Dear Noam,
Wishing you all the best on your birthday.Reading a couple of your books many years ago completely changed my consciousness, world view etc.You are one of the truly inspirational people who have provided alternative views and an alternative direction and who cannot be bought/silenced. Many thanks
Dear Noam,
once you've said "We shouldn't be looking for heroes, we should be looking for good ideas." so i don't say you are my hero but i thank you for all the great ideas, in order to have social justice and more peaceful world, you share with us...
Happy birthday again and "NICE YILLARA"
Dear Noam,
I am greatly indebted to you. You taught me how to think for myself. Through your work, I was introduced to truly enlightening ideas and remarkable intellectuals and activists which hugely affected my views about power and politics. Your untiring activism and commitment to peace and justice have inspired me to become an activist.
I wish you a really happy birthday!
Noam,
Please accept my best wishes for a happy birthday. What a gift you bring us all!
So this day has special significance, and carries exceptional reason for celebration -- extolling a life dedicated to the cause of humanity, a lodestar, a career of dedication and commitment eminently worth emulation.
I thank you personally for bringing sanity and direction to my life. What greater gift could one person offer another? I will be proud to carry on in the path you have pointed out, and continue with this work.
Vincent
Thanks for decades of inspiration... and for your steadfast "swimming against the mainstream." Words cannot do justice to your contribution to our lives and times...
Congratulations!
Robert L. Peters, FGDC
www.robertlpeters.com
I'd like to thank Professor Chomsky for the deep and lasting impact his work has had on my personal and political life, for close to a decade now. Like many here, I was introduced to his writings in university, and around the time I started to have my political awakening, I began to eagerly search out and read every single book or article written by Chomsky that I could find. His relentless dedication, accuracy, and above all moral clarity have inspired me in many ways over the years since. In addition, he somehow finds the time to respond to e-mail sent to him by hundreds of people every single day.
I know that the last thing he'd want is to be considered a celebrity, and indeed the most important lesson he teaches is to think for ourselves. This will be his real legacy I think. Still, reading the entries here, it's undeniable that Chomsky has had a profound effect on the thinking and awareness of countless people around the world, and for that he deserves special thanks and appreciation. So thank you Professor Chomsky, and Happy Birthday; here's to 80 more.
Mr. Chomsky
I would like to thank you so very much for your hard work. Growing up in a large Hispanic family (Peruvian descent)I knew no one that was deeply into politics. I felt like I was the only one that cared about the world outside of my personal life. After 9/11 I really felt the need to learn what in the world was going on as it seemed that the world was getting ready for WWIII. I had little leads. The only thing I did know at 19 was not to trust the media. Looking for answers I kept running from one conspiracy theory into another. Before long I felt that the world was a much bigger more horrifying a place than I dared to deal with. Then, after a long conversation with my psychology teacher I went and searched for "Noam Chomsky" as she had recommended me. After that day my understanding of the world is much clearer, not so scary and I think that I even understand my purpose in life. Back in August of 2007 I was taken into the department of homeland security detention center in TX for an old notice of deportation from my childhood. They let me take some stuff with me, I took two of your books: "Hegemony or Survival" and "Understanding Power"... You kept me company the two months that I awaited my fate. Besides teaching me, Mr Chomsky, you have given me hope, clarity and purpose. I have written to you 3 times. Out of the 3 times you have answered no more than a day later. Each time I am so relieved at reading your email because each time you show me that the world is not so complicated and so easy to understand if you only know where to look for truth. You also answered my Thanksgiving email that very same day which has pretty much helped me out in doing my research paper! You truly are amazing. You set the bar for all activists out there. I hope to go see you speak one day. At this point of my life I don't care to meet any famous person in person except of course for you. Happy 80th b-day! Thanks so much for all your work. I think you have become the heart of the whole Activist movement in this country.
4 Score & Zero Years Ago
Well, Noam, you're in your 80s now. But no excuses. Lots of suffering still in the world. And the US economic crisis is going to create a lot of poorer Americans. So have a big celebration with friends and family, spend quality time with your loved ones, particularly with your nearest and dearest at this difficult time, but remember to get back to work!
Frank Moliterno
Hi Noam- Your work, along with that of many other activists and writers that you have introduced me to through your writings is a constant and daily source of inspiration. But on this particular day I would like to thank you personally for your unflinching honesty, integrity, courage and especially your tremendous effort at helping us understood our past and current circumstances. You are indeed a great friend of humanity. Happy Birthday Noam!
