Blog #4: Just Following Orders

Noam Chomsky presents a very controversial argument in his book titled, Requiem for the American Dream. He presents a compelling argument as to why his audience and society needs to come together and take a stand if they want a dependable future.

This book has a powerful message and it is relevant to today's society. Published in 2017, this book comes at a time when the American Dream is slowly fading out and developing a new meaning. The Dream is turning into an economic competition only reachable by wealthy people and people of power. As Chompsky points out, the Dream is solely obtainable by a small percentage of the American population - the upper class.

Noam Chomsky explained that "...there's gonna be constant pressure-we can be certain of it- from systems of power to prevent any constraint on expanding their power, and the profit" (42). This excerpt stands out to me because no matter how hard people try to make something better, there will always be a gap of inequality based on wealth and power. Many examples of this have been shown throughout history in many aspects, but especially in the workforce. Inequalities ranging from discrimination in the workforce to unequal pay still taunt workers today. Many are afraid to rise up to power in fear of the consequences. Chomsky later goes on to note that "the only counterforce is you" (42). This type of implication for the reader takes it onto a more personal level. Chomsky is asking the audience to take a stand and be heard. He knows that it is hard to rise up against people of power because they provide order and that's what everyone looks up to. However, standing together and promoting power in numbers could be the solution to many of the issues of inequality with the American Dream today.

Some readers could take his tone has rude or offensive, feeling like Chomsky is targeting them. I could see how one could label Chomsky as "Un-American". His forceful language in some parts of the text comes off a little too strong. As pointed out by one of my classmates, each and every chapter title is in the form of a command - "Shape Ideology" (17) or "Redesign the Economy" (33). This language is very straight forward and could come off as an attack. Rather than look at this as an attack, one could view this as a direction to follow in order to reshape the American Dream for the better. This condescending tone is mandatory though, in order to get his ideas across to his audience. Chomsky expects his readers to take a stand and his book serves as an eye opener and manual to start a change before it's too late; He wants people to follow his commands. In my opinion, everything he is presenting in his argument is the unbearable truth that needs to be addressed. Even though his writing may come off as very opinionated, he just says the ugly truth about American values and society that people don't want to hear. Everything is not sugar coated and the raw truth is hard to believe sometimes. Personally, I think the assertive tone that Chomsky expresses is necessary in order to get across his message to his readers. If he wants citizens to ban together and work towards a common goal of reformation, then the harsh truth needs to come out.