Why Americans can't debate politics anymore | The Chris Hedges Report
Vložit
- čas přidán 5. 01. 2023
- Nolan Higdon and Mickey Huff join The Chris Hedges Report to discuss their new book, Let's Agree to Disagree: A Critical Thinking Guide to Communication, Conflict Management, and Critical Media Literacy.
Nolan Higdon is a lecturer in media studies and history at California State University, East Bay. Higdon sits on the boards of the Action Coalition for Media Education and Northwest Alliance for Alternative Media and Education. He also cohosts the Along the Line podcast. He is the author of several books, including The Anatomy of Fake News and The Media and Me.
Mickey Huff is the director of Project Censored, president of the Media Freedom Foundation, co-editor of the annual Censored book series from Seven Stories Press (since 2009), co-author of United States of Distraction (City Lights, 2019), professor of social science and history at Diablo Valley College, and lecturer in communications at California State University, East Bay.
The Real News is an independent, viewer-supported, radical media network. Help us expand our in-depth analysis and coverage from Baltimore to Bangladesh by subscribing and becoming a member today!
Watch The Chris Hedges Report live CZcams premiere on The Real News Network every Friday at 12PM ET: therealnews.com/chris-hedges-...
Listen to episode podcasts and find bonus content at The Chris Hedges Report Substack: chrishedges.substack.com/
Help us continue producing The Chris Hedges Report by following us and making a small donation:
Donate to TRNN: therealnews.com/donate-yt-chr
Sign up for our newsletter: therealnews.com/nl-yt-chr
Like us on Facebook: / therealnews
Follow us on Twitter: / therealnews
#chrishedges #therealnewsnetwork
I get sick of all the name-calling and sneering and snobbery that is in our media and on the floor of Congress today. I taught high school English, and critical thinking used to be a part of the curriculum. I taught my students to look for biases in journalism. What a different landscape in schools today. My heart breaks! I always enjoy listening to Chris and his podcasts because he looks at nuance and common humanity in everything he says and does.
Was it No Child Left Behind (translation: Every Child Left behind who goes to public school so they an become slaves to the system) that caused the change to teaching critical thinking?
Try explaining that to teacher today and they just get angry
@Kathy, Yet Hedges calls Republicans who support Trump "cultists." Some of them may be that just like there were Obama cultists who practically worshipped him as America's "savior" and "messiah." Also some Democrats are fanatical leftist zealots celebrating the cult of government and for them Biden is a genius, a spotless leader of a moral crusade for justice though every knowledgable person knows that that's NOT what this habitual liar and mythmaker is.
Bias is not even the worst problem. Now they straight out make stuff up on a regular basis.
Oh well, move to a better country. Your obsolete America will not magically get good.
I was born in UK 87 years ago and the US, although not perfect, was generally an admired country. I do not think that the US is so well admired today.
Given how it has supported suppression of common good rights since first contact to the point of blocking Democracies around earth, inspiring Hitler that wrought such terrors on England, Europe, Russia, Japan... the nakedness of the u$a empire is complete.
@@Brianbeesandbikes There has never been a rational discussion of what happened in the 1930s. the UK and Poland went completely out of control as well as Hitler. It appears more convenient to do putdowns on Germany than UK.
It was only admired because we did not have social media to show us its raw underbelly.
Why do so many 'migrants' come here in mass groups.
@@eaglewing1415 Because the american empire bombed their countries or overthrew their governments putting dictators in power to suppress the people or used their power to decimate local industries. Many reasons.
Given the whole Reefer Madness and the Red Scare, I don't blame the elimination of the Fairness Doctrine made a massive difference, the Corporate Media ALWAYS told malicious and outrageous lies. Walter Kronkite was an anomaly, not proof of a glorious past of accountability, which never existed.
Cronkite lied about Vietnam, right up until the moment that those lies became ridiculous, obvious and therefore unstainable.
@@BillOweninOttawa I cannot say I am too surprised.
With the Fairness Doctrine in effect for 40 years,, media accountability, while not perfect, was better.
@@barbarasmith6005 Not really, if anything people are more aware that the media is lying to them these days, which is a good thing.
They fired on Walter Cronkite too, FOR TELLING TRUTHS TOO CLOSE TO DISCOVERING THEIR LIES TO THE WORLD.
The synagogue of Satan rules/CONTROLS them.
Make America think again 🇺🇸
We can debate each and every disease in our society and in our time, but the solution is still the same. The more social inequality the more unhealthy a society will be. The distance between the richest and poorest is the thermometer for any society. The wider the gap, the worse the society will be.
Says the leftist that probably supported the unconstitutional mask, lockdowns, and injection mandates, which caused the greatest wealth transfer we've ever seen and hurt so many small business. News flash bub, your constant demands for more and bigger government will ALWAYS help big business and hurt the little guy.
@@remyllebeau77 Easy on the labels pall. Both parties nowadays are anything but our government, both work for their donours, aka The Elite. So if you are honest about your concern with the little guy, we are on the exact same side. Make social inequality illegal and see our society thrive. Remember the NEW DEAL? The richest people payed up to 97% in taxes and it was the greatest period of our history. Take care!
