My computer goes in the shop for a few days and look what I miss!


Tony Abdo at [log in to unmask] writes:

> Tresy, you are absolutely right, a lot of us on this list do see the US
> as The Great Satan.     In fact, your derisive use of this term comes
> from the days of the overthrow of the Shah of Iran.     Were Iranians
> wrong also, in seeing the US as The Great Satan?

Chomsky uses it derisively throughout his works to refer to a mindset that
sees the world in chauvinistic, unthinking, black and white, usually
ascribed to the "commissars" in the mass media. He also says that
self-identified "Marxists" such as yourself exemplify a similar religious
mindset. You probably missed that part too. You don't really read Chomsky,
do you?
>
> What are all the things you love so much about the US?     You love the
> medical system,  "the safety net", and the "right-to-bomb" the living
> daylights out of people halfway around the globe.    Are there any other
> things that us "leftie fora" have done injustly to poor ol' Uncle Sam,
> in your humble opinion?      Besides our simple lack of appreciation for
> not realizing how good we have it, here at home?

Chomsky says he lives here because it's the freest country in the world.
Alex Cockburn says he lives here because the people are friendlier and more
open than the UK, and the society is less class ridden. Many other people
come here by the thousands for similar reasons, including the opportunity to
find a better life than they have in the People's Republics of Iraq,
Yugoslavia, and elsewhere. Got a problem with that? Go argue with them.
>
> Please inform us if so, so that we can correct in advance our difficient
> love for the Patria.     And lack of respect, too.

I didn't say anything about love or respect for "the Patria." I was speaking
solely of the Chomsky model displaying itself on this list. It's not my
fault if you can't read or think.
>
> By God, somebody's got to come on these lists and straighten us
> uninformed people out.     Praise the Lord for your vision.

This religious rhetoric I find highly amusing (Meecham begged elsewhere for
the US rulers to "repent"). If only many of the people on this list realized
how much like Pat Robertson they sound, in their hysterical indifference to
fact and reason, and their brainless invocations of Great Satans to buttress
Manicheaen worldview.

--
Tresy Kilbourne
Seattle WA