Noam Chomsky blasts Obama: He has no moral center

[Bonobo]

97. Thank you, Patrice.

You ask such difficult questions that, of course, I couldn't begin to answer them, but I will be happy to share my way of thinking with you.

I DO ask myself the question that you raise here; namely that if I were President of the US, would I be able to maintain this same concept of moral purity that I push here. It is a fair question and it is a hard question and maybe it is a question that I cannot fully answer -but I like to believe that I would still maintain my positions but it is probably more honest to say that I would not put myself in a position where I had to sacrifice my values.

As to the question of saving lives by pre-emptive action against "threats"... and would the POTUS by morally responsible if something bad happened to the people of the US through his/her failure to preempt a possible future action... I have to say that I see it this way: Since neither I nor the POTUS could look into a crystal ball to determine future events, it is impossible for either of us to be sure that the actions (such as drone strikes that kill innocents) are necessary or a reasonable tradeoff. Yes, I know that Obama has more intelligence and so it could be said that he is in a better position to make those judgment calls, but I cannot accept it. It cannot be said who he is killing or what the ultimate results of his actions are. Did a drone strike kill a person that was going to kill US citizens or did it kill an innocent child that was going to grow up and invent a cure for malaria?

It is interesting the way you bring up the Bhagavad Gita and Zen Buddhism in the way you do. Yes, it is true that the conditions that Arjuna finds himself in are the current circumstances, but to "own up" to me means that you accept that you are creating the future conditions of the world. These conditions make the possibilities for events to happen (arise) and we are repsonsible not for what arises, but at least for creating the potential conditions. THAT is karma and I do believe in it. Karma means actions

The question than becomes what results from OUR actions (Obama's actions). Are we creating conditions for good or evil? For love or hate?