@@VelhaGuardaTricolor Interesting that you didn't say whether you supported the lockdowns and stuff.
We are not on the same side. I am anarchist -capitalist. I would like nothing better than seeing this evil government destroyed and criminal democrats and their buddies the war mongering rino republicans brought to justice.
You want to increase gov't, you want gov't theft by taxes to continue and be much worse.
The new deal was a terrible choice and served to prolong the great depression.
@@remyllebeau77 Why did you say the lock down was the greatest transfer of wealth we've ever seen? What was the 2008 BAIL OUT then? I am not concerned with the lock down bc to me if somebody shoots a dead person I don't call it attempted murder. Why worry about what a corrupt elite/capitslist controlled government did or didn't do if it's not our government anymore anyway? PS.: What do you mean by "Anarchist -Capitalist"? and how can anyone who says is concerned about the little guy be a Capitalist, since it is nothing but a system of wealth transfer and widening inequality? PPS.: Without a government by the people and for the people with taxes, how do you build a good society? I am very puzzled by what seems to me an ocean of inconsistencies. Please educate me on your point of view. Cheers!
@@remyllebeau77 "This crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism. Our whole educational system suffers from this evil. An exaggerated competitive attitude is inculcated into the student, who is trained to worship acquisitive success as a preparation for his future career." Albert Einstein (Why Socialism)
There’s no social events anymore. It’s all consumption only spaces where you drive to alone in a car. Also, I work 6 days a week and many times the only energy I have after chores on my one day off is to lay down and watch a movie or CZcams. I think many people are working many hours too. The whole society is a poison.
Indeed, though I stuck with one job I seen my older brother do two jobs and he is always exhausted and it's negatively effecting his health if being a diabetic wasn't enough.
So move to a better country. I was homeless when I left AmeriKKKa, so there's no excuse.
@@drewm9903 His diet isn't helping. He needs to give up all the foods he loves. All the carbs, all the sugar. Eat KETO or carnivore. Beef, Butter, Bacon, and Eggs. And eventually get all the meals down to one large meal per day.
You gotta do the struggle to squeeze in stuff you can do in class struggle. Start by reading political books and look to groups you can organize with.
@@creamydistortion No homeless person moves out of America . They move INTO America .
I get my news from a comedian because if I didn't get the jokes with it I would sink into a horrible depression.
AWAKWEN WITH JP COMES TO MIND OR JIM BREUER
@@ArmChairKoalaBare What about George Carlin? Man was a Prophet!!
@@ArmChairKoalaBare THIS! :D
But, are Leftists even allowed to laugh at themselves anymore?
@@carltheflpatriot69 my all time fav
My man Jimmy Dore and Russell Brand also come to mind
As a European, lack of debates and discussions here is shocking.
Just another home run for Chris Hedges and guests. One can get jaded on the high quality of content Chris always provides.. Thanks Mr Hedges.
Hedges gets a lot right. But calling the right cultist is so far off the Mark I only have to think he's a nut job just like I've always thought!
if the church is not mentioned, you'll never understand, but most don't.they never lost control and never cared what you believed as long as they secretly maintained power. What schools did Trump Fauchi, Biden go to? Jesuit.
Hedges..gloom and doom....
@@terrific804 if your knee-jerk reaction is to dismiss his criticism without further thought, aren't you proving his point?
@@xBTx I would guess your's is the knee JERK reaction. Have you ever heard him say anything seriously uplifting.....if I have it's on very rare occasion. If you bring me a problem you'd better have a solution!
Thank goodness for people like Chris Hedges.
I thought this video would be interesting, and then I saw Chris Hedges, the perfect example of how education can make a person stupid.
I disagree
@@st.joanne As you're entitled to do so.
@@st.joanne Chris Hedges is a great example of how education does not make someone smart.
@@gerhard7323 Hedges is a conspiracy theorist dressed up in post-graduate degrees.
Mickey Huff was a professor of mine at Diablo Valley College. I haven't seen him for I think 20 years. Nice to see him again.
New Jersey just mandated the teaching of information literacy in schools, kindergarten thru 12th grade. A glimmer of hope!
I hope so.
A teacher is walking talkin library of interactive learning.
A student should be able to get any answer to whatever question they ask, however selective white washing of his story has left the rest of the world out and no longer VALID in REAL WORLD TRUTH.
LOL. Jersey guy here too - I saw that, but call me cynical - if its state funded - I have little faith that the class will be used to NOT propagandize
I asked Murphy whose truth are they going to teach? Haven't gotten a response.....yet. heh.
It would probably be designed to make us illiterate to identifying their garbage and bullshit. It would be a course designed to make us compliant little naive dickheads
The problem with this is the same problem with censorship. Who gets to decide which facts are the right facts and which sources are appropriate in order to be “information literate.” If it’s NY Times, NY Post, CNN, Fox News, or other so-called authoritative sources then count me out.
God Bless Chris Hedges. Your content, speeches, books inspired a series of paintings. Thank you immensely for strength.
You've only scratched the surface...keep going
Don't expect much more from either the host or the guest their gatekeepers ultimately and there's certain topics that are off limits and they know it.
Thank you Chris for putting Mickey and Project Censored on.
