Noam Chomsky - Religion & Politics

“Since Jimmy Carter, religious fundamentalists play a major role in elections. He was the first president who made a point of exhibiting himself as a born again Christian. That sparked a little light in the minds of political campaign managers: Pretend to be a religious fanatic and you can pick up a third of the … Continue reading

Cornel West - Rich Life & Despair

“The country is in deep trouble. We've forgotten that a rich life consists fundamentally of serving others, trying to leave the world a little better than you found it. We need the courage to question the powers that be, the courage to be impatient with evil and patient with people, the courage to fight for … Continue reading

Alan Shore - Adlai Stevenson

When the "Weapons of Mass-Destruction" thing turned out not to be true, I expected the American People to rise up.... but …. they didn't. Then, when the Abu Ghraib torture thing surfaced, and it was revealed that our government participated in "rendition"; a practice where we kidnap people and turn them over to regimes who … Continue reading

Adrienne Maree Brown - Visionary Fiction

“Visionary fiction” is a term we developed to distinguish science fiction that has relevance toward building new, freer worlds from the mainstream strain of science fiction, which most often reinforces dominant narratives of power. Visionary fiction encompasses all of the fantastic, with the arc always bending toward justice. We believe this space is vital for … Continue reading

Chris Hedges - Media

“The commercial media … help citizens feel as if they are successful and have met these aspirations, even if they have not. They tend to neglect reality (they don't run stories about how life is hard, fame and fortune elusive, hopes disappointed) and instead celebrate idealized identities – those that, in a commodity culture, revolve … Continue reading

Noam Chomsky - Responsibility

“Responsibility I believe accrues through privilege. People like you and me have an unbelievable amount of privilege and therefore we have a huge amount of responsibility. We live in free societies where we are not afraid of the police; we have extraordinary wealth available to us by global standards. If you have those things, then … Continue reading