Noam Chomsky on the global power dynamic in 2008

[thepotatovagina]

put this ugly old kike in a gas oven

[squamish4244]

Whenever I see Noam Comsky videos now, I'm reminded of TheOnion's satirical article, "Exhausted Noam Chomsky just going to try and enjoy the day for once".

[fLcGambit]

@squamish4244 That's a great article haha

[squamish4244]

@fLcGambit It is hilarious, Chomsky should read it and maybe take a vacation once in awhile.

[4izm0v]

Chomsky is right, anyone can see what's going around them if they just opened their eyes.

[bobrashkow]

Chumpsky...God should only save us from this so called Jewish Jew hater!

[Laavanzaday]

he didn't mention Russia's role at all.

[fLcGambit]

@Laavanzaday He did in passing, but it's a pretty short video to get into everything

[ISMEY]

@Laavanzaday russia is part of europe you should check a map.

[Laavanzaday]

@ISMEY A map does not determine geopolitics. Russia is not entirely part of Europe. They have unique characteristics that sets them apart form Europe. They also have a soci-economic identity and history quite distinct to the whole of Europe.

[drydust999]

this man is profoundly stupid—perhaps even more than the morons who applause every time he tells anti-Western shit

[tristbjorn]

@drydust999 HERP DERP SUPPORT THE TEAM. It's not anti western. It's the people in the west, that don't like being measured on the same scale as the rest of the world.

[drydust999]

@tristbjorn Because the rest of the world sucks, poor people suck and most other cultures suck. Go live in Africa, Iran or China and you'll see for yourself.

[xjaskix]

why does this fool talk as if Middle East and its oil are so imporant? as if America went to Iraq just to have a presence near the oil... that's ridiculous. oil isn't THAT important.

[priced80]

@xjaskix you are an idiot if thats what you think. Everything depends on energy. Oil is our primary source of energy. Therefore Oil at the moment is the most precious resource on Earth.

[shwwnn]

@xjaskix then for what important reason did us go?

[roynexus6]

Looks like Chomsky has finally stopped apologizing for Pol Pot, Stalin and Castro ?

Old Marxist POS.

[MacbookProWizard]

Mumble Mumble Mumble Capitalism and the United States are evil Mumble Mumble Mumble makes comments about economics with no substantive backing Mumble Mumble Mumble Mumble tiny wealthy elites Mumble imperialism Mumble Mumble Mumble gigantic fucking hypocrite with a disgustingly elitist way of conducting himself. Yet another syndicalist who thinks the volume of information markets enable us the exchange can be exchanged as-such in some socialist utopia. Mumble Mumble Mumble Mumble

[hrmIwonder]

@MacbookProWizard

Don't like what you see when you look in the mirror? Most people don't, so they just don't look.

[MacbookProWizard]

@hrmIwonder That's cute I like that. Welcome to power politics, grab some popcorn and watch as we propagate more wealth in a mere 200 years of existence than has ever existed at any other time on the planet– all countries combined.

[hrmIwonder]

@MacbookProWizard

proved my point, thanks!

[tristbjorn]

@MacbookProWizard i'm sure you had a share in it. Go cheer for the elites and hope you get to bask in their glory.

[100CommonCents]

Why doesn't Chomsky attack the federal reserve system? or if he has, can anyone give me a link?

[mcshobe2008]

@100CommonCents i asked him about this once. I asked if he thought the fed was something our society needed... he basically said yes... and "there would be considerable chaos without one. That’s why all state capitalist systems have them."

not much detail but gives an idea of his thoughts.

[ge1org1e]

is it just me who feels soothed and relaxed when I hear proper intelligence speak?

(I am sure I am not)

[baigandine]

Why are we so protective of our military superiority but send our manufacturing base straight overseas without shedding a tear?

[justgivemethetruth]

We sure are not getting our money's worth in terms of our military "investment", we are not helping the world become more civilized, in fact could be argued the opposite. We have been picking on small countries and trying to develop the power to change a country, but so far no dice, ... maybe Iraq.