Nolan and Mickey speak incredibly well and really know their stuff. Fantastic interview. One of the best I've seen in the last 12 months, and I've watched plenty. I'll be buying those two books for sure. Great work Chris and TRNN.
Schill
The truth is not found within the two pole systems that are invented by the church to shape society the way the stars and planets dictate. It's not just britain, its the Crown Corp.
Im buying the books too.
28:25 -- basically, on real conversation reversing the tide of hate and belief in falsehoods -- an example i came across related to this point is the essay by Howard Zinn called "The Mysticism of the South". in it he talks about the efforts he and his students took to desegregate Atlanta public libraries during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. the gist of the essay was that, once blacks and whites came into contact with each other (through acts of civil disobedience where by blacks ignored segregation mandates and entered into public places, such as libraries), it was only a matter of time until the jim crow segregation system collapsed. the reasoning Zinn observed for this was that the more people interact the more they see each other as what they really are, people. the "mysticism" in the title refers to the two sides residing in their own segregated spheres of society and thus not having to interact. without this interaction both sides were free to essentially make up what the other side was like, what they believed and stood for. that mysticism was then shattered once the walls of segregation were ignored. once people started occupying the same spaces there wasn't a whole lot either of the sides could make up about the other. after all, the "other" was only a table or two away and miraculously didn't behave the way they had assumed. i like this story. it makes sense. its really hard to hate someone you interact with. i mean yes, ted cruz is a person so im not claiming there aren't exceptions to the rule. at the scale of society, however, i do subscribe to the idea that the interaction amongst oppositional groups melts away many of the boundaries for that opposition. anyways check it out even if for no other reason its to bring back the memory of Howard, a personal hero of mine, someone i love very much!
I don't know...men and women interact quite a bit, yet there's still rampant misogyny. There's something else going on here.
Not with all these guns.
WE EED THE REAL DEAL TO DEAL WITH THESE VERMON.Destroying what is not your/the world, wasn't a good decision but, a greedy decision of selfishness.
I share with you in this opinion that people can do away with stereotypes in the media industry in knowing each other in real time exposure to each others lives in truth
Criticizing Cruz and loving Zinn points out your bias.
@@kimjones8824 im not sure i follow what you are trying to say. are you saying something along the lines of, "because of the violent and unstable nature of the current moment (society) and that weapons and guns are so easy to come by and ownership so widespread - particularly those on the "other", conservative, side - simple societal interaction amongst the 2 sides won't work this time?" i mean, is that your basic message? if it is i think you should remember what the political and social climate was like during the civil rights movement in the American south. over the course of the Jim Crow era, the ruling class (those in power), relied heavily on the extreme vigilante violence carried out predominately by the white middle class on working class blacks they perceived as "getting out of line." this violence is referred to as "lynching" and is one of the most horrifically tortuous and inhumane activities possible. over that long time span many thousands of blacks were "lynched" by mobs of those barbaric and uncivilized middle and upper class whites of the American South. that such displays took place in braod daylight, publicly, in the middle cities without any of them ever facing any consequences (from law enforcement or any other aspect of the absurdly named "US Justice System" should paint just how oppressive, violent, and unlawful was the society in which civil rights participants were up against.
my point is that, compared to what blacks and their allies were up against during the civil rights era in the south, what we face today would be more accurately described as "peaceful" (even with all their guns)...
now im not saying that what is required today does not call for extraordinary courage or even that i'd be the one ready to go stand face to face with the opposition. rather, im saying that, in light of the historical context of the Jim Crow era south, one cannot simply claim that "well, if it wasnt for all their guns" when trying to argue that social interaction amongst oppositional groups wouldnt work today.
the incredible and wide-spread terrorism that frequently took place to combat civil rights movement during the post-war, jim crow era is much more than what we are up against today. as such i have to disgree with your assertion that, methods of humane social interaction couldnt work today due to "all of those guns"....
Doing research, I found Harold Pinter's Nobel Laureate Speech from 2005. Very much a part of your approach, Chris. I find that great writers have no fear of death, they speak truth because they know nothing else, and are free of fear, and let fly no matter the ramifications. Some survive, like Noam Chomsky and Chris and his "trial by fire" as a war correspondent. Having seen death up close and personal, one is immune to fear. Like Benjamin Clementine's song "Condolence" - "give my condolences to fear...."
Noam Chomsky, is just old been around longer ,saying nothing new .
I agree 💯
@@stevenlight5006 What do you expect, he is now so old he probably have very little energy left. I am 67 and I for one do not have the level I had when 25. Personally I normally pass him by now. I applaud all he has done but nowadays its hard to hear what he is saying. For me at least having english as a second language
Chomsky's stature will continue to grow after his death, unless we destroy ourselves. But if we survive, future historians will look back and see him as a key figure that led to fundamental change. Great moral courage, analytical brilliance, and staggering productivity.
