NY Times, September 22, 2006
A Scholar Is Alive, Actually, and Hungry for Debate
By MARC SANTORA
At a news conference after his spirited address to the United Nations on
Wednesday, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela expressed one regret: not
having met that icon of the American left, the linguist Noam Chomsky,
before his death.
Yesterday, a call to Mr. Chomskys house found him very much alive. In
fact, he was struggling through 10,000 e-mails he had received since the
remarks by Mr. Chávez, who urged Americans to read one of Mr. Chomskys
books instead of watching Superman and Batman movies, which he said make
people stupid.
At 77, Mr. Chomsky has joined the exclusive club of luminaries, like the
actor Abe Vigoda and Mark Twain, who were reported dead before their time,
only to contradict the reports by continuing to breathe.
I continue to work and write, he said, speaking from his house in
Lexington, Mass.
Mr. Chávez, while addressing world leaders at the United Nations, flagged
Hegemony or Survival: Americas Quest for Global Dominance, which Mr.
Chomsky published in 2003, as a must-read. Mr. Chomsky said he was glad
that Mr. Chávez liked his book, but he would not describe himself as flattered.
We should look at ourselves through our own eyes and not other peoples
eyes, he said.
Mr. Chomsky said he had taken no offense at Mr. Chávezs remarks about his
being dead. In fact, Mr. Chávezs promotion of the book propelled it
yesterday into Amazons top 10 best sellers.
While retired from teaching full time, Mr. Chomsky still goes to his office
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, occasionally lecturing and
also working on a new book.
At the United Nations, the remarks by Mr. Chávez on Wednesday set off a
firestorm that almost overshadowed the visit by Irans president, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, whose country has been under intense global scrutiny for its
nuclear ambitions. From the podium of the General Assembly, the Venezuelan
leader said he smelled lingering sulfur, left by President Bush, who had
spoken there the day before and whom he branded the devil.
Mr. Chávez continued mocking Mr. Bush yesterday in Harlem, where he
announced the expansion of a program to send cheap Venezuelan oil to poor
families in New York. He told a group gathered on the street that the
president was an ex-alcoholic who had a lot of hang-ups and tried to
walk like John Wayne.
Mr. Chomsky said that he would not choose to use the same harsh oratory,
but added that the Venezuelan leader was simply expressing the views of
many in the world. And he said Mr. Chávezs anger was understandable.
The Bush administration backed a coup to overthrow his government, he
said. Suppose Venezuela supported a military coup that overthrew the
government of the United States? Would we think it was a joke?
Proving that he was still up for a lively debate, Mr. Chomsky then went on
to talk about income inequality in Latin America, the history of the United
Nations, Iraq, Iran, Fidel Castro and, finally, the man who so fervently
admires him, Mr. Chávez.
I have been quite interested in his policies, Mr. Chomsky said.
Personally, I think many of them are quite constructive. Most important,
he said, Mr. Chávez seems to have the overwhelming support of the people in
his country. He has gone through six closely supervised elections, he said.
So would Mr. Chomsky oblige Mr. Chávezs wish for a meeting, helping ensure
that the South American leader will not have that regret to live with anymore?
I would be happy to meet him, Mr. Chomsky said.
But that encounter may have to wait: Mr. Chávez was to return to Venezuela
as soon as today.
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