"We have a choice," says Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Chris Hedges. "You can either be complicit in your own enslavement or you can lead a life that has some kind of integrity and meaning." Hedges argues for moral responsibility in a world bankrupt of it, and discusses the downfall of what he refers to as the liberal class in his newest book. From World War I to the present, he traces the rise and fall of liberal values, and paints a grim portrait of the future.
For all that, Hedges maintains some hope, and he joins Laura for a special conversation about liberalism and radicalism, past and present, and what we can do to ensure a better future.
How can SCOTUS get away with letting 98% of Americans be manipulated into handing over their property rights to 1%? To being made into slaves like this. If Hedges and many other scholars know how this works, and has since Edward Bernays, then SCOTUS knows too! The data are now so obvious about outcomes of all these laws and agency rules SCOTUS has prerogative to overturn. 400% property increase for Top 1%, and a little more like 70% for the 2nd %, with negative numbers for the rest of the 98% makes the outcomes of all these legal and de-regulatory moves obvious. SCOTUS has an obligation to defend our rights in the Constitution. Hedges and Flanders didn’t even mention SCOTUS and any public education and shaming program in this conversation.
Of course, the permanent government hands the most heinous crimes against the 98% over to Democrats like Clinton. Clinton deregulates the last of the FCC protections for our private property. Reagan signed the first earliest attack against fairness doctrines. Wilson to put in place the Federal Reserve and Income Tax. Only two Roosevelts from two different parties had the guts and knew how to take on their bros in the permanent government to save this country. Obviously, the Founders’ Constitutional mechanisms don’t do it naturally when CONGRESS and ADMINISTRATION are both bought and paid for by SCOTUS legal precedent on campaign finance, and money as speech.
By planck on November 15th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
I was not able to click on any link for the purpose of sharing the GRITtv Laura Flanders interview with Chris Hedges. Seems like you would be more accommodating to spreading the word of your valuable content.
By Lance Jobson on November 15th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
[...] “We have a choice,” says Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Chris Hedges. “You can either be complicit in your own enslavement or you can lead a life that has some kind of integrity and meaning.” (Source) [...]
By Full-body scanners ‘useless,’ air security expert says–and expose us to excessive radiation « Dregs of the Future on November 16th, 2010 at 9:32 am
[...] from this highly addictive cultural junk food? How do we re-engage? Is it worth the trouble? Hopeless? Are you addicted to culutural junk food? If so, what? If not, what do you do to stay sane, focused, [...]
By Girl, Get Me Started! » Cultural Junk Food on November 16th, 2010 at 11:13 am
You can click the Facebook Like button, the share buttons on the bottom right of the video screen, or the Facebook and Twitter buttons on the top right of the screen to share, as well as clicking the two places where it says Embed, at the top and the bottom of the video player, to get the code to embed the video.
Are those links not showing up?
By admin on November 16th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
I think Camus and Dostoevsky would both be very proud of Mr. Hedges for cutting through the veneer sold by Madison Ave. and calling America what it is: one big illusion of lies. At the same time, he does speak of the hope of a possible future. It seems at times like the mist in a dream – the possibility of real justice, peace and equality – but seeing such blunt truth laid out yet again for an entire new century is refreshing.
I very much doubt that the greed machine can ever be beaten. But as long as humans still long for something more than commercialism and the protestant work ethic, there will always be that possibility.
By Jeff on November 16th, 2010 at 9:08 pm
[...] Chris Hedges (20 mins vid) on Hope as Courage and Anger (doesn’t our moment look like the days before WWI) : http://www.grittv.org/2010/11/13/chris-hedges-the-death-of-the-liberal-class/ [...]
By Why Are Things As They Are? » Blog Archive » Rouge Forum Update November 19 2010 on November 17th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
Well, what can I say Laura . . . sad but true.
For me the important point is to go down swinging.
In 1968, we the populists on the left took on the Democratic Party in Chicago,
and we must do it again.
We’re stuck with the 2-Party Corporatist system,
so rather than waste our energy fighting Republicans and Tea Party types,
we need to raise hell with the Democratic Party until we have a chance at
more New Deal options to prevent the growth of American tyranny.
By elkojohn on November 18th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
[...] “We have a choice,” says Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Chris Hedges. “You can either be complicit in your own enslavement or you can lead a life that has some kind of integrity and meaning.” (Source) [...]
By Ratcheting Up the Police State–part 2, expansion of security theater « Dregs of the Future on January 23rd, 2011 at 3:16 pm