I still have so much yet to learn about what makes a good citizen. Noam Chomsky is a beacon in the empire of darkness.
So many have been so profoundly influenced by his quiet, piercing perceptions. Count me as one.
Dear Noam,
I came to your political books by reading your linguistic ones as a graduate student in sociology (with an interest in language) at the University of British Columbia in the early 1970s. I read with a passion, if on the side, your American Power and the New Mandarins (1969), At War With Asia (1971), Problems of Knowledge and Freedom (1971) and For Reasons of State (1973). But in 1974, when Peace in the Middle East came out, I was writing my dissertation, and the task of understanding the “question of Palestine,” about which I knew nothing, seemed just too demanding. In 1975 I got my first job in sociology. From then on I devoted myself to what seemed the enormous task of simply trying to be a good sociologist, both in research and teaching. It wasn’t until another thirteen years had passed that things changed. Again, it's your fault. In the fall of 1988 I heard your Massey Lectures on CBC-Radio (Necessary Illusions). I have never been the same since.
"The intellectual responsibility of the writer, or any decent person, is to tell the truth ... it is a moral imperative to find out and tell the truth as best one can, about things that matter, to the right audience. The responsibility of the writer as a moral agent is to try and bring the truth about matters of human significance to an audience that can do something about them. That is part of what it means to be a moral agent rather than a monster.
The moral culpability of those who ignore the crimes that matter by moral standards is greater to the extent that the society is free and open, so that they can speak more freely, and act more effectively to bring those crimes to an end. And it is greater for those who have a measure of privilege within the more free and open societies, those who have the resources, the training, the facilities and opportunities to speak and act effectively: the intellectuals, in short" (Noam Chomsky, Perspectives on Power: Reflections on Human Nature and the Social Order, 1997, pp. 55, 56, 65).
Pearl Harbour, the invasion of East Timor, your birthday – worthy of Pascal.
Happy birthday.
Dear professor Noam Chomsky.
Greetings from Peru. Happy 80th Birthday. I hope you have a nice day. Thank you for all your big ideas. A big hug...
Dear Noam:
Thanks for being a light, a 'rebel without a pause', and a generous man. You will always be on my mind.
Un abrazo desde Perú
Marco Antonio Young Rabines
Dear Noam:
So many of the others who have preceeded me have said it better than I ever could. So I'll keep it simple: thank you for having shone light on so much and for serving as such an inspiring example of generosity, political and intellectual engagement, and courageous vision.
And happy birthday!
Peace and solidarity,
Joe Nevins
Like most people, I can't remember how I first stumbled across Chomskys work, but I know my life is infinity better having done so.
So Noam, thanks. You are a constant reminder of the intrinsic good in people and a reason to hope in these dark times.
Happy Birthday
Dave
Professor Chomsky,
- because of you I found a role model.
- because of you i have seen that one man can make a difference
- My greatest respect
You and your work will always inspire me.
Many thanks and happy birthday from Oslo
John Vinneng
Happy 80th Birthday, Professor Chomsky!
Your contributions to both the fields of language and world affairs, as well as taking principled stands against concentrated power in various forms, have enlightened many knowledge seeking souls. Thanks again for inspiring people to inspire themselves!
Many thanks and much respect,
Michael Gottlieb
Dear Professor Chomsky,
On your 80th birthday and on this tribute site I wanted to express my gratitude for the work and volunteerism you've committed toward social justice and activism. I came from a background in rural Arizona that didn't have access to the perspectives you and others articulate. It wasn't until my first years in community college, listening to your talks on Pacifica Radio, along with the journalism of Democracy Now! and others, that my conscience was turned toward struggles and difficulties in the world and how my actions might bear on them.
Like many on this site I gravitated toward your voice in particular because it was the most reasoned, knowledgeable and accessible of commenters of U.S. foreign policy. The way in which you intellectually approached polemic and politicized issues otherwise clouded in rhetoric than in logic or thought inspired many of us to approach these issues in the same way. Thanks for giving us a sense of direction and some methods with which we might tackle these difficult but pressing questions.
Studying Professor Chomskys' work for the first time was like discovering a ruby red laser beam cutting through the fog- follow the beam and find the truth. Happy Birthday Noam!