I agree, South America has huge potential, I hope that their democratic movements are able to continue and mature! That's huge!

True, the US is behaving hypocritically. So, what's you point?

[LibertyJedi]

Wow he has his  boogie man as well.

[DoopaLoopa]

3... what the fuck... this guy needs to learn to fuckin' speak and enroll himself into a retirement home because he blows ass and sucks fuck. This guy doesn't know shit about anything and must exist as the stupidest motherfucker on the planet. Fuck this video and fuck whoever opned up this video. No singularity will ever fuckin come becausae the "single" represents a bullshit concept. Go and local a single isolated thing you fuckin' dipshits.

[nemesis700]

i could listen to him talk for a very long time

[DoopaLoopa]

@nemesis700 And doopaloopa could shit on your face for a long time.

[St37One]

i cant believe that this guy is considered an intellectual.

His world view is so narrow and prejudiced, he barely has the capacity to think.

[HolyjesusAsshole]

@St37One i think your thinking and world view has been shaped to ignore the real problems

hes a great intellectual because he says it how he sees it courageous Man..

Chomsky a Columnist without a place........

[St37One]

@HolyjesusAsshole

I am aware of the real problems, like Noam Chomsky, and other frauds.

[baihbalm]

@St37 I suppose the anti-war movement is part of the problem as well?

[St37One]

@baihbalm

Why would you suppose that?

There is no "anti-war movement", only hypocrites who say that they hate war.

Might as well join a prayer group and say that you are fighting against going to hell, and that you know what the hell you are doing.

[baihbalm]

@St37One But hell doesn't exist, and war does... what a retarded thing to suggest.

[St37One]

@baihbalm

there are no perfect analogies.

My point was just that if you frame the problem incorrectly, then you have no hope of solving it. War, in the abstract, is like hell. War is not "a" or "the" problem. There are many wars, and each war is different. Wars are not the result of a grand conspiracy, and humanity has actually come a long way in the direction of peace. It makes more sense to focus on the factors that influence conlfict, than on the conflicts themselves.

[baihbalm]

@St37One factors that influence conflict... which could be anything. Is what we should focus on.... do you actually believe that? The world is infinity complex, the problems are not so complex in my experience. In the future, do yourself a favor and stay away from two things you've never experienced... not to mention one, hell, is mythical fantastical. So I'm even at more at a loss as to what you're trying to say. Direction of peace... so you believe we're going in that direction?

[St37One]

@baihbalm

Hell is a danger that fools try to avoid, but yet they dont know enough about hell to know that it doesnt even exist, and they have no way to know if thier efforts pay off.

Yes I do believe that humanity is heading in the direction of peace, and has been over the decades, the centuries, and the millenia, and this is a well supported fact (pretty hard to deny). And yes I also believe that it is far more productive to look at war in terms of cause and effect, rather than moralizing.

[baihbalm]

@St37One We're heading to catastrophe because of our energy policies, not peace. Look at sole surviving manufacturing industry in the United States... and you say we're going to peace? I Deny you're mislabeled authority that states we're heading towards peace, there is plenty of evidence some are in support of peace, but plenty more evidence supporting perpetual war. You seem logical enough to see that there are plenty in both directions. The USA, economically, could not survive peace.

[St37One]

@baihbalm

You deny which "authority" exactly?

What do you call "mislabeled"?

If it is the case that you can spot a declining trend in deaths directly attributable to conflict such as homicide, genocide, and any other intentional killing of humans by humans, as mesured per capita in the human population, then wouldnt you agree that humanity is heading in the direction of peace?

[baihbalm]

@St37One It's impossible to explain authority to you when you have such unquestioning faith in it's ability to do 'right'. Mislabeled: you like to look at cause and effect.  It's obvious you don't, I've never heard, experienced, or listened to anyone who thinks the anti-war movement 'doesn't exist'. Twilight zone much? Your third question can be answered easily by the exponential factor in reference to oil consumption tied to population growth. cont.

