Berube, Part Two

[Chuck Munson]

michael pugliese wrote:
> 
> * * *
> 
> The narrative of the left is more tangled and more somber. But
> before I remark on the ways the Chomskian left has consigned
> itself to the dustbin of history, let me go back to those early
> days of hysteria and say a few words in defense of people I now
> disagree with: it was entirely plausible, in those first few
> days, to think that the United States had received some kind
> of global comeuppance. Bless their hearts, the diehards of the
> anti-imperialist left had always had the integrity and the conscience
> to say publicly that the United States had too often acted unilaterally
> and unethically in the post-1945 world, often against its own
> realpolitik interests as well as against its own democratic ideals.

First of all, the "Chomskian left" (what a retarded label) is alive and
kicking. It seems to me that 9-11 will have no lasting effect on the
American left and if anything, probably helped it by waking Americans up
from their long TV-induced capitalist slumber. There are many indicators
that Americans want to hear the ideas coming from the "Chomskyian left,"
judging from the popularity of Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky's books, as
well as the increase in interest in alternative news websites.

Perhaps my memory is failing me, but I seem to remember that the response
of the American left after 9-11 was on of asking people to look at the
bigger picture and to examine the root causes that may have prompted the
attacks. The American left did not immediately go into a "Blame America"
mode, in fact its measured response was right on target. It wasn't until
it became clear that the Bush administration had opted for war over
justice that the left upped its criticism of the American state.

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