Consider the Source
The Pentagon will gladly supply, on request, such information as the quantity of ordnance expended in Vietnam. From 1965 through 1969 this amounts to about 4.5 million tons by aerial bombardment. This is nine times…
Tag: Noam Chomsky
Give, Give, and Give Some More
Give away career advice Give dropping-out-of-grad-school encouragement Give reminders of the lojong slogans (“Don’t ponder others”) Give away Harold Bloom’s Western Canon reading list Give a 9 by 12 b/w photo by M. Puleo Give…
Elie Wiesel and the Question of Palestine
This essay was first published in Tikkun, November-December 2002. In his 1986 Nobel lecture, Elie Wiesel spoke with characteristic gravity on any attempt to reckon with the Holocaust: “There are no theological answers, there are no…
The Dissidents Had Time for Tennis
Allen Ginsberg once noted, “Appreciation is the sacrament.” So this, on Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, from Alice Walker.
Books
My father had an Appalachian education That went through sixth grade I went after and got a BA, MA And a PhD I doubt my father Ever finished reading a book (I once asked him…
Kafka’s Axe
Dear Bella Levenshteyn, Was reading Kafka’s letters earlier today. The passage caught my eye: “I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us. If the book we’re reading…
A Mentsh
For years I read him to get a bearing On the atrocities the U.S. enabled in Central America I wrote my Master’s thesis on him On Israel/Palestine and liberation theology When I met him at…
Could the Rich Just Be a Little Nicer?
I recently came across this excerpt from an interview, which first appeared in 1999. I am reminded of the 17 people who showed up on Sunday at Sophia House to hear Sara and Emily speak…
Cambridge
Now that you’ve been accepted To the Kennedy School of Government Where you’ll have access To current and future movers and shakers Where there’ll be balanced discussions About “America’s humanitarian role in the world” Where…
Message from Elias
I’ve been reading a litte bit of Chomsky and thinking about you. Here is what I liked from Chomsky’s book: “…you do not do anything unless you’re aware that there’s something that ought to be…