I think this is very good. I'd add one wrinkle of nuance to it, and mildly critique the premise as stated in the title of the video. 'Anymore' implies that there was a time when Americans _could_ debate politics. I'd push back on that a little. People may once have had more of a shared sense of reality, but that isn't the same as having a skill or ability to debate, to analyze arguments, to be critically aware of media effects. Any shared worldview that Americans had back in the days when the center-out, top-down broadcast / print publication model was the only game in town did not emerge from people individually bringing keenly honed critical thinking skills to bear against a broad array of facts, ideas, and perspectives presented in a fairness-policed neutral media environment. Rather, very reasonable-sounding talking heads were selected, through opaque processes, to give Americans an acceptable palette of ways to think about the curated information they were given.
When did we stop teaching critical thinking, logic, and media awareness in our public schools so that suddenly people became susceptible to manipulation? The answer, of course, is that we never systematically did teach those things in the first place. When the only information available to people was that which could pass through the regulated corporate gatekeeping and 'reasonable' editorial filters, it wasn't hard to maintain the illusion that we didn't really need to teach these things explicitly, and that people could simply be expected to absorb critical thinking skills through their skin. Perhaps the most alarming line in the movie "The Shining" is when Jack Torrance exposes the fundamental attitude of the Print / Broadcast paradigm: "See? It's OK. He saw it on the television."
The culture of mass-production and mass-media creates the consumer identity. And a consumer is someone who is uncritically involved, or perhaps entirely uninvolved, in the processes that bring them what they consume. It isn't the Internet that has cultivated mass-credulity and eroded preexisting critical thinking skills. Rather, the past paradigm has made people uncritical consumers, and our education paradigm did precious little to correct for it, because consumers in a top-down, center-out, curated and mass-produced world didn't 'need' to be able to analyze arguments, tell good information from bad, evaluate biases, et cetera. The hyper-specialization of end-stage Industrialism meant that such things were almost always somebody else's department. What the Internet _has_ done is to expose in dramatic ways why this was always a stupid idea.
Thank you gentlemen. Good information @: analysis. Chris Hedges rocks, in my view !
Fundamentally, the "Fairness Doctrine" required for profit broadcasters to "operate in the public interest". Consequently, news departments were isolated from advertising; educational, cultural, and public affairs programs were included in the broadcast schedule; &c. The "fairness doctrine" was far more than just "equal time".
You are a breath of fresh air, Chris Hedges, thank you for your work.
I have had discussions with many people over the years, regarding politics and I've found that it doesn't take more than a few minutes before people begin to personally attack me when i don't agree with them. Too many people are not viable for debate. Yet they actually think they are "debating". I'm at an age where I'm starting to believe that humans are splitting in their evolution and some will evolve to think better, while some will turn into angry, unintelligent groups of exploited workers - trapped in their own ignorance and abused by those who feel obligated to use their stubborn inability to work together to keep them separated from civilized thinkers.
I would encourage you to re assess the view that upper middle class liberals by default, are better than the working class. I see them as just as bad as one another, with maybe the caveat that maybe upper middle class liberals conceal their ugliness and lack of independence of mind more with corporate sponsored woke identity politics.
True Debates are Heated and Passionate! Arguments are meant to Clear the Air and Hears! Due Diligence is EVERYONE'S personal and adult Responsibilities! Opinions and feelings don't trump Truth and Facts! Agreeing to disagree on Truth, Facts and Reality is a pathetic Lose, Lose super, DUPER stupid Situ-ations!
Yes! Make America Nuanced!
I've been muttering it to myself & quipping it to friends (sometimes to quizzical looks) for a while, so I'm thrilled to see the subject given a good chunk of discussion. Thank you Chris , Crew & Guests! This is a fantastic episode & pretty vital listening for anyone that cares about the destruction going on around us & is ready to find others & get to work. Sadly, we have a lot of similar external PR & internal problems here on the (real) left too, so we need to start learning & practicing these new skills over here pronto. Looking forward to reading the books.
Americans are incapable of fighting the government for their rights.
Chris is pretty darn good by really really big Texas standards
aye, i remember the exact moments some decades ago
when "nuance" began to be thrown around in the media
as a word (concept) to be mocked.
It was also partner to the media's push re being "educated"
as much overrated!
Media & Politicians were collusive in this .
aka: YOU HAD A RIGHT to be as stupid as you wanted damn it!
All balance was lost there -- All aspiration too.
Nationally, this new code was set forth.
THAT was the beginning
of the now-of-madness.
America is a dangerous & stealthy Indoctrination-Capitol 'o the world
(and it's where all the wealth we've exploited, is INVESTED first)
MAN……It’s perfect… Make America nuanced. I love it. Oh my God I’m so grateful for people like Chris hedges and for the intelligent people who can think for themselves who consume such media. Otherwise it would be a complete and utter wasteland. Look, I don’t want to just be in my own bubble, but sometimes you need to crawl in there just to get your sanity
Make America gone.
Americans, in general, have never been able to debate politics in any kind of meaningful way. I mean most people in the USA think the ideological framework consists of only liberal and conservative. They also think liberal is left wing.
Mickey Huf was my Prof in 2008 Fall for Critical Thinking
Chris you are one of the only true voices of sanity left. Everyone else has no institutional memory. The only other people I trust online are Darkhorse. Id love to see you chat with Brett and Heather.
Yeah, it was real professional when he called Trump supporters "Cultists" seems like a really fair guy.