[baihbalm]

@St37One measuring per capita (survial rate) without analyzing the stability in maintaining that growth (or any growth) is taking short cuts. Oil production has not exponentially increased to the point of being able to provide proper nourishment to worldwide population growth. Population growth will inevitably cease, as there will be a shortage of food. Are wars killing more people then ever, yes, are wars killing less per capita, yes. And this equals peace? Explain.

[St37One]

@baihbalm

yes, crudely put, killing less people per capita means more peace. It doesnt "equal peace" as you put it, because peace is not an absolute. It means that there is an overall dynamic reducing the degree to which the average human needs to worry about being killed in a conflict.

It means that war is becoming less and less significant.

I was not merely talking about survival rates/birth rates/death rates/lifespan, and I was not taking any shortcut to boost my own argument.

[baihbalm]

@St37One I agree with you on this 100%, but the US industry is going in the opposite direction.

[Akanlaw]

So are you telling us something we don't know? you stupid old fuck dry up and blow away, how about a new agenda the Truth. How made these video's the Rocker-fellers they fucked the western world and turned it into theirs you stupid old fuck . We are screwed cause they run our countries and armies via the cash flow.

[MaiaRikae]

@TedDGPoulos "Nature" is a construction. There is no one "underlying law of nature", and attempts to create one and use it as a basis for anything are nothing but a clever manipulative strategy (or else plain old fuzzy thinking). Such attempts should set off warning bells for the listener on the basis of their history alone: religious fundamentalism, social d=Darwinism, etc.

[TedDGPoulos]

@MaiaRikae Thank you for your point of view. A great deal of new information about the underlying law of nature is now available online at TheUnderlyingLawOfNature dot c o m. I welcome you to keep in touch.

[MaiaRikae]

@TedDGPoulos "Nature" is a construction. There is no one "underlying law of nature", and attempts to create one and use it as a basis for anything are nothing but a clever manipulative strategy (or else plain old fuzzy thinking). Such attempts should set off warning bells for the listener on the basis of their history alone: religious fundamentalism, social d=Darwinism, etc.

[MaiaRikae]

@TedDGPoulos "Nature" is a construction. There is no one "underlying law of nature", and attempts to create one and use it as a basis for anything are nothing but a clever manipulative strategy (or else plain old fuzzy thinking). Such attempts should set off warning bells for the listener on the basis of their history alone: religious fundamentalism, social d=Darwinism, etc.

[TedDGPoulos]

@MaiaRikae Thank you for your point of view.

[Eurotrash4367]

I will gladly take one motivated individual with a GED who is willing to work towards positive change over three intellectual elites that only give interviews about change.

[Orly83]

Chomsky is overrated.

[various8]

This man is a fact, he doesn't need facts like the rest of us lowly folk to back up his opinion

[77georgia]

Noam Chomsky is the truth.

[mojoman2001]

He's a genius. If you don't think this is his best work, consider his age. He has contributed more to human thought than anyone who reads this ever will. He has been teaching at MIT for what, 55 years now? Put another way, he is not world famous for his physical beauty or lovely singing voice.... Wake up and read his political philosophy.

[Roshea1956]

I told the people around me that they should have voted for me for US President because we would not be in the trouble we r in, ha ha ha ha ha hah ahaaa........ahaaaaaahh

[Roshea1956]

@Roshea1956 one thing though Mr. C, bud ur very pale, like needing blood, bud!

[rogkeista]

Chumpsky is a vicious enemy of civilisation and humanity who is poisoning the minds of so many gullible alienated suckers trapped in arrested development. He is a fascist sympathiser...an anti American Jew hating punk.

[myroncope]

that doesn't make a damn bit of sense

[ibpoe]

old mfer, wish i had that brain..........

[jadedmisanthropy]

You have the brain to appreciate what he's saying, that's more than what many people have.

[Cookindude1985]

Well said sir. Well said.

[ibpoe]

............

[TheWisemonkey8]

1:03 thats the crux. Kind regards,

[nelemak]

asias financial resources... consiting of massprinted us paper, which cannot, wont be sustanable 10 years down. This means they had better fool someone else into taking the dollars, or be left holding a large chunk of nothing.

