Dissent, a quarterly magazine of politics and culture, invited several leading intellectuals to participate in a forum about the culture and politics of the US. Each participant was asked to respond to one or all of the following questions:
1. What relationship should American intellectuals have toward mass culture: television, films, mass-market books, popular music, and the Internet?
2. Does the academy further or retard the engagement of intellectuals within American society?
3. How should American intellectuals participate in American politics?
4. Do you consider yourself a patriot or a world citizen, or do you have some other allegiance that helps shape your political opinions?
Noam Chomksy | Excerpts from Chronicles of Dissent, 1992
In this article, if you replace the old dates with recent ones and change the names of the countries to those that appear in today’s headlines, you’ll have an excellent up-to-date piece on propaganda in the US, why it exists in the first place, how it works, and why it’s working. The section on concision is particularly thought provoking.
Dissent Built America; Why is it Considered Un-American Now?
This article examines dissent in early American history. The author, Timothy Sexton, provides the reader with a view of how 18th century patriotism, also known as dissent, contributed to shaping this nation politically and culturally. What were once virtues are now taboos. Dissenting opinions in the US are all but outlawed.
Another long look at dissent and how it has played a fundamental role in the development of democratic society in the US and how, by allowing the undermining of its effectiveness, we may someday come to realize that the democracy that we once knew no longer exists.
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