@@kelkil79 to be fair not all Trumpers are cultists but some of them are.
add jimmy dore and russell brand.
@@trippmoore yes Chris hedges and Jimmy Dore for 2024!
@@nicoledickens2366 Same goes for the Woke.
One of the most important videos of our time. Its a travesty knowing that those who should see this will not. Great work Chris and Co. EXCELLENT WORK
Dear Chris, Happy New year to you and your family.
The point Chris Hedges raises in the last 5 minutes or so about the Emotional Needs addressed by these discourses, separate from the question of logic or accuracy - this is a vital area that drives many decisions about how these institutions handle their content re their audiences, and the direction public discourse in turn takes re the issues raised - this topic is worth at least whole episode in its own right - maybe something positioned as a sequel to this conversation -
I second the need for another episode as mentioned above. There is the devil of forced rationality to keep up democratic appearances. The suppression of all that is labelled "irrational" by the toxic regimes of what used to be called the enlightened age plays perhaps the largest role in this situation...
American people are so emotional and it's so fake.
Excellent!
Nice and informative video. let's always focus on how to earn, because with the current recession and financial crises world wide, i think getting just a job only isn't the best solution to attaining financial freedom that's the more reason one should save and invest wisely .
i used to view crypto & forex trading as an afterthought but marking profits was difficult due to the fluctuation in the market, but it turned out to be a major source of passive income ever since i met Mr. Robert david, his experience in the crypto & financial market at large is second to none
lol i got attracted by the first comment, looks like you just joined their business academy recently. I started with $5,500 you take a commission on the profit made. I appreciate the trust established in the last few months of working with him, i earn passively despite the fluctuation in market and i respect him for his honesty and hard work.
Nice review about Mr. robert david, this is the fourth time i'm seeing his name today online You all say his so good? I don't have much experience in trading and would like someone to guide me.
is he accepting new clients? i would like to join his academy and also become a long term investor.
I am not bragging but one trial will definitely prove his trust, then over time you will see his consistency despite the fluctuation in the financial market
you can follow him on *instagram*
How Democracies Die is an excellent book. Not a long book, but so educational.
Oh I go out and do this! It all started one day when I had been down drinking at the bar and ended up talking to someone who, since I'm white, thought I would be okay with them saying some racist things. Before then, I would have had some kind of angry and disapproving reaction to that person but, because I was drunk and I had also smoked some Cannabis, it upset me but it also made me curious as to why this person held such beliefs about black people since it didn't make any sense to me how a person would come to think those things. So I asked, "What made you think that?"
At first, it was just a bunch of stuff about how "they" were like this or like that. I ended up asking everyone who expressed racist sentiments to me a bunch of questions about why. It eventually always came back to the person never having gotten to know any black people like they had gotten to know a lot of white people growing up. Then it broke down further into having parents who taught them by example to be racist and/or one or two negative experiences involving a black person.
What really amazed me is how many of them started to realize that they had no rational reason to hate all black people and that they had just been going along with the society around them and had never seriously questioned their hatred of black people. I'm glad I started asking questions of them instead of throwing insults at them because it also taught me not to hate them as a group because I could see how it was a very common human weakness to end up going along with some belief just because one hasn't adequately questioned it. Before that, I had definitely viewed racists as being a bunch of unintelligent bullies, which means I had mentally downgraded their humanity, which is the kind of thing that leads to bigotry and violence in the first place. It is absolutely vital that we not hate the human being even when we hate their beliefs, words, and/or actions. If we don't learn to do this, we are on our way to falling into the same sort of trap of hatred.
yup
Racism is fun. You get to feel superior, and have a ready target for your frustrations. You have an easy scapegoat for complex social problems, plus there's tons of great jokes. You also have instant camaraderie with other racists, and get the sense of security that comes from group affiliation.
What's common in all of this? Quick, phony shortcuts to those things we most desire: a feeling of self-worth; a release for negative emotions; answers to life's challenging questions; a sense of family, etc.
The racist pretends they're better than others, but actually reveals their weakness and ineptitude. They don't know how to manage their feelings, or solve their confusion, and they're desperate to do both. This warrants pity, but also defensive force if they let their internal failures impose upon others externally.
I’m glad you met a bunch of fun people who grew up in low crime suburban neighborhoods.
Though it's not easy at all.
@@bbblackwell Well said.
EXCELLENT DISCUSSION! Thank you!
Just wonderful. Thank you.
Excellent, I'll check out the books.
This discussion represents one of the more useful and instructive civics lessons for our times. Dialogue instead of a steady diet of polemics is the only sane way forward against those who are rather adept at manipulating us.
We are an uninformed public. When we leave school, we stop learning about many things. People are always screaming about their rights. My daughter has a masters degree in law. When I discussed legal situations with her, I was surprised by how many misconceptions I had about individual rights. I really laughed when TV report that lying by a politician was recently included in legal charges. If every lying public servant was subjected to this, Washington's activity will come to a screeching halt.
Congrats to the guest who referenced pro-wrestling. I've been saying for years ¨you understand pro-wrestling, you understand politics.¨ One party is the face, one is the heel. You boo one and cheer the other. Corporations cash in.
