Professor Post: Dangerous List? Who's Dangerous?
The recent attack by David Horowitz against my friend, co-author and colleague David Barash raises an interesting question. Who is most dangerous: A gentle pacifist and distinguished scholar like David Barash, or the terrorist state he condemns? I would submit, and millions of people here and abroad agree with me, that the United States government, as the world hegemony, is the main threat to peace and democracy on this planet, and, not least, to the freedom of its own citizens. How else to characterize a state that did all of the following, and then some:
Preemptively attack, occupy and demolish another state that posed no threat to it.
Imprison thousands indefinitely without trial.
Torture political prisoners.
Spy without warrant on its own citizens, and suspend virtually all civil rights and habeas corpus.Subvert, embargo, invade and occupy weak neighboring states such as Cuba, Nicaragua, Grenada, Haiti, Panama, etc.Support, arm and train oppressive regimes it likes like Guatemala, Saudi Arabia and Chile.
Run the largest Gulag in the "advanced" world, with more than 2 million prisoners.
Support the death penalty and execute hundreds despite strong evidence of numerous miscarriages of "justice".
Have a Supreme Court stacked with intellectual dinosaurs that "elected" our current President by a 5 to 4 vote.
Run a corrupt legislative branch that rubberstamps the military adventurism of a gung-ho Vice President, Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State.
I could lengthen this list, but I shall rest my case.
To be sure, there are a number of states that are more corrupt than the United States (e.g., Nigeria), and more oppressive (Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, North Korea, Sudan), but none of them is a hegemony, which makes them less noxious to the world, though not to their own citizens.--
Pierre L. van den Berghe
Professor Emeritus, sociology and anthropology
Preemptively attack, occupy and demolish another state that posed no threat to it.
Imprison thousands indefinitely without trial.
Torture political prisoners.
Spy without warrant on its own citizens, and suspend virtually all civil rights and habeas corpus.Subvert, embargo, invade and occupy weak neighboring states such as Cuba, Nicaragua, Grenada, Haiti, Panama, etc.Support, arm and train oppressive regimes it likes like Guatemala, Saudi Arabia and Chile.
Run the largest Gulag in the "advanced" world, with more than 2 million prisoners.
Support the death penalty and execute hundreds despite strong evidence of numerous miscarriages of "justice".
Have a Supreme Court stacked with intellectual dinosaurs that "elected" our current President by a 5 to 4 vote.
Run a corrupt legislative branch that rubberstamps the military adventurism of a gung-ho Vice President, Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State.
I could lengthen this list, but I shall rest my case.
To be sure, there are a number of states that are more corrupt than the United States (e.g., Nigeria), and more oppressive (Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, North Korea, Sudan), but none of them is a hegemony, which makes them less noxious to the world, though not to their own citizens.--
Pierre L. van den Berghe
Professor Emeritus, sociology and anthropology
posted by Elizabeth at 8:08 AM
17 Comments:
> Who is most dangerous: A gentle pacifist and distinguished scholar like David Barash, or the terrorist state he condemns?
I'd say, a 'scholar' like van den Berghe, for calling the U.S. a "terrorist state." This damages impressionable student minds. That's dangerous - to my old age.
Professor van den Berghe, you really need to take something for your hysterical paranoia. I suggest thorazine. It's a tried and true medication.
A gulag of 2 million? What kind of joke is this? Common criminals are not political prisoners and most of the are in jails run by individual states, not the US government.
I'd assume this post is by a college freshman (or other immature scholar) if I didn't know better. I'll leave it to others to poke holes in your other arguments but as an attorney I can address this one.
"Have a Supreme Court stacked with intellectual dinosaurs that "elected" our current President by a 5 to 4 vote"
First, read Bush v. Gore and then work to understand the concept of federalism; try to understand the concept of separation of powers; and finally, get over yourself and Gore's 2000 election loss.
I am not a tenured professor, but I know about them. I went to Columbia. At the end of the day, the truth is that the U.S.A. is the greatest country in the history of civilization. Professor van den Berghe will do well to read Paul Johnson's book "A history of the American People".
The professor lacks vision and understanding and I suggest that, as anthropologist, he begins looking at "important issues" which are at the same intelectual level as his complaints on America, which are now so fashionable (Chic is a better word).
For starters, perhaps the Professor would like to explore how does water gets inside the coconut and the relationship that this has with monkeys and evolution... that should keep him busy and even if he gets the wrong answers, as he is prone to do, he will do minimal harm... water will continue to fill coconuts and monkeys will not care!
Something that we all should notice about this academic pinhead, He's a professor emeritus, not a real professor, so maybe you can cut a wuss with a French name some slack for getting it so wrong, ...
the professor might wish
to reflect on the fact that
the USA is one of the few
countries in the world
where he is --free-- to rant
like this. Even gives him a
job for goodness sake!
Jim, UK
(a) The guy is apparently an ex-Belgian, born in the Congo when that was still a Belgian colony. If I'd gotten a dollar for every time I heard fellow Belgians --- looney-leftists and paleoconservatives alike --- say similar things I'd be a rich man now.
(b) See here for a review of one of his books:
http://www.isteve.com/amazon-book-reviews-hbd.htm#Pierre%20L.%20Van%20Den%20Berghe%20--%20The%20Ethnic%20Phenomenon
The reviewer (a paleoconservative) describes his theory --- sympathetically -- as "neo-Darwinian Marxism".
Former Belgian
http://entre_nous.typepad.com
I thought LSD had been abandonned as an effective enlightening agent but apparantly I was mistaken because this Gentleman is obviously still under the influence. Perhaps the term Burnout is the cause of this person's misunderstanding of the value of this country's present leadership at this critical point in it's history. I wonder how these academics and thier "freedoms of academic expressions" would fare in the cultures of the nations and groups they support? Do the terms "firingsquad","beheadings"or "restaurant bombings" have no meaning in thier socially enlightened memories?
Torture? These countries use terrorism and torture to sustain thier governments.
Ask refugees from Cuba or Guatamalla or Iraq about torture and not just being paraded naked but having parts of thier bodies removed or severe beatings, rape and far worse. if we simply remove them from acedemia and many of them with any courage would re-establish the Weather Underground again.
I believe charges of Treason ought to be pursued against some of them.
WE are at WAR and a lot of them are sympathizers with our enemiies.
I agree with the professor
the "anonymous" writer should consult a dictionary before writing his inept comments. "Thier" is spelled "their", idiot ....
Those on the left who rant as does Mr.van den Berghe also dare us to question their patriotism. OK I'll question their patriotism. They has no love for this country, they demonizes us, and blame us for all the worlds problems. Their very existence is to do nothing more than to destroy us from within.
well he can go to france and do that .... him and his good buddy in question ....maybe this proffeseur should be in the sequel to the book
Im proud of being an American and you should be too ....if not .....go to paris
Can't we all get along???
Or at least refrain from ad hominem attacks and stick to the arguments at hand?
Horowitz's smear tactics are reprehensible, but are not unprecedented in this country; he's just following the lead of J. Edgar Hoover, McCarthy, Bush, and other freedom-loving Americans of the not-too-distant-past.
I was one Pierre's graduate students. I am so glad he still has the same sharp mind. The rest of you are just intellectually impoverished!
I agree with van den Berghe
I rather think that Professor van der Berghe has proved Mr. Horowitz' point about dangerous professors. I would be distressed to think that his vision of reality will continue to be spoonfed to young minds ...
I'm so excited by so many of the commenters' natural response: the ad hominem attack. This 'dialogue' is yet another example of the right's intellectual capacities.
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