And as i can hear protests; gold lending from the fed for the purpose of keeping gold prices low.. and the dollar seem sustanable(and an immense rise in gold ahead, as the reserve is running dry real soon), very little real economy... and thus massive repeat borrowing.

[JSimp41]

You can't argue Hrwulf... how can you win against someone who makes up their own definitions and facts.

[JonnyCashmore]

He hasn't mentioned one fact in the entire speech. What facts are you talking about? you must be a Republican christian.......

[ahmedrazaqta]

Noam is the man of two centuries ahead. He is greatest thinker alive.

[Invirtuo]

He's fading...thank god

[lived666]

Sorry Invirtuo, not even god can save you from reality.

[Invirtuo]

Indeed. Reality is fantastic

[danzo240]

The man in the ribbed jumper

[paganiniGOGO]

I was thinking the same thing. He looks almost sick.

[shockfox7]

Oh yeah. The war on terror, that's it. That's why we're there.

[dzhibrish]

You see?that's chomsky's problem.

He fails to understand the ignorance and vulgar Irrationality of people like the commentator above.

He is defending them but he doesn't understand that the minute they can they will spit in his face.

[flyzerogravity]

What an incredible mind! He has done his research and homework in world affairs. Why can't the world leaders have these admirable traits. Instead we get Reagan, Bush, Chaney, and such! He is a true politicle Hero!!!

[hrwulf]

I agree. We also get Kennedy, Pelosi, Obama, and many other useless minds to keep the masses distracted with bread and circus. Some day people will understand that they have been used as pawns by both dominant political parties in the USA. Nither have the real interests of the people here and throughout the world in mind. They are all about keeping power and influence to their little elite cliques, in turn perverting the original intent of the Constitution of the United States. They divide us.

[curtnoel9]

OK. I have only this criticism of Chomsky. For all that genius and all that precise, logical and wonderfully refreshing candor he lacked the desire to master the art of oratory. I know he did not neglect it out of ignorance but probably out of a lack of desire for political aims, which is good and makes what he says even more credible. He has incredible insight but its presented in an almost Vulcan manner: dry, humorless and matter-of-fact.

[dEEpindEEd]

Personally I loose interest the minute I sense someone using the tips and tricks of public speaking. Even with the, as you called it, dry humorless way of speaking he uses he never fails to grab my full attention!

I dont think Chomsky would have the respect and following he does today if he considered using the mumble jumble politicians use to manipulate their flock.

Oratory should be limited to theatrics if you ask me

[11889music]

@dEEpindEEd

Loose interest, do you? Quite an interesting method there, sir.

So, we should be listening to you?

[thesparitan]

@dEEpindEEd I so agree with this statement nothing else needs to be said

[BrokenCross88]

@dEEpindEEd Your satire and facetiousness is both witty and entertaining sir :)

[iridescentsquids]

@dEEpindEEd At least you're admitting that he himself is engaging in some form of public speaking/oratory art. His dryness is a sort of oratory aesthetic, effective at reaching certain people.

He has been a public speaker for years, so it's very safe to assume it's an skillset he has embraced.

[fLcGambit]

@iridescentsquids I think his dryness of speech is probably what i most admire, he presents the bare essentials with no room for rhetoric or fallacious points. Surely if alot of politicians approached their speeches this way, their inconsistencies would be revealed in a matter of seconds.

[iridescentsquids]

@fLcGambit "no room for rhetoric or fallacious points"

I heard it said once that in politics voters respond positively to simplicity and clarity whether the argument itself is right or wrong. I think there's a natural bias toward speakers who distract us the least from whatever reward we are seeking by listening. Different things annoy and distract different people.

[ludachris475]

I like to masturbate to propaganda.

Is something wrong with me?

[kegean]

slightly

[JadeTomZ]

what a juvinile comment.

[hrwulf]

You should know that oratory is a more useful tool for the purpose of furthering political rhetoric. A tool that both major political parties use quite effectively to sway the masses of the bewildered herd. Oratory may in fact appeal to the lesser intellect or even the intentionally under educated among us, but it only serves to dilute the message which he expresses. Dramatic oratory is metaphorically a candy coating for the pill of bitter truth. Not an easy pill to swallow, when living a lie.

