Reading Chomsky and bad-mouthing his country! :>)
The Chomsky Effect
littlegreenfootballs.com
Petty Officer 3rd Class Pablo Paredes, convicted of missing his ship’s deployment to Iraq due to a sudden attack of conscience, signonsandiego.com credits his “awakening” to America-hating wacademic Noam Chomsky: Military judge convicts sailor who refused to deploy. (Hat tip: LGF readers.)
Chomsky is flattered.
Paredes says he was a different person when he joined the Navy in 2000, looking for a job and a way to get a college education. The Navy sent him to Yokosuka, Japan and once there, he says he had something of an awakening.
He began devouring works by writers like Noam Chomsky, the MIT linguistics professor and political activist. He joined political discussions with like-minded friends who criticized the Bush administration. Japan’s strong moral code impressed him as well, and when he left the country last year, Paredes says he had a huge internal conflict.
“I was ashamed to wear the uniform,” he said in a recent interview.
Paredes’ case attracted attention from all political stripes. Retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North, a Fox News commentator who served in the Reagan White House, has labeled Paredes a coward. Chomsky and Ron Kovic, the disabled Vietnam and author of “Born on the Fourth of July,” say they admire Paredes for his courage. |
