Thanks for the opportunity to express an appreciation of Noam Chomsky.

I first started reading and listening to him around the time of Manufacturing Consent (1988), and attended a lecture by Prof Chomsky at the University of New South Wales in 1994.

That's some time ago now, even so I am surprised I wasn't aware of him earlier. I was a Major in philosophy and took an interest in talks and events on and off campus. But as best I can recall there was no course or even discussion of Chomsky. He was underground.

Why wasn't he available (not to mention compulsory) for Undergraduates, and even high school students?

Personally I regard him as the most important political writer of the postwar period.

Among his many invaluable contributions is bringing Anarchist philosophy to a vast new audience. I've come to see the anarchist perspective as one of the most important if not the most important political insights one can have. If you have this, you can understand the world: the injustice, the crimes, the lies, the propaganda, the illusions and delusions. If you don't have it, you are all at sea in a storm of manipulation and self-deception.

Chomsky combines moral integrity with intellectual capacity. It is admirable in the highest degree.

My favourite quotes about Chomsky:

"A truly great human being" - Usenet, author unknown.

"Not to have read Chomsky is to court genuine ignorance" - The Nation

"Rebel Without a Pause" - Bono.

May I take the opportunity Dr Chomsky to express my regards and my best wishes for a very happy birthday.

Dear Mr Chomsky,

I was channel surfing on a lazy weekend when at high school and hit upon the Movie/Doco “Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Mass Media” on SBS TV in Australia. As I was watching I thought, “hey, man, that’s what I’m thinkin.” Although I have read now pretty much nearly everything that you have written my first impression remains the dominant one. You have the ability to articulate what I think most people know at a gut-intuitive level with the real trick being converting that common awareness to political dissidence.

You stand out, I think, mostly because intellectuals are fraudsters. I think that you have a real commitment to rationality and this is, in my experience, very rare. It is for this reason that I seek out your interviews and articles as events happen; not because I think you are always right, but because I know that you are at least honest and that what matters to you is what actually happens to real people.

At a personal level in email correspondence I have always been taken aback by the fact that you actually, like, reply. How many emails do you get? Mate, I reckon it must be in the many thousands per day. By contrast with other intellectuals you don’t even get a courtesy reply.

These are the reasons why I think you stand out and, despite misgivings about a personal tribute project like this that you might have, all the tributes you get are richly rewarded.

I wish you a happy birthday and you and your family a happy holiday season and a very happy new year.

Sincerely,
Marko Beljac
Melbourne, Australia.

Dear Noam,

for many years now your writings have been the main inspiration for my "keeping the flame and the rage alive".

Happy birthday and may you celebrate many more in health, we need you!

Luigi Mantuano