[ucscjokeman]

"Dramatic oratory is metaphorically a candy coating for the pill of bitter truth" is an incredibly dramatic statement.

[hrwulf]

How so? Drama is used to excite emotion through theatrical performance. No where in that statement is there anything that is theatrical in nature , nor should it elicit an emotional response , but rather an intellectual one. The written word has little to do with drama, however the way in which the person reading it then speaks those words publicly could be performed in a dramatic fashion. There again you may have made it dramatic in your mind and so I digress.

[jrcash27]

Respectfully, I disagree. He takes mountains and mountains of information and recapitulates it clearly for anyone willing to listen. He's old, so he's not going to be crooning the information into a mic accompanied by the moonwalk or anything, but his audience are people who listen to thoughtful, rational discussions. Compare this video to the way that this information may have been presented by in mainstream media. I think this comes off as very wise.

[yay1912]

The lighting in this vid makes Chomsky look weird. I mean, I just found the spotlights on his face kind of distracting.

Am I crazy, did anyone else notice?

Other than that the vid was very good. :)

[hsu112]

yeah because people havn't been fighting wars over resources for thousands of years, I mean fight wars because "they hate freedom" sounds way more plausible

[Webins]

Too bad Prof.Chomsky skipped on Sub-Saharan Africa.

That ghapless region of the world, besinds being the worst off, is also I believe the site of the West's next future attempt at (re-)imperialism, after the efforst in the Middle East/Central Asia fail.

Keep a close watch for some future "African Hitler" who will need to be attacked, beaten, and kept an eye on with a ton of bases.

[kvaks3000]

While Chomsky doesn't address Africa in this video, he has done so elsewhere. His claim is basically that the US left Africa to be exploited by Europe.

[shakypam]

thanks noam

[Trumpetz81]

I also wouldn't consider myself a militant atheist. I'm somewhat open to the idea of a creator. I just don't think books written by primitive men could possibly provide me with any accurate insight into the mind of such a being, if one exists.

That's exactly what these holy books claim to do, and the high ranking officials among the ranks of these dogmatic institutions claim to know the mind of god. I'm sorry but I just don't buy it. Regardless, I've enjoyed this discussion man. Take care.

[kienzlesbc]

In short, I believe it is a huge mistake to tune out one of the founding pillars of the human species. Europe aside, religion plays a vital role in a majority of peoples' lives. How can we ever hope to understand one another if we disregard something they believe? How can we know ourselves if we don't know where we've been? Realize that everyday words we use are derived from religious entities or that Plato was Augustine's primary influence. Religion is a part of our culture and our history.

[Trumpetz81]

The "See what I did there" remark was just a wiseass reference to the assumption I made.

Yeah, religion is a huge part of peoples' lives for the huge majority of people worldwide. That goes without saying.

Sure, religion does some good things and has some positive societal effects. Nobody's denying that. Maybe I'm stuck in the material and visible. Call me a lunatic, but my ability to perceive something with one of my five senses adds to it quite a bit of credibility.

[Trumpetz81]

In addition to being incredibly stupid, it's morally reprehensible to accept anything as the ultimate truth without a shred of evidence to support it. Successful people are adept at critical thinking and analysis of the world around them. How is it right to make an exception for religion? New stories of religious charlatans pop up on an extremely frequent basis. How can people still not get the picture? The bottom line is that whether or not something is beneficial is quite irrelevant here.

[Trumpetz81]

Like I said, nobody(not even those that are most vehemently opposed to religion) will deny that at least some of religion's effects are beneficial to the collective. The problem is that as far as we know, it isn't real. Plenty claim to know with unfaltering certainty that their god, out of the countless others, is the true creator and ultimate authority. Delusional.

[kienzlesbc]

I agree, but isn't there a beauty in that mystery? Also, isn't there a humbleness in the recognition that there is somethign greater than you? This doesn't necessarily need to be God because, scientifically speaking, we are a small speck of something far greater than ourselves.

