American Heroes

This past week, Noam Chomsky came to Cairo and did an hour-long talk at The American University in Cairo.  The venue was an auditorium located on the old campus, the branch downtown, at Tahrir Square, the epicenter of Egypt’s most famous recent historical events.  I would have loved to have jumped aboard the metro—there’s a stop not far from my apartment—and headed into the heart of the city to watch this living legend do his thing.  Unfortunately, he talked on a Tuesday, and I was incredibly busy that day, helping my students with their essays and such, so I was unable to attend. 

I did watch, though, the very next day, on YouTube—AUC has its own channel on the site.  What I saw was classic Chomsky.  He was his typical monotone self.  But he’s never really been about style.  He’s all substance, and the talk that he gave—check it out below—was incredibly substantive.  He delivered a devastating critique of American political culture and foreign policy, two of his favorite subjects.  He’s got bull’s eyes drawn on those two.

He reminded me—as he always does—how masterfully America has managed to hide a good chunk of its history from the vast majority of its citizens.  (It just so happens I’m also reading The Secret History of the American Empire, by ex-Peace Corps Volunteer and self-described “Economic Hit Man,” John Perkins.  As the title of his book makes clear, Perkins is Chomsky’s colleague in every meaningful sense of the word.)

I’ve always been drawn to these sorts of “radicals.”  I guess I always will be.  Conventional wisdom calls such folks “sellouts,” “America haters,” “traitors,” whatever ugly term you want to choose.  To me, though, they are the bravest of the brave, the nation’s best and brightest.  Their arguments carry the seed of the only hope we have left.

Last year, I was lucky to see Norm Finkelstein when he came to do a ninety-minute talk at AUC.  They had to put him in the biggest room the university has.  There were probably six hundred people in his audience.  He didn’t disappoint, and in the end, we clapped as hard as we could.  Just as a post-script on Finkelstein:  I’m always amazed when I think about how I’ve never seen him talk on American TV.

Last, but not least, is Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for this year’s American presidential election.  At this link, you’ll find her being interviewed by Russia Today.  It’s tragic that I hadn’t even heard of her before watching this clip.