My Family Does Not Know Who Noam Chomsky Is

I saw a movie the other day, and it was a scene that caught my attention. A very unusual family celebrated the birthday of Noam Chomsky. One of the children became very angry with his father because he celebrated it. He said he would celebrate Christmas like all the other children. His father’s answer was strict: would you rather celebrate a false, magical elf or the  birthday of the man who fights for human rights and understanding ?

The child could not think of anything to strengthen his desire to celebrate Christmas. The scene caught my attention. Not only because it discredits the faith of millions of people, but also because of those I saw the film with knew who Noam Chomsky was. One of them even said “ who is Noam Chomsky? ”

Contribution to language

Noam Chomsky is a renowned linguist, philosopher, activist, and political analyst. He is connected to the most radical and critical political events in America. However, he may be best known for his work in linguistics. He developed a theory of  language acquisition  that people have written hundreds of pages about.

Chomsky suggested that from the moment we are born,  our brain has an incredible ability to learn and use language almost by instinct. Many agree with him, even today. This theory destroyed all previous theories that said that language could only be acquired through education.

His theory assumed that  there is a universal grammatical principles for all types of languages. This explained how children can learn to speak so quickly. It also explained how almost all children can go through the same stages when learning a language and making the same mistakes.

Political activist

Some people think that Chomsky is one of the most important intellectual men of our time. This is partly due to his work as an activist. Chomsky sees himself as an anarchist, especially in the traditional view of  anarcho-syndicalism. And he is a big supporter of civil disobedience. An example Chomsky uses to explain his positive attitude towards activism is this:

Imagine walking down a street in the evening. All of a sudden,  you see someone seriously injuring someone else across the street. Without thinking about yourself, you walk towards the pedestrian zone to help the victim. But the street light is red. What are you doing?

Crossing when it is red is illegal. This means that  if you cross, you are breaking the law. On the other hand, if you do not cross and wait for it to be green, it may be too late for the victim.

The point of the story is that it can sometimes be a good thing to break the law. Going past the law can be positive as long as we do it for a  good  moral cause. Here was the reason to help another person. Chomsky thinks that the illegality set by the authorities is not always on a par with what people actually see as illegal.

Defender of human rights

In response to the Vietnam War, Chomsky began criticizing the lack of democracy in countries like America. He has constantly defended the  lack of symmetry between public opinions and the choices politicians make. He supports the use of the grassroots movement to pressure politicians and promote real change.

Although he also sees himself as a Zionist, Chomsky has sharply criticized Israel. But he still supports the kibbutz lifestyle as a social alternative. He has been one of the biggest defenders to boycott Israel, a movement pushed forward by the BDS (Boycott, Divest, and Sanction). This movement seeks to put political and economic pressure on Israel to end its occupations.

Media and the manipulation of the public sector

He also believes that everyone should take part in politics. Not just the professionals like journalists, intellectuals, or politicians. One of his most important contributions here has been his analysis of the media. Here are some of his conclusions:

• The media is shifting our focus away from the most important issues.

• The media will feed us an unacceptable way of doing things slowly but surely, so that we accept it without control.
• They help people accept unpopular choices by making them seem “painful but necessary”. In this way, they gain public acceptance that they can use later.
• They rely on the  emotional  factor to short-circuit people’s rational analysis and critical thinking.
• They spread the belief that it is fashionable to be stupid and uncultural.

Now that you’ve learned a little more about Noam Chomsky, if you think it’s important to celebrate his birthday, write down  December 7th. As Chomsky said: