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Noam Chomsky, �The Culture of Terrorism�

Started October 16 - Finished October 17, 2002; 273 pages. Posted 28 October 2002

If you take any type of journalism class, one thing they will always try to beat into your tiny little skull is that you should, if at all possible, sit down immediately after an interview to write as much as you can.

The idea behind it is to keep your thoughts straight, and you should also be clearer in your writing because it just happened. Take too long to write it all down, and you�re liable to forget what just transpired. I finished this book over a week ago, but could never find the time to write about it. Now that I do have the time, I can�t remember what the hell Chomsky was talking about.

Not that I knew in the first place.

I�m just kidding. But man, this book made my head hurt. Written in 1988 at a time when we considered most terrorism to occur in Central and Latin America (sometimes referred to as "freedom fighters" by the U.S. government), we travel back and forth between countries and regions so quickly that I almost got the bends. There�s a lot of information in this book, and for something written 14 years ago, most of it still holds true.

That�s the frightening thing. Not the �terrorism� itself, but the culture that surrounds it as a reaction. The fear factor (and I�m not talking about the stupid game show) that purveys our collective consciousness, where we are suddenly used to "Orange Alerts," and shutdowns of major bridges and public spaces just because it happens to be a holiday. How come they didn�t shut down Anaheim Stadium last night? The Giants sure as shit bombed.

By the way, �Orange Alert� was a term used in The Prisoner whenever Patrick McGoohan tried to break out of the society. One of life�s little ironies.

So we cower in fear, mistrust anybody we don�t know, put bars up on all the windows, and carry lots of weapons. And Bush uses paranoid rhetoric to try and drum up support for a full-scale assault. Most people don�t seem to be buying it for once, but I wonder if it is because for once, people are scared of possible retribution? All those bars covering your window won�t stop a plane, moron. It won�t stop a thermite bomb in a Ryder truck either. Or a random sniper for that matter.

And it�s getting worse.

I feel the paranoia around me is almost suffocating. I don�t get it. I already know that I die by getting hit by a truck (It came to me in a dream - long story.), but you don�t see me hiding in my room to avoid traffic. (I�m not hiding; I�m playing Monster Rancher! Whoo!) When it happens, it happens, so I�m just enjoying myself in the mean time. I can�t see why others don�t do the same.

Though it probably wouldn�t hurt if we as a governmental body weren�t such pricks to everybody else.


Rating: Worth new, I think.

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