For those of us who know the name Noam Chomsky, our familiarity flows from having read, or read about, his many books on political, or foreign affairs. Perhaps his best known are 9/11, Manufacturing Consent, written with Ed Herman. And thanks to the promotion at the UN, by Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, Hegemony or Survival. That said, when or if, we think of him, it’s in that context; a critic, an author, or a scholar. Who knew that he is a gifted, concise columnist? Chomsky has been writing and distributing his op-ed pieces for years. Unfortunately, American newspapers rarely carry them. In fact, as Chavez has demonstrated, Chomsky’s readership of both books and columns may be more plentiful abroad than here, in the States. That may change with the publication of his newest book, a collection of his columns called “nterventions.
Interventions offers over 40 of Chomsky’s columns; insightful, crisp, and well-researched pieces on news events of the day. From 9/11 to the Iraq war, from the non-crisis of social security, to the leavening of Lebanon, Chomsky offers his informed opinion and critical analysis. The real kicker is, why is it easier to read him in Mexico’s La Jornada National Daily, or Britain’s Guardian, than say, The Washington Post, or The New York Times? The reasons are simple and undeniable. He doesn’t buy the Washington consensus that is the bread and butter of most U.S. newspapers, and his pen slants to the left. In this age, when the nation’s mass media knowingly betrayed its customers into this disaster of a war based on a lie, Chomsky’s musings could have been a valuable and necessary corrective. Unfortunately, millions of Americans never got that option. Instead, they were fed the lies of privilege, profit, and warmongering that led this nation into the mess it now finds itself. A timely intervention might have changed things. From death row, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.
These commentaries are produced by Noel Hanrahan for Prison Radio.
