Noam Chomsky: The State Fears Its Own People

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/noam-chomsky-state-fears-its-own-people

In a recent media appearance Noam Chomsky said that whistleblower Edward Snowden, who remains in Russia after releasing a trove of documents about secret NSA surveillance, should be honored.

"He was doing what every citizen ought to do," Chomsky says in the video below. "He was telling Americans what the government is doing."

Chomsky goes on to explain that governments always claim security as their justification for civil liberties abuses, but that overwhelmingly the security in question is that of the state ... from its own population. To smatterings of applause, Chomsky goes on to explain how America's drone campaign abroad is a far bigger threat to our security than leaked information about surveillance.

[cantbeserious]

1. When People Fear The Government, Tyranny Prevails; When Government Fears The People, Liberty Prevai

Thomas Jefferson

[LuvNewcastle]

2. Exactly. People think this spying is done to protect them,

but its purpose is really to protect the state. Imagine that the state is a living being unto itself. Its first priority is to keep itself alive and healthy. In that sense, the people are just another natural enemy for it to guard itself against.

[NoMoreWarNow]

4. Yep-- no doubt.

In fact, the massive spying almost certainly impedes the detection of terrorists, thus helping terrorist and creating a vicious cycle.

[Eddie Haskell]

3. It's not the state of your security they protect, it's the National Security State.

[heaven05]

6. Yeah

Big Truth!!!! Don't forget who started this garbage because of 9/11. Not excusing any subsequent administrations continuance or expansion of this abrogation of civil and human rights. Neocons are the real enemy of the people. Don't forget PNAC. I've read a lot of what they strive for, it's downright benign dictatorship they are trying to create. Imperialism is also a key goal of these people, they want to rule the world. Barack is in a hell of a mess and if he is not part of this, then I bet he is sorry he ever ran for office. But committed he is, and because of the PTB, has to continue. No way out. I think. If he still wants this then he's no better than any of the other sociopaths that have led this country by being elected or THEFT of office.

[stevenleser]

5. I've traveled to countries that fear their own people. This isn't one.

States that fear their own people have troops with automatic weapons on almost every corner.

States that fear their own people would arrest Chomsky for making that statement. They would not allow him his cushy job at a major academic institution.

States that fear their own people would send someone to your house or apartment to pick you up for posting this OP. I can tell you that will not happen.

[xchrom]

7. being an old protesting, counter culture hippie

my experience tells me something different from the tale you tell.

[heaven05]

8. +10000

[Eleanors38]

11. I go with this ^^^

[stevenleser]

14. You can pretend anything you want to pretend. Name a dictator. Under that regime, you would already

be in jail for this OP, next to Chomsky.

[xchrom]

18. ask 1st nations people, ask african americans, ask anti-war protestors --

it doesn't take a dictator to oppress you.

unless you're trying to rewrite history --

[stevenleser]

20. You can try to throw up as many distractions from my point that you want. It won't help.

My point stands.

[xchrom]

21. Only in the Exceptional American Universe does it stand. Nt

[Fumesucker]

9. The most dangerous man

The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.
H. L. Mencken

[xchrom]

10. +1

[LuvNewcastle]

13. Mencken was a wise man. So is Chomsky.

Chomsky has to be one of the most clear-headed people commenting on the nature of our government. I'm not always in exact agreement with him, but he's right a lot more than not. I wish he was a better writer, though. Dry as a bone. He really needs to collaborate with someone who can bring his ideas to life. A graphic novel would be great and I think it would probably be very influential.

[Civilization2]

16. What they want are "Obedient workers",. .

"The real owners are the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians, they're an irrelevancy. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehouses, the city halls. They've got the judges in their back pockets. And they own all the big media companies, so that they control just about all of the news and information you hear. They've got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying, ­lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want; they want more for themselves and less for everybody else.

But I'll tell you what they don't want. They don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don't want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. They're not interested in that. That doesn't help them. That's against their interests. They don't want people who are smart enough to sit around the kitchen table and figure out how badly they're getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago.

You know what they want? Obedient workers ­people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork, but just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, reduced benefits, the end of overtime and the vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it. And now, they're coming for your Social Security. They want your fucking retirement money. They want it back, so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street. And you know something? They'll get it. They'll get it all, sooner or later,. because they own this fucking place. It's a big club, and you ain't in it. You and I are not in the big club."

- G. Carlin

[SHRED]

12. The USA "State" doesn't fear it's people

This NSA/Drone/MIC has much more to do with big fat public contracts to the private sector which are aided by their "revolving door" cronies in what is suppose to be OUR government.

I'd be more inclined to agree with Noam on this if people like him were being hauled away by the State for speaking their mind and if all of these nefarious State enterprises were actually performed by the State rather than the profit motivated private sector.

[stevenleser]

15. I agree 100% nt

[kenny blankenship]

17. It hates us for our freedoms: it's more like contempt than fear.

In fact it has little to fear from the people now. An informed citizenry with working institutions of democratic representation - yes, the criminal overclass as we know them today would have much to fear from that. So they got busy and destroyed it. Our political institutions were always a bordello. But it wasn't the "the Emperor's Club" always. There were times when middle class patrons and even organized labor could obtain some satisfaction at prices they could afford. All that was needed for elite exclusivity and complete control was to buy the media, and to corrupt academia through the same dollar driven mechanisms, in order to seal politics off forever from the meddling of the people. The representation of the national interest has been monopolized for the top 1%. What is good for Wall Street, Microsoft, Walmart, Exxon and General Dynamics is deemed good for America. The destruction is so thorough at this point that they can basically flaunt their overclass status and admit the hostility of the state to the interests of the vast majority of its subjects and dare the little people to do something about it.

[PowerToThePeople]

19. Seriously, USA and her allies are the Axis of Evil.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

22. No! No! They're generously spending our money to spy on us to protect our right to privacy.

Pretty soon we can all spy on each other and get paid for it.