Kristy had to blog about this lecture the night she attended it. It set her on fire. And now I understand why. It's playing on TVOntario right now, I'm in the middle of the Question and Answer period and I could not wait.
He made a comment about Grassroots political movements, changes made due to valid electoral options, using the example of Brazil. Making the point that the people of Brazil have to suffer brutal issues on a daily basis. They deal with hunger, mind-boggling poverty and of course the fear of violent crimes. (I don't know much about what life is like in Brazil, but I know it's nothing like life in Canada or the US.) Why did the people rise up against political oppression there, but Canadians and Americans don't do it? Well because we North Americans aren't really aware of how they Are manipulated. like Kristy said, the people who sell toothpaste are more responsible for who gets elected than the actual men who run for election. I was reading somewhere the other day that we wouldn't have people like Ghandi if there was no oppression and racism. Maybe it's because we have been so manipulated that we are 'comfortably numb' so to speak. Nothing really bad happens on a wide scale for us to rise up against on a wide scale. There are small pockets but like Chomsky himself just said on my TV, "The Elephant gets what it wants".
Just a thought.
Sunday, January 30, 2005
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