ABSTRACT
I first saw Noam Chomsky speak in 1986 and it changed my life. His intellectual honesty and courage were and are striking, in an intellectual culture where both are in short supply. He never focus-grouped his ideas to see what would be most convincing. He just told the truth as he saw it, and assumed others could make up their own minds. The core lesson Noam taught me was to never lose faith in humanity, and in the ability of people to change the world and live together in harmony. He rejection of elitism, his embrace of genuine democracy, his ability to entertain an idea without accepting it, his humility, are all embedded in his bone marrow. Instantly when one reads him or hears him speak, you get it that Noam is speaking the truth, and he has a heart as robust as his mind. I have learned so much from him, like so many others, and we must all try to pass it along. Boulder, Colorado, April 2003. Chomsky speaks at anti-war rally soon after the start of the Iraq War. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003105619/f964ec3e-e045-4e4c-a09d-8636f8c19bf2/content/Photo20_01.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Photo By Karl Gehring/The Denver Post via Getty Images
