by Chris Hedges
Writer, Dandelion Salad
July 27, 2013
Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr
ciwebvideos on Jul 24, 2013
Chris Hedges spoke at Friday’s Interfaith Lecture in the Hall of Philosophy. He was the last to speak on the week’s theme, “Markets and Morals.” His lecture traced the demise of liberal values in America since World War I and emphasized the importance of social movements in maintaining democracy.
Read the recap here: chqdaily.com/2013/07/21/hedges-how-do-you-make-the-power-elite-frightened-of-you/
[Q&A begins at 46 minutes into the video.]
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chqdaily.com/
July 21, 2013
[…]
Last year, in Hedges v. Obama, Hedges successfully sued members of the federal government for the unconstitutionality of section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act [NDAA]. However, following an appeal, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the ruling last week.
“It’s truly a frightening piece of legislation,” Hedges said.
The legislation permits the U.S. government to detain citizens who are suspected of affiliations with terrorism. Hedges is troubled by how loosely the legislation’s wording is. Furthermore, he said, in an age of permanent war, the people being held will never be released.
“As John Ralston correctly says, we have undergone a corporate coup d’etat in slow motion,” Hedges said. “And it’s over — they’ve won. We see it with the national security state, the fact that the judicial, legislative and executive branches of government have all signed off onto this egregious assault against our civil liberties.”
[…]
via chqdaily.com/2013/07/21/hedges-how-do-you-make-the-power-elite-frightened-of-you/
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Updated: Aug. 19, 2013
Chris Hedges spent two decades as a foreign reporter covering wars in Latin America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. His latest books are Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt, Death of the Liberal Class, and The World as It Is: Dispatches on the Myth of Human Progress.
see
Chris Hedges: I’m Calling For the Overthrow of the System, Part 7
Chris Hedges: As a Socialist, I Have No Voice in Corporate Media, Part 6
Chris Hedges on NDAA Defeat: It’s a Black Day for Liberty
Locking Out the Voices of Dissent by Chris Hedges
Chris Hedges: We Have Undergone A Corporate Coup D’état In Slow Motion
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One of the most coherent yet by C H. Beautiful venue, elegant neo-classical aesthetic surroundings, very persuasive and erudite if well rehearsed, but unscripted spontaneous address to a receptive and responsive audience, replete with authentic, fluent responses to really smart questions.
Altogether a good day, witnessing to the light of social reality, & genuinely honouring the American spirit. Sobering, uplifting, morally uncontaminated pedagogy at its best.
Thanks for watching and your commentary, David.
Yes, I agree, it is one of Hedges’ best talks.
Every time i think of America these days i think of Tacitus warning about being eaten up within by the power structures during the Roman Caesars .
Sorry Rock, I posted my comment before seeing your apt allusion.
How do we square the unprecedented power of a demented industrial world held hostage to nuclear and biological blackmail, with the righteous needs of simple (environmentally friendly) peasant morality?
Talk about a cliff-hanging moment…
david , by giving up on all notions of morality , and opting out for something much higher . i know i sound like a broken record on this one , but counter utopias have always become dystopias , seeking an ethos and approximate almosts gives the illusion of change without real change .
i would say on a very simple practical thing we can do : dont consume their products. consumer consciousness can cripple a company peddling dirt of all kinds.
Couldn’t agree more, only I do believe it takes unusual and exemplary courage to be a genuine individual. We’re revisiting that “superior man” Chinese notion. My view is that a simple “peasant” morality can also be honourable and sufficient, if it is spiritually replete.
David, that is the Epicurean cheerful poverty, dont fear the gods or death mentality. and i do see that as valuable. and it is honorable. Everything that is worth its salt in understanding now has been played out during the Roman Empire. Mere Stoic toughness cant cut it and is too state oriented. it is time for the Saints to crash the party. we are long over due.
I’ll raise a toast to that!