(I wrote this)
Mr. Chomsky,
First of all, I want to thank you for your book, Rogue States: The Rule of Force in World Affairs. It is a stomach turning, eye opening book. My professor suggested that we, the "online students" email you and get your input on some topics.
Although, I am not sure what my professor would have me ask you, I will ask you this:
You gave such a large number of crimes that the USA has committed in the name of "freedom". These crimes have cause harm across the globe. In your book you cited many key problems the USA has caused the world, I ask you this:
What is the answer? What can we, Americans, do to change these crimes committed in our names? Please give us some sort of answer beyond the ones you gave in the book to present to my classmates.
(Mr. Chomsky replied with this)
Dear Mr. O'Leary,
Thanks for your letter.
You're right that I don't give the answer to your question in the book, but that is because we all know the answer. We know it from our own history, from recent experience, and what a great many people do around the world. The answer is simple to state, harder to carry out. First, there is not and cannot be any answer at the level of generality of the question. On specific cases, it's quite different: the answer is hard honest work, dedication to educational and organizational efforts, activism of a wide variety as appropriate, and willingness to keep plugging away. Over time, it has an effect.
I've noticed over the years that such questions are almost always asked by people for whom the answers are particularly easy: people who enjoy a fair amount of privilege and freedom, and therefore great opportunity. I have never heard such questions from human rights activists in Turkey or Colombia, organizers in peasant or workers movements, people working in the urban slums on relieving poverty and hunger and oppression, or in fact anyone who is really trying to deal with the problems of the world. It would be convenient to imagine that there is some magic key, some simple advice about how we can do something quickly and then return to our lives of privilege. The world doesn't work like that, and because many people have been willing to face those realities, over time the world becomes a better place.
Perhaps I should stress again that for people like you and me the tasks are very easy, by comparative standards. What is lacking is not opportunity, but will. We should be willing to face that fact, and what it implies.
Noam Chomsky
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Enjoy!