There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
Noam ChomskyRead
There's a lot of fuss on the Left about election irregularities, like, you know, the voting machines were tampered with, they didn't count the votes right, and so on. That's all accurate and of some importance, but of far more importance is the fact that elections just don't take place, not in any meaningful sense of the term 'election.'
Interpretation
What this quote means
Elections are often riddled with irregularities, but the true issue is that they may lack genuine democratic substance.
Noam Chomsky highlights that while concerns about election irregularities, such as tampering with voting machines and miscounting votes, are valid and noteworthy, they pale in significance compared to the overarching issue of whether elections truly reflect the democratic will. He suggests that the very nature of elections may be compromised, rendering them meaningless in promoting true representation.
Themes
ElectionsDemocracyIrregularitiesRepresentationVoting
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on the integrity of our electoral systems, this quote can highlight the deeper issues beyond just technical faults.
More from Noam Chomsky
All quotes →The 'free-floating intellectual' may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.
Noam ChomskyRead
If you're teaching today what you were teaching five years ago, either the field is dead or you are.
Noam ChomskyRead
There are very few people who are going to look into the mirror and say, 'That person I see is a savage monster;' instead, they make up some construction that justifies what they do.
Noam ChomskyRead
The Republican Party has become overwhelmingly so extreme that it's hardly a traditional political party anymore.
Noam ChomskyRead
There is still much debate about whether torture has been effective in eliciting information - the assumption being, apparently, that if it is effective, then it may be justified.
Noam ChomskyRead
Similar quotes
The press is supposed to serve as a check on government.
John LewisRead
History furnishes to politics all the arguments that it needs, for the chosen cause.
Romain RollandRead
The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency.
Theodore RooseveltRead
I love America more than any other country in the world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.
James A. BaldwinRead
Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.
Otto Von BismarckRead
Democracy may not prove in the long run to be as efficient as other forms of government, but it has one saving grace: it allows us to know and say that it isn't.
Bill MoyersRead