--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Gore Vidal, Glenn Greenwald, Noam…" description: "\"Gore Vidal, Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky, talk about how the U.S. became a national security state after World War II. Essentially there's this bipart..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/michael-hastings-6810_absurd_gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky_957011.jpg" --- # Gore Vidal, Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky, talk about how… ![“Gore Vidal, Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky, talk about how the U.S. became a national security state after World War II. Essentially there's this bipartisan foreign policy elite who've been calling the shots for the last few decades and they're clearly still in control regardless of how clownish or…” quote by Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/michael-hastings-6810_absurd_gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky_957011.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/michael-hastings-6810_absurd_gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky_957011.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/michael-hastings-6810_absurd_gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky_957011.jpg) > “Gore Vidal, Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky, talk about how the U.S. became a national security state after World War II. Essentially there's this bipartisan foreign policy elite who've been calling the shots for the last few decades and they're clearly still in control regardless of how clownish or absurd they demonstrate themselves to be. There's no shaking their orthodoxy. To me it was the most depressing thing, these full-scale military interventions firsthand for a number of years, seeing how quickly we can get involved in another war with very little debate.” [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Powerful elites maintain control over foreign policy, leading to endless military actions with little public debate, creating deep pessimism. **In simple terms:** Elite control drives endless wars. Key Takeaway Question authority, demand transparency. Themes politics military media power skepticism Mood critical analytical Type journalistic political philosophical When to use this quote - voting - activism - journalism - peace advocacy Key Concepts democracy foreign policy public discourse Questions to Reflect On - What can citizens realistically do to challenge entrenched power? - How does media shape perception of military interventions? A Different Perspective Complex geopolitics can limit individual influence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Debate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debate/) [Depressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing/) [Foreign policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-policy/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Most depressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/most-depressing/) [National security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-security/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War of the worlds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-of-the-worlds/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) [World war ii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war-ii/) ## Related quotes > [Gore Vidal, Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky, all these guys talk about how the United States became a national security state after World War II.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky-all-these-guys-talk-about-how/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [America needs a bipartisan foreign policy that is predictable, pragmatic, and understandable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hoekstra/america-needs-a-bipartisan-foreign-policy-that-is-predictable/) [Pete Hoekstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hoekstra/) > [I want to make it clear publicly that I expect more candor from this Administration during the next four years, particularly with members on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-voinovich/i-want-to-make-it-clear-publicly-that-i-expect-more-candor-from-this/) [George Voinovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-voinovich/) > [We also think this is a reminder of the long tradition of bipartisan foreign policy that has been the hallmark of America at moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-also-think-this-is-a-reminder-of-the-long-tradition-of-bipartisan/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ I met Glenn \[ Greenwald\] briefly in 2009. We were both guests on Real Time With Bill Maher. I was the show's guest and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-met-glenn-greenwald-briefly-in-2009-we-were-both-guests-on-real/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [“Copyright © Glenn Greenwald, 2014 The moral right of the author has been asserted All rights reserved”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/copyright-glenn-greenwald-2014-the-moral-right-of-the-author-has-been/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If it was a biopic about Glenn Greenwald, I would have immersed myself more fully in his personal life and gotten to know him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/if-it-was-a-biopic-about-glenn-greenwald-i-would-have-immersed-myself/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [Why wouldn't we consider doing to Islamic extremists what Glenn Greenwald does routinely to Republicans?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-baker/why-wouldn-t-we-consider-doing-to-islamic-extremists-what-glenn/) Stewart Baker > [The government does not need to know more about what we are doing. We need to know more about what the government is doing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/the-government-does-not-need-to-know-more-about-what-we-are-doing-we/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“now I would almost arrest Glenn Greenwald, who’s the journalist who seems to want to help him get to Ecuador.