Congressional Republicans are dismantling the limited

Hear the voice of Noam Chomsky, fierce critic of power and prophet of reason, who declared: “Congressional Republicans are dismantling the limited environmental protections initiated by Richard Nixon, who would be something of a dangerous radical in today’s political scene.” In this sharp and paradoxical statement, Chomsky reminds us that what was once considered modest, cautious, even conservative reform, would now be branded by many as dangerous or extreme. His words cut deep, showing how far the political winds have shifted, and how fragile the defense of the earth has become.

For Chomsky speaks first of Richard Nixon, a man remembered more for scandal than for stewardship, yet who in the 1970s signed into being the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Air Act, and the Endangered Species Act. These measures, born not of radicalism but of necessity, were acknowledgments that unchecked pollution was poisoning air, water, and land, and that government bore responsibility to act. Nixon, no saint, nevertheless recognized that survival itself demanded limits upon greed.

Yet Chomsky warns that these limited environmental protections—small but vital victories—are now being undone. Where once even conservatives saw the value of protecting the commons, many in the halls of power now rush to dismantle safeguards, granting industry freedom to pollute, to exploit, and to ravage the earth for short-term gain. The irony is bitter: what was once mainstream is now radical; what was once considered prudence is now dismissed as extremism.

History bears witness to this pattern. In the early industrial age, cities like London and Pittsburgh were cloaked in smoke so thick that day seemed night, and children sickened in the streets. It was only when laws restrained factories that the skies cleared and health was restored. But when such protections are weakened, the old ghosts return. In recent decades, we have seen rivers burn, forests vanish, and species disappear. And always, the undoing comes swifter than the rebuilding. Thus Chomsky’s warning resounds: protections gained over generations can be lost in a moment.

Consider also the lesson of Rome, whose aqueducts and laws preserved the health of its people for centuries. When governance grew corrupt and protections fell away, the very systems sustaining life collapsed, and the empire withered. In every age, the dismantling of safeguards, whether for environment, economy, or society, leads to decay. To Chomsky, the unraveling of Nixon’s legacy is not only folly but a sign of a society turning against its own survival.

The lesson is as clear as it is sobering: political power cannot be trusted to guard the earth unless the people demand it. What is seen as radical or dangerous today may be the bare minimum tomorrow. Citizens must not slumber while leaders dismantle protections hard-won by previous generations. They must raise their voices, defend laws that preserve the air they breathe and the water they drink, and refuse to allow the short-sighted hunger for profit to outweigh the survival of life itself.

Therefore, O listener, do not be deceived by those who call prudence radical, or stewardship dangerous. Remember that the earth is not a possession to be spent but a trust to be guarded. Support those who defend its protections, expose those who dismantle them, and live yourself in a way that honors creation rather than exploits it. For if we fail, it is not only the environment that perishes, but humanity with it.

So let the words of Noam Chomsky ring through the generations: the undoing of protections is the undoing of ourselves. What was once common wisdom is now framed as extremism. But truth remains unchanged: without limits, destruction reigns; without stewardship, there is no future. Guard the earth, and in so doing, guard your own life and the life of those yet to come.