Blaise Pascal once said that Descartes was "useless and uncertain" (philosophical bitch slap ha ha) because he used the Cogito to try and prove God existed. Pascal's point was that God is a mystery.

[Trumpetz81]

While the idea of establishing a global society free of national, racial, and religious segregation is nothing more than a dream at this point, religion is one of several obstacles to this idea. Moreover, how can our species possibly make any real progress when the huge majority of us are convinced that this life is just a stepping stone to some spiritual utopia that awaits us after we kick the bucket?

Religion is fake, it's dangerous, and it's the greatest lie our species has ever contrived.

[kienzlesbc]

In fact, he's always been a mystery. Plato's Forms, which founded the transcendent model of Christianity in Aquinas and Augustine, were supposed to be beyond human contemplation and understanding. I find this element of existence true because we've all had an experience where we just said, "Well, I can't explain what just happened, but it did." This is the mystery of life that we see reflected in our notion of a divine being(s) or entity. This is also why God, at times, seems absurd.

[kienzlesbc]

We did contrive it, but we also contrived Democracy, Humanism, Facism, Communism, languge, everythign, all of it, we made it up. That doesn't take away from religion's beauty. It just reminds us that we're ultimately subjective simply because we're human, all too human. The problem arises when we think we're COMPLETELY objective (this happens because of science too) and, as my grandmother said, "People start believing they have a monopoly on God."

[kienzlesbc]

I appreciate the views of those who focus on the material because there is certainly something to be said about the material, and, furthermore, you're right - if we want to change ANYTHING in this world we have to change the material as well as the intellectual. What I've said here doesn't build homeless shelters nor does it feed the hungry. I'm simply dealing with abstract ideas. But, as Heidegger points out, we much first change our perception (abstract ideas)before we can change the material.

[Trumpetz81]

Of course ideas will have to change. The only way I can see this happening is by the complete stoppage of the religious indoctrination of our children. Stop and think about just how impossible that really is.

The fact that we contrived a bunch of other things doesn't really lend credence to religion. Every idea you listed can be analyzed and taken at face value. Good or bad, they are what they are. By and large, religion remains exclusive in the realm of subjective interpretation.

[Trumpetz81]

Sentience doesn't grant us the right to subscribe to a belief in childish fairy tales that just happen to be wholly limiting us as a species.

I don't know if you've confused deism with theism, but there's absolutely no way religion can be perceived by any thinking person as anything other than entirely hubristic. How could it? How can an ideology so egocentric that it puts us at the dead center of everything possibly be construed as humble? I submit that it can't.

[Trumpetz81]

This perception of subjectivity that you brought up only further validates the point that religion plays upon our greatest need, that being the need to be valued. As far as I'm concerned, truth holds far greater value than such a childish want.

Until we ditch this ridiculous notion that we're of some sort of special significance(with each religion claiming the others have been deceived), the only "divinely inspired" act in store for us will be our own self-fulfilling prophecy of apocalypse.

[kienzlesbc]

For humbleness, see the Gospel. The Bible certainly promotes an idea of being below something, and this is as undeniable as the fact that it does, at points, privilege man as the creation of God. But I would never say the Bible is anthropocentric. I believe it is rather biocentric and inherently tied to nature.

My point about religion beign one of many human creations is that one must look at religion as one looks at other institutions that we've deemed as beneficial or benevolent.

[kienzlesbc]

The best example of these are Government and Education. We can use these supposedly benevolent institutions to commit horrendous acts int he same way Islamic fundamentalists use religion. We can create Facism or Totalitarianism. Or we can use education to manipulate our constituency. See, EVERYTHING man has created is simultaneously "good" and "bad" (horrible terms). This goes back to my point about us being our own worst enemies. It's the same as Prometheus stealing fire. We can use fire to

[kienzlesbc]

cook food or we can use it to destroy. See, the discussion of our free will and our creations is as old as this Greek myth. This is the duality of man, life, and religion. I used to be a militant atheist such as yourself, but I realized that religion also offers means for dialogue and peace (Ghandi, Teresa). Look past the Fred Phelps or bin Laden's and you'll find a wonderful philosophy of peace and compassion. I'm telling you it's there. I'll give you the final word.

