[Peace] What we should be doing

[C. G. Estabrook]

[From a talk by Noam Chomsky at Berkeley 21 March 2002.]

Q: You've said that we as citizens should not speak truth to power but,
instead, to people.  Shouldn't we do both, speak more on this subject?

CHOMSKY: This is the reference to about the only thing on which I find I
disagree with my Quaker friends.  On every practical activity I usually
agree with them, but I do disagree with them about their slogan, speaking
truth to power.  First of all, power already knows the truth.  They don't
have to hear it from us, so it's largely a waste of time.  Furthermore,
it's the wrong audience.  You have to speak truth to the people who will
dismantle and overthrow and constrain power.  Furthermore, I don't like
the phrase "speak truth to."  We don't know the truth, at least I don't.

We should join with the kind of people who are willing to commit
themselves to overthrow power, and listen to them.  They often know a lot
more than we do.  And join with them to carry out the right kinds of
activities.  Should you also speak truth to power?  If you feel like it,
but I don't see a lot of point. I'm not interested in telling the people
around Bush what they already know.

	*	*	*