevent something worse happening? Well if it does then countries like Cuba and Nicaragua that have been on the receiving end of US covert operations have the right of a pre-emptive strike on Washington.One of the main theatres for the war on terror is the media. Chomsky contrasts the way similar acts are reported depending on who has committed them. Some news stories just stick in the memory. I can still remember being sickened by the news story in 1985 about the cruise ship the Achille Lauro. It was taken over by a group of Palestinian terrorists who threw an elderly disabled passenger overboard in his wheelchair. Somehow this almost casual act of brutality is particularly shocking and …show more content…
British journalists found the story behind it. The disabled Palestinian had been shot by Israeli troops, while trying to surrender then crushed by a tank. I am pretty sure I never heard that story before reading it in this book. It is easy to ignore news stories about massacres and atrocities when they are abstract statistics. It is only when you hear the human stories involved that your natural sympathies are aroused. The media can report facts with complete accuracy, but still mislead by the different ways the two sides are treated. To illustrate the difference, Chomsky considers how different the events surrounding the Janine massacre would sound if it were carried out by Syria on Israel.It’s a useful exercise. The rights and wrongs of a particular conflict are often pretty much a matter of perspective or opinion. But we all respond to particular stories of human suffering. We hear a lot about the very real security problems that Israelis suffer from. We hear a lot less about the much greater security problems that the Palestinians suffer