[Trumpetz81]

No need to give me the final word, friend. I don't fight for such petty things. I think there are solid arguments from both sides.

I won't, however, ever refer to scripture for anything ever, other than to refute any claims that Christianity is anything other than highly immoral, as evidenced in countless passages throughout the old testament.

[trunkeight]

Here-here!!!!

[kienzlesbc]

You're stuck in the material and the visible. I think you need to peer further into the origin of religion and the INvisible (it's IN the visible, but sometimes we miss it). I believe religion offers an avenue to experience the intimacy of life, which is derived from "intimus" meaning "the most interior." This interpretation of religion as knowing something in its "most interior" essence is what religion has lost. I apologize for belittling you at first. I've been in your position before.

[Trumpetz81]

See what I did there?!

[kienzlesbc]

You didn't do anything. I never said religion is what constitutes us having a soul. Religion is an area we created to explore and discuss our souls and our spirituality, which existed before religion. You realize the word "spirit" is derived from "spiritus" which means "soul and breathing." Thus, the contemplation of the human soul is so intrinsic to existence that we originally believed it was tied to the essence of our survival - breathing. This is the original conception of religion.

[kienzlesbc]

People adulterated religion over the centuries, but that is simply a product of our free will. We can do "good" or "bad." My primary point is that you're giving half the story. Jesuits promote education, Churches offer meetings for struggling drug addicts/alcoholics, and to ignore religion altogether is to disregard a fundamental component of our WORLD history. If you want to understand a culture learn its language and its metaphysical beliefs. Just saying, "Fuck religion" is rash and ignorant.

[Trumpetz81]

And don't sit there and assume things. I have my own reasons for not subscribing to ridiculous beliefs. Making assumptions only reveals further holes in your argument. Peace out and have fun learning debate in your freshmen philosophy course lol.

[Trumpetz81]

lol you're a fucking idiot. Without religion, we don't have souls? We don't have souls with religion. Something that isn't real can't validate a trait contingent upon its existence. Bye.

[Trumpetz81]

Sorry, I should have read your p.s. comment., in which case I wouldn't have assumed you were religious.

Nonetheless, I still don't see hatred as any more a fundamental human characteristic than love or any other emotion and as such, it shouldn't have so much more influence.

Religion is ancient. Because of this, primitive ideas reign supreme within its confines. I don't see how so many reasonable people ignore this fact. Without it, we'd be hard-pressed to find reasons to hate so fervently.

[kienzlesbc]

I usually try to be civil, but you're a moron. You present one side of religion, and you fail to realize that, without religion, we have no soul. Yes, God is a concept we created, but so what? Isn't there a beauty in our belief that there is something connecting us all together? The result is the systematic machinization of man without soul, without wonder, without mystery or love. Sartre, who only focuses on the material, completely abandons the other essence of existence - the spiritual.

[kienzlesbc]

You don't understand that God and His secular foil, Existential Humanism, are both human creations that we've made created. So where does that leave us? WE are the enemy because we've created these things that have been used for horrendous acts. We are our own worst enemies because, as Sartre says, "we are condemned to be free." In other words, we ultimately decide how to interpret and apply our concepts (be it Democracy, Capitalism, or Islam).

[kienzlesbc]

Nowadays, no one wants to understand. They just want to blame someone, and now we've moved to blaming ideas.

If you're going to dismiss religion I suggest you actually understand the concept of religion. Don't just disregard religion because someone told you God is dead. That's the same as blindly accepting religion because your parents made you attend church.

[kienzlesbc]

Finally, yes, God is absurd. But that is the whole point of religion. It's harder to have faith in something abstract than it is to just say God doesn't exist. Read Kierkegaard. Wait, can you read?

"If God is dead, all things are possible" -Fyodor Dostoyevksy.

PS I don't believe in God, but I love the concept of God.

[Trumpetz81]

Oh and about the killing of priests part, don't be a fucking idiot. Seriously.