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/now-i-would-almost-arrest-glenn-greenwald-who-s-the-journalist-who/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [I don't know that I 'look up' to them, but in our predictably partisan media world, I admire journalists who are genuinely nonpartisan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-geist/i-don-t-know-that-i-look-up-to-them-but-in-our-predictably-partisan/) [Willie Geist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-geist/) > [When I was 6 I thought that I wanted to be a musician - like a singer-songwriter. That's what I romantically envisioned for myself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-garfield/when-i-was-6-i-thought-that-i-wanted-to-be-a-musician-like-a-singer/) [Andrew Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-garfield/) > [I go once a year to the Serengeti to see the wildebeest migrations because that means a lot to me, but I avoid Olduvai…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/i-go-once-a-year-to-the-serengeti-to-see-the-wildebeest-migrations/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [It is sad to witness the persistence in our society of the racism and xenophobia that seems to be a permanent part of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/it-is-sad-to-witness-the-persistence-in-our-society-of-the-racism-and/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Listening to the radio every day for an entire year was a prison sentence. It was the most depressing, annoying, debilitating project I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/listening-to-the-radio-every-day-for-an-entire-year-was-a-prison/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) ## More by Michael Hastings > [I have a deep-seated skepticism about the morality of violence. Violence is almost always morally corrosive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/i-have-a-deep-seated-skepticism-about-the-morality-of-violence/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [The humanitarian argument is so selective I find it difficult to swallow. It's not even so much about the choice as to where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/the-humanitarian-argument-is-so-selective-i-find-it-difficult-to/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [If Bill O'Reilly is calling you a far-left critic, in my book, no matter what your political persuasion is, that's probably - that probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/if-bill-o-reilly-is-calling-you-a-far-left-critic-in-my-book-no/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [I'm post-cynical on this stuff. I look at the El Salvador model as the glory days: Why don't we just fund the death squads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/i-m-post-cynical-on-this-stuff-i-look-at-the-el-salvador-model-as-the/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [Whether or not Afghanistan would be a peaceful nation-state had we not gone into Iraq I doubt. Afghanistan is going to be Afghanistan, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/whether-or-not-afghanistan-would-be-a-peaceful-nation-state-had-we/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [One of their major initiatives was getting all officers on Facebook. So the question is, why are these people who are there to train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/one-of-their-major-initiatives-was-getting-all-officers-on-facebook/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [It was interesting watching the Afghanistan war review deliberations, this three-month process where Barack Obama did the most thorough foreign policy review ever by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/it-was-interesting-watching-the-afghanistan-war-review-deliberations/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [Inside the White House there were always extreme amounts of doubt about whether they should be escalating in Afghanistan. In fact, most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/inside-the-white-house-there-were-always-extreme-amounts-of-doubt/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [The State Department is essentially... I was going to use the word useless. But I don't know if that's correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/the-state-department-is-essentially-i-was-going-to-use-the-word/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [If someone tells you something is off the record, I don't print it. If they don't tell me something is off the record, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/if-someone-tells-you-something-is-off-the-record-i-don-t-print-it-if/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [If you polled the military in Afghanistan as to how many think we should be there or not, the numbers would probably be similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/if-you-polled-the-military-in-afghanistan-as-to-how-many-think-we/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [Afghanistan would have been difficult enough without Iraq. Iraq made it impossible. The argument that had we just focused on Afghanistan we'd now be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/afghanistan-would-have-been-difficult-enough-without-iraq-iraq-made/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [“Her name has been released to the press. Her photograph is released, too. I want to talk to the press about it. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/her-name-has-been-released-to-the-press-her-photograph-is-released/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [The frightening aspect is that it's part of a larger effort from the Pentagon to tear down the wall between public affairs and propaganda,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/the-frightening-aspect-is-that-it-s-part-of-a-larger-effort-from-the/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [An information operations team was sent to Afghanistan to conduct various psychological operations on the Afghans and Taliban. The team was then asked not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/an-information-operations-team-was-sent-to-afghanistan-to-conduct/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) [Explore all 97 Michael Hastings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. 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But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Gore Vidal, Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky, talk about how the U.S. became a national security state after World War II. Essentially there's this bipartisan foreign policy elite who've been calling the shots for the last few decades and they're clearly still in control regardless of how clownish or absurd they demonstrate themselves to be. There's no shaking their orthodoxy. To me it was the most depressing thing, these full-scale military interventions firsthand for a number of years, seeing how quickly we can get involved in another war with very little debate.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Hastings" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky-talk-about-how-the-u-s-became/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky-talk-about-how-the-u-s-became/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/michael-hastings-6810_absurd_gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky_957011.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/michael-hastings-6810_absurd_gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky_957011.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/michael-hastings-6810_absurd_gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky_957011.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Gore Vidal, Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky, talk about how the U.S. became a national security state after…” — Michael Hastings", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Hastings", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Gore Vidal, Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky-talk-about-how-the-u-s-became/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky-talk-about-how-the-u-s-became/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```