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Noam Chomsky-Superbowl Party
Noam Chomsky-Superbowl Party
Noam hates everything about the Superbowl, so it surprised me that he was throwing a Superbowl party, said friend and fellow professor Dr. Martin Guergos. Im sure he had good reason. He probably wanted to view the big game with a group of people in order to point out its hypocrisy and absurdity. Indeed, the Chomsky admirers who attended the party reported that he wished to take the concept of Superbowl party and turn it on its ear, using the time to ridicule the barbaric violence and blatant corporate-sponsored jingoism that litters the American sports landscape. He told me he wanted to gather and watch the game to raise some awareness about our mental enslavement to the corporate oligarchy that dominates our lives, said Gail McTavish, 23, a student of Chomskys. It was also a great chance to examine first hand the marriage of big time media events and macho, patriotic posturing. Plus, he wanted us to try his guacamole and bean dip. Chomsky insists that the party was not depressing in the least. He regarded the gathering as an opportunity for a group of citizens to organize in the great democratic tradition, speaking freely about the powers that control them. My party was depressing? Maybe it was depressing to manipulators and controllers in the media, who would love nothing more than for us to stare in mindless wonder at the eye and ear candy theyre placing in front of our faces. Maybe its depressing to those who seek to divert us. After all, if any significant segment of the populace had the slightest idea what the government was doing in their name they would no doubt be appalled. You want to know whats really depressing? That we live not in a democracy, but a corporate oligarchy designed to marginalize us, distract us, and remove us from the political process by bombarding us with bright colors, explosions and violence. Remember, the smartest way to avoid democracy is to keep people distracted. Take the pre-game festivities, Chomsky continued. What do you see? You see corporate sponsorship joined with so-called patriotic slogans. Believe me, it's in corporate Americas best interest that we support our governments policies and maintain the status quo, and continue behaving like a bewildered herd, mindlessly obeying our corrupt government and corporate whoremasters. Although Hamrick described the party as depressing, the student also believes it was an eye-opening experience. Chomsky is a real impressive guy. The things he says really ring true to me. I mean, yeah, Tom Brady is a great quarterback, but he was also at President Bushs State of the Union lie-fest, so I really dont know how to think of him. As for football, well, I dont know. I think old Noam ruined it for me forever. Now if I watch a sporting event I feel like Im being subjugated by the mass media or something. And whenever I think of football, I think of thousands of Iraqi children dying as a result of US sanctions that deprived them of medicine and food. Oh well, I guess the bright side is that the over came in, so I won 100 bucks. That softens the blow a little.