This is pretty right on. Who you cheer or boo really doesn't matter, Vince McMahon still gets paid
@@basedgamerguy818 Trump is in the WWE hall of fame. Coincidence?
This analogy only goes so far, but the main thing to understand is the crass manipulation of the crowd that is taking place behind the scene.
Everything is a rich man's trick on youtube. Watch it for a consice example of your astute hypothosis.
Jesse Ventura explained Trump in light of their shared wrestling background and suddenly Trump made a lot more sense. Still a heel, but he made more sense.
Great interview, thank you! Looking forward to reading the book
This is true. It's a case of having a loud bark but no bite. Americans complain loudly about everything but don't actually do shit to resolve things. It's in the DNA of Americans. The belief in the illusion that Americans can actually say or do things because we are a 'free' society and that everyone here is the same or equal to each other. It's rubbish and it's boring.
Yes, you are shining the spotlight on our failed democracy. All talk.
We are almost as free as societies have ever gotten. Equal, not so much.
Americans are incapable of fighting the government for their rights.
@@baigandinel7956 yes we have even set up special free speech zones.
True, the US is funny that way….we’re free to say and do all manner of ridiculous, destructive things, which is tolerated as long as it doesn’t threaten the status quo. The minute speech or action threatens the status quo narrative, watch how fast it gets shut down.
If we follow Chris speeches from over a decade ago, its spot on , especially now with education system..
Great once again, Thank you!
Because, instead of arguments many people only see 'talking points' and see every discussion as just a power play. They don't care about the truth, they only care about winning.
I'm old enough to have experienced the media prior to the end of the Fairness Doctrine. There was an undeniable shift towards tribalism during the late 80s. Fox News and Limbaugh got there first perhaps, but today, the liberal media is equally guilty.
I think it's fair enough to engage with this history, the cause and effect, but I don't see how the Fairness Doctrine could have survived with the advent of cable TV, satellite radio, the internet and now streaming podcasts on Android Auto and the like. Thousands of choices, AM talk radio has quickly become irrelevant. The spirit of the Doctrine was acknowledging that the public owned the 'airwaves' and media companies were granted a right to use them and to profit from them. They were held to strict standards when it came to political commentary. That worked when there were only 3 major networks and some local radio stations. The Fairness Doctrine was doomed with the new technology that emerged imo. The internet has been as significant as the invention of the printing press and the advent of radio and television. We won't be going back to the 1970s of course.
This freedom we have today could help us to work our way out of this mess we're in if we manage to preserve free speech rights. If we do not allow corporations to dictate terms. Independent commentators can have an impact with a laptop and Wifi connection. It's creating an absolute mess in sense making but it's better than censorship imo. Viewers decide who comes out on top. We're seeing networks like Rumble, Substack, Quillette gaining ground quickly in reaction to mostly liberal censorship online. If you think Glenn Greenwald on Rumble is a right-wing propagandist, you're probably brainwashed by liberal media.
Joe Rogan signed a $100 million contract not because he's tribal and divisive, it's because people are starved for objective sense making. 2 to 3 hour discussions with fascinating figures while CNN is dying off. So many false narratives, fueling hate and division. 'The left is the new right-wing.' Mark Crispin Miller, NYU. Like McCarthy Era blacklisters, religious moralizers. They've become a threat to free speech, tolerance and diversity of thought. We liberals survived the Reagan years by mocking the so called 'Moral Majority', the Woke left deserves the same ridicule. They're intolerant, uninformed fools.
THANK YOU….Brilliantly put and all I can say is I feel so much less lonely when I Queue into programming like this, And read the cogent replies. I’m not completely alone. I had a shower thought in the past couple of months. I grew up in an extremely dysfunctional family and I always felt as if it was an undue burden which of course, it was but at the same time I think it might have prepared me well for the actual world I was being corning too. Having said that, I don’t want to live in a dysfunctional world, And I will take sanity any day I can get it
10 years before that they started arresting everyone who sounded like a hippy commie or was an uppity enough black person. They were using drugs as an excuse/lie to raid the homes of union organizers and other political opponents. That tribalism was inflamed because they've been waging violent boots on the ground war against our citizens. That's how they were able to get the power to dismantle every single protection that their parents put in place against the first wave of gilded age robber barons. The same thing Hitler did with the knight of long knives, destroy everyone who might vote against you then start the atrocities afterwards. The war on drugs costs us the same amount every year that the war on terror did, and the only targets are US citizens, leading to us jailing more people numerically than communist China, an openly fascist country with billions more people.
Lmao, Joe Rogan is "sense making" wtf? no he aint. Divisive and racist, misogynist too
What we are witnessing is the death of OBJECTIVE TRUTH ! 😢
Hooray, TRNN & Hooray, Chris Hedges. Keep the message flowing. Cast your bread upon the waters, & pray & hope! ❤
Well, I learned a new biblical saying. Thanks, Mousie. Seems, however, no one knows how to interpret it, i.e., what it means. Btw. I love mice.
Excellent topic that can't be addressed enough. Thanks for doing this.
Often it is not until something is broken that we look back and see it's strengths.
There is something to be said for social cohesion, unity and empathy.
