Even after canceling my dinner invitation and forgetting his lecture notes, watching Noam Chomsky live is always mystical. Although always a humble speaker, his presence in the big classroom is huge, and he doesn’t need charisma to make you feel the intensity of each word. I also had the honor of interviewing him in April 2006.
Although he was escorted by Department of Public Safety officers in a matter that prevented him from shaking hands or signing books — even Obama didn’t get that much security — I was the last of the lucky four who asked him a question at the end of his lecture, and I’d like to rebut Chomsky’s answer.
I asked him: “There are three recent factors leading many people to predict an economic collapse this summer, when the next quarterly tax returns of corporations come out: No. 1: We’re reaching the debt ceiling again, but this time, raising it would mean America can’t even afford to pay the interest on the debt. No. 2: Last week, the World Bank rated the American economy as “unstable” for the first time in the history of the dollar and already published studies on launching a new world currency very soon. No. 3: In today’s global economy, where Japan is the third biggest economy, the collapse of Japan or America is very bad news for the whole world. Since the tsunami, the Japanese car and electronic companies are already closing many factories around the world. Do you think a global economic collapse may happen before the next elections, and how can America prepare itself or try to prevent it?”
Chomsky answered: No. 1: He doesn’t like to speculate about the future, even though he agrees we’re heading toward an inevitable economic collapse, and, No. 2, Americans should follow the Egyptian protests, now that the last line of defense (unions) is also
under attack.
While I appreciate Chomsky sticking to historical facts, I’d like to mention two critical nonviolent and more effective solutions, even though the efforts to implement these peaceful solutions by citizens are slower than the economic deterioration by corporations.
I believe America will fall this decade (an optimistic prediction) if we don’t make these two changes:
Firstly, end the Supreme Court’s decision to consider corporations like people. They’re not. They don’t have feelings. They don’t care about health and nature. Their biggest priority is profits, as you’d learn in Business 101.
No. 2: End the two-party system. When you only have one opponent, your goal is to avoid finishing last. With more competition, you have to be the best to win. This is the difference between raising and lowering expectations, between progress and regression and between Europe and America. This is how you can avoid a president like Bush, and how you can pressure a candidate to fulfill his or her campaign promises.
These are the only two peaceful solutions I predict can keep corporations’ money out of citizens’ elections and can save America from ending like the Roman or British empires. Also, in America, we don’t have a Tahrir Square (in Cairo) where angry people can go throw rocks at each other. Here, we have guns in about 50 percent of households.
We need change we can live in. Yes, we can!
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