We're already witnessing the beginning of the first step. Guys like Hitchens, Harris and Dawkins publishing books explaining the absolutely absurdity of all religions is a great thing. The fact that these books are hugely popular and became bestsellers is another good sign.

You want to support religion? Youtube isn't the best place to do it but please, if you're religious, show me how your belief isn't absurd.

[Trumpetz81]

Absolute* I should probably be more careful with you. You seem like one of those uptight, pseudointellectual grammar nazis. Anyway, peace.

[Trumpetz81]

Before you say it has nothing to do with these problems, try to remember that the two biggest steps this country(The United States if you happen to reside elsewhere in the world) has taken toward social equality on an individual level happen to be the eradication of both slavery and the once-recognized inequality of women. Both are not only condoned but encouraged throughout the Old Testament. Say what you will about good effects of religion. It still isn't a universally benevolent ideology.

[crabsbarc]

p.s. you do realize that religion can be used to justify anything. the bible speaks of eternal peace and eternal war, same as the koran. people don't become bloodthirsty through religion, people make religion and find their inherent violence within its tenets, or simply create new tenets if they can't. Religion is by no means to blame for the concept of war any more than race, or gender, or class, or any number of nearly meaningless things that can be used to justify hatred. Its human nature.

[Trumpetz81]

Never once did I suggest that religion is the innate cause of these problem. My only point is that religion is the primary driving force behind the issues troubling us currently. Don't just assume that we'd find new medium for expression in regard to our apparently hard-wired tendency toward violence, as you seem to have put it.

[wnxsilence]

The U.S, and capitalism needs to be wiped off the map quickly.

Humanity is in genuine danger of extinction because American imperialism, the rogue state of U.S is building a Empire that will bring this planet into a dark age.

[Trumpetz81]

You should be far more worried about religion as a whole, with particular regard to islam. Religion is the single greatest obstacle impeding the potential for the establishment of a global society.

[crabsbarc]

Statement: we need to end the american empire and capitalism because it is unhealthy to have such a large and immoral power structure.

Answer: No what you should be worried about is mosques. If we have mosques then we can never have a large, overarching power structure (this one will be under noble rule we promise) that encompasses the entire world.

MAKES SENSE TO ME! Thanks for your insights Trumpetz.

[Trumpetz81]

Anytime, thanks for your sarcasm. If you disagree, you're welcome to do so.

I may have singled out Islam but I didn't say it was the only problem. Now please explain to me how a peaceful global society could possibly be established without the eradication of religion. Don't give me theories. I'd much prefer an explanation on how a collective of billions of people can function effectively with religion causes separation within it. Fuck religion and fuck Islam.

[Trumpetz81]

Excuse me, *while* religion causes separation within it.

Honestly, are you unaware that the most prominent war in the media today involves religion? Do some research or just open your eyes from time to time. That should prevent you from making asinine comments in the future.

I never said the actions of the United States aren't wrong. I simply pointed out that a greater threat exists.

[crabsbarc]

no thanks, i don't know "how a peaceful global society could possibly be established." If you know how to create world peace beyond just the eradication of religion, then why don't you enlighten me. I don't claim to know how to establish world peace nor do i think a "global society" that actually has to be formally established is worth a damn. More so, how on earth do you propose the eradication of religion? Should we kill priests and threaten to do the same to their followers? Another good idea

[justicelevi]

I hope Barack wins and employs this guy as an advisor.

[ahbevegede]

dig the sweater

[samimbiatch]

have to love the clarity of his analysis!

[squirmypuppy]

if there was one person i felt people needed to listen to most of all at this point in time, it would be mr. chomsky

[MrAntihumanism]

@squirmypuppy

I think that would be Professor chomsky.

[stone1home]

Noam is pretty good, isn't he. But I am surprised he skipped the efforts currently underway to renew and even expand the nuclear arms race. He has written of it, by the way; of his (very legitimate) concern over space-based nukes.

[norcal240]

That's a part of what's been called "full spectrum domination." I don't know whose term it is but it probably comes right out of the official internal record.

[fathead8489]

Thanks for the vid.