Norman Finkelstein

I am much more scared by the loss of democracy in USA than the loss of democracy in the rest of the world. This is because all the people battling for their human rights were able to see this country as a beacon of hope (what a worn out phase it is, sorry). It sustained Solidarity in Poland, it fed student discussions deep into the night, it was a model to emulate but never to equal. If this model was to crumble, the russian or chinese model of citizens place vis a vis state would become a norm instead. Like female emancipation, the free speech project is a mere couple of generations old and can be swept away very quickly indeed. Treatment of Finkelstein is a symptom of a much deeper problem. If this lobby or that lobby can do this with the acquiescence of the intellectual elites of the country, the step to the government doing it is very small indeed.