There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
Noam ChomskyRead
It was during the Reagan years that defiance of international law and the U.N. Charter became entirely open.
Interpretation
This quote critiques the disregard for international laws and norms during Reagan's presidency.
Noam Chomsky's quote emphasizes a crucial period in American foreign policy when the U.S. openly flouted international laws and United Nations regulations. It suggests that this defiance marked a significant shift in diplomatic conduct, raising concerns about accountability and the rule of law on a global scale.
In practice
In a discussion about international relations, to illustrate the importance of upholding global standards.
There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
The 'free-floating intellectual' may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.
If you're teaching today what you were teaching five years ago, either the field is dead or you are.
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.
The Republican Party has become overwhelmingly so extreme that it's hardly a traditional political party anymore.
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.
I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas? Are you my Angel?
The government was set to protect man from criminals-and the constitution was written to protect man from the government. The Bill of Rights was not directed at private citizens, but against the government-as an explicit declaration that individual rights supersede any public or social power.
We are domesticated animals, revolving in a cage which we have built for ourselves - with its contentions, wranglings, its impossible political leaders, its gurus who exploit our self-conceit and their own with great refinement or rather crudely.
We will never be cleansed until we confess we are dirty. And we will never be able to wash the feet of those who have hurt us until we allow Jesus, the one we have hurt, to wash ours.
Reality is a cliché from which we escape by metaphor.
To believe in the God over us and around us and not in the God within us - that would be a powerless and fruitless faith.
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