Image by cool revolution via Flickr
with Chris Hedges
Brookly Society for Ethical Culture on Oct 1, 2014
Chris Hedges speaking at the Brooklyn Society For Ethical Culture Charley Horwitz Platform. “The Global Culture of Violence: What Is The Path to Peace and Justice?” Sept. 28, 2014. http:/bsec.org
[Hedges begins at 2:43; Q&A begins at 29:29]
see
Chris Hedges: The Future Collapse + Perpetual Imperialistic War = Bombs on Subways in the West
Dandelion Salad 
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Having been awarded my beagle, as all part of a settlement, it is curious how I learn so much from this dog, how this relates to the political scene is as follows, the inbred genetics of this breed that being suitable for its time as a hunting dog and its ability of the sense organ of its nose for the purpose of fox hunting, in its heyday, say 17th, century, fox hunting, now a anachronism, is all part of its breeding of a past era, we now live in this over industrial age, and my job at present is to attempt to keep this animal alive, you become aware it has no or little sense of the dangers of the road, this inability of comprehending these metal dogs, are to beagles sensing a big dog that is threatening, how ever I try to educate this animal on the dangers of these metal dogs, it is of no avail, it is well and truly programmed to desire and attack this potential allien force.
The inability of our leaders to comprehend that as the world arms itself against the other, the latest splurge on the arms consumption is not only Australia, also China, and now Indonesia, the folly of this pursuit is not understood, our politicians, who have been within their specialized field unable to understand little if any, becoming as the beagle, who unable comprehend? are victims of a past age and having not had the opportunity or will to summon the energy and lack the vision, and realization of cost and consequence, in today’s world, now stuck in a by gone age that is no longer appropriate for our time.
Well said, dw!
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I think this is one of Chris Hedges most powerful public addresses. He not only manages to consolidate and condense most of what he has so explicitly already delivered on so many diverse occasions over the past two years or so, but he introduces brilliant elements of classical intelligence that illuminate his discourse profoundly.
I cannot fault this narrative.
The deep question that remains is the complex fact of human violence and its obviously cyclic nature and actual sources. It seems to me that all power exercised requires a measure of (potential) force, but such hypothetical forces if properly understood must derive their strength and capacity from empirically authentic truths ~ living, spiritual energies, not reactive political dogma or vested corporate controls in the form of the misapplication of science..
The only authority we can really trust is the authority of intelligent life itself and what the late Northrop Frye memorably described as the educated imagination.
This means striving to create and sustain a world in which the business of government is first and foremost the enlightened governance of business ~ conducted through proper consultation and open methods that prioritize a full accounting of both the ecosystem and our systemic behavioural ethos.
To be civilized is to recognize the folly of restriction and repression, whether it be of mind, sexuality, gender or of species. Such freedom can only prosper in a social climate that acknowledges and defends the integrity of the individual; not isolated and estranged, but sustainably embedded within coherent communities of intent. Such dynamic (philosophical) scaling can then include the resilient inter-active ecologies of all (potentially imaginable) cosmo-biological diversity.
The greatest power on earth is the Earth itself, about which we actually know very little ~ and our success or failure as indigenous beings must therefore reflect the (local) Solar Intelligence that nourishes our planetary environment and infuses the biosphere. We are in fact, the as yet inchoate sentient fabric of this living cosmos, a cosmos that seems to be extravagantly generous in its limitless possibilities.
Great commentary, as always, David, thank you.
I agree with you about Hedges’ talk; it is one of his better ones along with a great Q&A. I’ve posted so many videos with him lately but when I heard this talk I knew I had to post this one, too.