We were pushed into abandoning all that to replace it with a competitive society. We traded human rights for consumer choice, workers unions replaced by labour hire agencies taking a 50% cut, job security replaced with casualisation of the workforce morphing into a precariat as we all aspire to be Ayn Rand heroic entrepreneurs. ...someone pass the sick bucket...I think I'm going to ...
Great critical thinking in the public interest. My first jobs out of college were with the PIRGs, doing eco-social consumer advocacy. They taught me about Ralph Nader, Sierra Club, Greenpeace, and Oxfam, a good start in NGOs and Civil Society. I also began researching pro-social green businesses, and later learned about food co-op grocery-supermarkets, credit unions, and green power co-ops, besides the whole co-op movement, which is a big part of Social Europe. Fair Trade cert is a co-op based idea. All that is key, otherwise people are blind in a lot of ways about their own consumerism and the need for worldviews beyond ideological forms of materialism. Spiritual-religious experience is a big part of that that Hedges has touched on as far as he goes. I like to refer back to Gandhi, Rev MLK, and Fannie Lou Hamer, but even further back and in a pivotal time and place, George Fox, who led the co-founding of the Quaker Friends with spiritualized practice, valuing individuals, women, and protesting injustice. That was the grounding for their spurring University-based activity reflecting on slavery and abolition, and T Clarkson´s dissenting Anglican emergence in joining the Quakers and others in a non-sectarian society.
Sounds like us growing up by the UW Madison, and we were equally “indoctrinated” - hiking, biking, fishing, swimming, skating, love of nature,
@@user-bh1fo2wg1g Right, "indoctrinated," getting at the differences in meaning. It was training and orientation as education. Ralph Nader was a dynamic figure for some time and in founding the PIRGs especially. Training for citizenship in the public interest, while also being a Consumer Advocate was really a crucial phenomenon as part of the 1960s.
I´m glad you can relate, although I came across many outdoor types, including my brother out of Berkeley, who lost or weren´t much more than nature hike loving consumers, and were still tied to a lot of materialism. Progressive Christians like Barack Obama and Al Gore would be amazing if they scheduled some tours of food co-ops etc, not-for-profits like the PIRGs, Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Oxfam, labor unions and so on. Al Gore has done a lot of good, but has his nose a bit stuck in the big money, it seems.
Awesome journalism
Thank you again for another informative episode!
Can’t wait to get the book!
I just bought the book for Kindle. It's a must read.
The more I hear the less I trust my wellbeing to politicians.
Washington has turned into Barnum and Bailey.
I remember when a paperback book was $12 and now they’re $35-45
Very important topic...thank you all! I believe that the best way to overcome what ails us as a society is to personally become more truthful, transparent, and ethical. The world is a reflection of our desires and thoughts, not the stories we weave for public consumption. The more we lie to ourselves and others, the more we participate in the destruction of that which is good. If we become better, the world will as well. As within so without.
In a corporate capitalist society there is NO society-wide place for truth, transparency nor ethics. ALL of these values are overwhelmed by forced allegiances to corporatist cultures.
It takes a supreme effort to free our words, our actions and even our thinking from the constant pressure to conform to the authoritarian nature of such hierarchical entities.
@@ivandafoe5451 Yup. But why would you subject yourself? Just give in and enjoy the baubles and distractions of capitalism.
I pray that it’s true that if we all become better somehow we have an effect that’s larger than we can conceive of. I guess in a mercenary way, that’s my motto or credo but I have no proof that it actually does make a difference. But what else is there to do?
Reason is powerless to change an opinion that is based on emotion.
Great guest. We salute you. Cheers!
I wish to pay great compliments to Mr. Chris Hedges. He really has a sense what the American Constitution wanted from this New Society, 'The Americans.'
I pay obeisance to you in your erudition and what fairness means. Congratulations!
If we can’t communicate effectively with each other, not just literally but in the broader sense, we’re doomed. Communication is key to actually solving problems. People won’t make the effort to understand others’ perspectives or positions, in fact conflict and miscommunication is encouraged as it creates drama and drama is what sells, and this seeps into everything.
I have little desire to communicate with evil leftists. Forsake your evil, be grounded in reality for once in your life, and then we can come to the table.
I believe technology has made it effortless for the few directly responsible for this demonic witches brew of controlled chaos,
and when you mentally put the pieces of the puzzle together
searching for a logical reason anyone would deliberately asure billions of people experience
unimaginable horrific existence before death you find your answer
cohensides with a 3 thousand y//o prophecy
For the American Empire to survive, the fairness doctrine had to be eliminated, because the argument FOR Empire could not thrive with ANY alternate policy ideas getting equal airtime!
Thank you for this excellent segment, I'll be donating.
As usual, excellent interview 🥰
In our neo-liberal capitalist society everything devolves into whether something makes a profit or not. Our news media is just another example of the inevitable degradation resulting from such a system.
I think our news media used to be funded, in part, and fact based. the media wasn't expected to support itself, it had help, so it could do a good job reporting, as it is specifically necessary to our democracy.
Debate & discussion risks cutting into profits, so it must be squashed. You are perfectly correct.
Neo-liberal, I mean trump couldn't debate for sht either. Left, Right, Liberal, Conservative, they are becoming two sides of the same bs coin.
