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Noam Chomsky has been an unabashed critic of U.S. foreign policy for several decades. His lecture on the University of Denver campus on Thursday night was no different. He leveled his charges against the U.S. government with strong, unflinching rhetoric.
As a linguist, Chomsky clearly understands the power of his words and uses them to vilify American policy. Words like “atrocity,” “empire” and “repression” all conjure negative connotations.
Unlike many pundits today, Chomsky readily leveled this harsh assessment at both Democratic and Republican presidents. He suggested that the United States was the culprit of many international crimes and not the benevolent superpower we would like to believe it is. And, as uncomfortable as it may be to consider, Chomsky’s words might be well chosen.
He was particularly critical of America’s presence in the Middle East. His argument was winding, multifaceted and, unfortunately, spanned topics too broad to be considered here.
On the whole, Chomsky outlined a world in which the U.S. buys oil from Arab dictators and then sells it for weapons. The weapons are used to recuperate some of the lost U.S. dollars due to oil payments and helps the dictators repress their people. This, according to Chomsky, is the basis for the current situation in the Middle East.
Consequently, the United States is in a poor position to deal with it.
Chomsky’s lecture may make him appear cynical on all world events, but he concluded with a very optimistic point; one that resonated with me. The United States occupies a unique place in the world.
Whether or not our past actions line up with our values (and the answer is almost certainly not), we have the power and the influence to change the future.
The U.S. can carve out a future in which we protect democratic freedoms for all. We do not have to support dictators to continue our dependence on oil.
To me, this was Chomsky’s most important point. Unfortunately, he spent only the last three minutes of his lecture discussing it. Maybe I’m still a sucker for hope and change, but here’s one American hoping that my country can once again be a force for good in this world.
