[Vision2020] Pulitzer Prize Winning Author Chris Hedges: Tonight 9 PM-12 AM PST C-Span2

[Ted Moffett]

In the past couple of days I accidentally ran into a Vision2020
participant and had a brief conversation about, horror of horrors,
politics.  I mentioned Glenn Greenwald and Chris Hedges views on
political issues, both of whom are currently on a short list of
significant "liberal" writers of substance, it appears.  The person I
ran into (ouch!) indicated they had not heard of either writer.

Much to my surprize, today "BookTV" on C-Span2 ran an "In Depth"
interview and question and answer session with Chris Hedges, three
hours worth.  Try and find this sort of extensive discussion on
commercial media.  Forget about it!

I listened to the entire three hours, and was spellbound by Hedges'
wealth of worldly experience and academic knowledge.  Though I think
he has a penchant for hyperbole, which no doubt delights critics, in
positioning himself as a critic of both liberals and conservatives, if
I may indulge in that gross oversimplification, I sensed a mind
willing to pursue truth regardless of conformity to any single
ideology or class power structure.

He has publicly debated Hitchens and Harris, opposing their brand of
"atheism," while being labeled an atheist by other critics.  He
attended Harvard Divinity School, yet has scathingly attacked the
power structure of liberal Christianity in betraying foundational
Christian values regarding war, poverty and the US prison system,
where he sometimes teaches.  While of course recognizing the hijacking
of evangelical Christianity by political corporatism, he stated that
he thought evangelical Christianity might rescue itself from this
ursurpation from within.

While explicity stating he is not a pacifist, he discussed his
resignation from the New York Times over disagreements regarding the
Iraq war that meant he either muzzle himself, or be fired, referencing
his direct experiences with war and admiration for the common soldier.

His critique of the liberal tolerance for the industry of pornography
in the US was chilling.

He takes the position that structures of political and economic power
in the US are no longer open to fundamental reform from within,
therefore civil disobedience and street protest are necessary, such as
the Occupy movement.  He has been arrested in recent civil
disobediance actions in the US, and stated that after he has resolved
his court case over this arrest, he plans on participating in further
civil disobedience.

He was exceedingly cynical about the current republican presidential
candidates, and also Obama, though gave Ron Paul credit for focusing
on certain issues that other candidates are not highlighting, while he
pointed out that Paul's agenda to dismantle government will not
address the abuses of multinational corporate power.

Though he blundered on a climate science point, I agreed 100% with his
assessment we are being misled by promotion of two illusions regarding
anthropogenic climate change, either that one, it is not happening, or
two, that if it is happening, adaptation rather than substantial
mitigation (i. e. massive CO2 emissions reductions) is a reasonable
strategy: [Vision2020] "Eaarth" Discussion: "Adaptation... is not a
sane option" Given IPSO Ocean Report, MIT 2009 Study: Warming in 2100:
5.1°C
http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2011-November/079654.html

Agree or disagree, Hedges is a passionate, compassionate, articulate
and independent minded critic, it seems to me, that deserves to be
more widely heard.

Anyway, the "In-Depth" C-Span 2 interview will run again tonight at 9
PM PST.  I so far did not find an Internet offering of this program,
but perhaps at a later date C-Span2 will offer this interview off the
Internet, if they do not now.  Maybe for now they want people to
actually watch the dreaded video death ray (ha!) "TV" program on cable
or satellite?

http://www.booktv.org/Program/13110/In+Depth+Chris+Hedges.aspx

In Depth: Chris Hedges
About the Program

Chris Hedges is the author of nine books:

War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning (2002); What Every Person Should
Know About War (2003); Losing Moses on the Freeway: The Ten
Commandments in America (2005); American Fascists: The Christian Right
and the War on America (2007); I Don't Believe in Atheists (2008):
Collateral Damage: America's War Against Iraqi Civilians (2008);
Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle
(2009); The Death of the Liberal Class (2010); The World As It Is:
Dispatches on the Myth of Human Progress (2011).
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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett