From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Jul 07 2005 - 12:05:40 BST
Hi All:
Speech by Noam Chomsky, originally delivered on April 13, 1970 in Hanoi
while he was visiting North Vietnam with a group of anti-war activists.
Broadcast by Radio Hanoi on April 14, and published in the "Asia-Pacific
Daily Report" of the U.S. government's Foreign Broadcast Information
Service, April 16, 1970, pages K2-K3.
"Yesterday and today, my friends and I visited Tanh Hoa province. There we
were able to see at first hand the constructive work of the social
revolution of the Vietnamese people. We saw luxurious fields and lovely
countryside. We saw brave men and women who know how to defend their
country from brutal aggression, but also to work with pride and with
dignity to build a society of material prosperity, social justice, and
cultural progress. I would like to express the great joy that we feel in
your accomplishments.
"We also saw the ruins of dwellings and hospitals, villages mutilated by
savage bombardments, craters disfiguring the peaceful countryside. In the
midst of the creative achievements of the Vietnamese people, we came face
to face with the savagery of a technological monster controlled by a
social class, the rulers of the American empire, that has no place in the
20th century, that has only the capacity to repress and murder and
destroy.
"We also saw the (Ham Ranh) Bridge, standing proud and defiant, and carved
on the bills above we read the words, 'determined to win.' The people of
Vietnam will win, they must win, because your cause is the cause of
humanity as it moves forward toward liberty and justice, toward the
socialist society in which free, creative men control their own destiny.
"This is my first visit to Vietnam. Nevertheless, since the moment when we
arrived at the airport at Hanoi, I've had a remarkable and very satisfying
feeling of being entirely at home. It is as if we are renewing old
friendships rather than meeting new friends. It is as if we are returning
to places that have a deep and personal meaning.
"In part, this is because of the warmth and the kindness with which we
have been received, wherever we have gone. In part, it is because for many
years we have wished all our strength and will to stand beside you in your
struggle. We are deeply grateful to you that you permit us to be part of
your brave and historical struggle. We hope that there will continue to be
strong bonds of comradeship between the people of Vietnam and the many
Americans who wish you success and who detest with all of their being the
hateful activities of the American government.
"Those bonds of friendship are woven of many strands. From our point of
view there is first of all the deep sympathy that we felt for the
suffering of the Vietnamese people, which persists and increases in the
southern part of your country, where the American aggression continues in
full force.
"There is, furthermore, a feeling of regret and shame that we must feel
because we have not been able to stop the American war machine. More
important still is our admiration for the people of Vietnam who have been
able to defend themselves against the ferocious attack, and at the same
time take great strides forward toward the socialist society.
"But, above all, I think, is the feeling of pride. Your heroism reveals
the capabilities of the human spirit and human will. Decent people
throughout the world see in your struggle a model for themselves. They are
in your debt, everlastingly, because you were in the forefront of the
struggle to create a world in which the chains of oppression have been
broken and replaced by social bonds among free men working in true
solidarity and cooperation.
"Your courage and your achievements teach us that we too must be
determined to win--not only to win the battle against American aggression
in Southeast Asia, but also the battle against exploitation and racism in
our own country.
"I believe that in the United States there will be some day a social
revolution that will be of great significance to us and to all of mankind,
and if this hope is to be proven correct, it will be in large part because
the people of Vietnam have shown us the way.
"While in Hanoi I have had the opportunity to read the recent and very
important book by Le Duan on the problems and tasks of the Vietnamese
revolution. In it, he says that the fundamental interests of the
proletariat of the people of all the world consists in at the same time in
safeguarding world peace and moving the revolution forward in all
countries. This is our common goal. We only hope that we can build upon
your historic achievements. Thank you."
Footnote by PH: According to Wikipedia, the glorious revolution that
Chomsky wants the U.S. to imitate because "the people of Vietnam have
shown us the way" resulted in such brutal persecution and poverty that 2
million people risked their lives to flee Vietnam as boat people.
Best,
Platt
MOQ.ORG - http://www.moq.org
Mail Archives:
Aug '98 - Oct '02 - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/
Nov '02 Onward - http://www.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/summary.html
MD Queries - horse@darkstar.uk.net
To unsubscribe from moq_discuss follow the instructions at:
http://www.moq.org/md/subscribe.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Thu Jul 07 2005 - 12:05:37 BST