Until the media stops pushing pro-corporate propaganda they will continue to wither
@@EvolutionWendy You mean government funded/subsidized? I agree there should be a place for that model, but even PBS was taken over decades ago by corporate donors.
Would love some discourse on the new “media literacy” being taught in schools, starting with New Jersey. I fear it’s not at all the literacy you’re talking about here, but rather, corporate backed, security state, acceptable literacy.
Believe me, I have seen what’s in those modern day textbooks and I can’t imagine anybody’s gonna be able to go against whatever narrative they sling….. That’s wishful thinking. Especially in public schools. God help us
“To be evenminded is the greatest virtue."
― Heraclitus
Really Excellent! Thanks😊
“Divide et Emperum”
Depending on who you're saying is doing the dividing, you could be making a recommendation or warning us that The People's enemies have done a fine job of dividing us and conquering us. I'm getting the vibe that you are saying allowing dissent and encouraging debate IS dividing us, but you are possibly going on the assumption that the establishment is doing a fine job and there's no reason to debate anything!
I’m not sure how you came to that conclusion. Debate and dissent are not only not encouraged but increasingly not even tolerated. We confront a false dichotomy when considering our two major parties. I’m reminded of Freud’s “narcissism of minor differences.” The “debates” that rage are staged. It’s misdirection. While Americans are at each other’s throats over the minutiae and looking the other way, corporate power continues to consolidate and quality of life sharply declines. We are presented with what we are told are two equal and opposite forces outside of which there is nothing worth consideration. As long as “debate” is confined within the narrow parameters set by these “sides” it will be amplified to the exclusion of all else. Eventually, because it is the only thing you can hear, the resulting belief is that it is all you need to hear. When both halves of the country are being sold the notion that the other half is actively engaged in its destruction, you don’t question it, you fight back. This is what it means to divide and conquer.
@@glintinggold “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb debating over what’s for dinner.” Benjamin Franklin.
Divisiveness comes easy in a duopoly…
Use the identity politics to divide the society people are so afraid of one another that they surrender their freedom and decision making power to the Government. This is how cancel culture rose and left/liberals became pro-censorship and anti-privacy.
A debate needs an audience. You cannot change a person's mind in direct conversation. They'll usually say something like "I'll think about it" or similar (which is actually really good if they do think about it). In any fair debate, the audience always wins. :)
Chris you are one of my heroes. What wasn't dealt with in regards to the fairness doctrine was how it made a difference in the red baiting House Un American activities committee era? You tried to interject the lies from the "left" relative to the Fox/ Limbaugh in later years but I was left with the feeling that that discussion never really got fleshed out or answered.
I'm thinking of buying their books but I didn't get the feeling from their answers to your questions that I would obtain more information and answers I am looking for.
Thanks Chris for your self sacrificing life fighting for justice, truth, peace, and educating people like me.
I cannot applaud the content enough to really express how impressed I am with the conversation. This really is needed in this mad world we live in. If it continues the result will be tragic. And that includes Europe too. Even if the level is lower than in US it exist here too.
You really are a buffoon aren't you?
@@Hugh-Glass It could be a better way to express ones opinion to base it on facts and opinions with some sort of level one could respond to. But I guess insults is what was urgently needed for you.
@@svenhanson398 just sort of wanted to insult you. I know I would never have success in swaying you, you are beyond redemption or salvation. Terminal buffoonery is my professional opinion.
I have to admit that I struggle to not see politicians from most sides as liars and those that support them as supporters of liars. It's tantamount to impossible for me to not get emotional when I see so much injustice, the spiders spinning webs left right and centre seemingly. Still, I agree, debating is crucial to turning the tide.
What? Dinosaurs didn’t live along with Adam and Eve? There goes my day... Great discussion!
Well actually dinosaurs (giant lizards) turned out to be big birds and Adam and Eve were not the first people and the did not live in paradise.
But then again, History is a story. And stories change over time.
@GasMaskWW3 I am referring to the insight that dinosaurs would be more aptly called dinoavians as they are more closely related to birds than to lizards. As an illustration of how stories about the past change over time.
The bible is a fantastic set of stories and philosophies from the dawn of written history. But modern theoretical physics and geography are beautiful stories as well. And like the bible these stories will be replaced again by different stories in the future.
Then how did they crack their coconuts? Don't buy the secular hype!
Aww, Howie, sure they did. I loved a cartoon by the late French cartoonist, Charb, where Eve is telling Adam to take the tyrannosaur (waiting patiently on its leash) out for its walk, & on the floor is its dish marked "Rex." Sadly, Charb (Stéphane Charbonnier) was killed in the 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris.
Well done. I tuned into a new platform called "Rattlesnake", which is gaining traction. It's young, grandstanding face was extolling the virtue of Jordan Peterson and how good a job he does at"shutting down " people who don't agree with you, and similar content.
I watched a recent MSNBC interview with Russell Brand, who was promoting his tour.
"Morning Joe" hosts were rude and dismissive, referring to him in the third person as he was clearly there! Instead of conversation about his show or anything of substance, he was barraged by questions about his attire and "eccentricity". To Brand's credit, he was able to be respectful and to answer with his calm, comic point of view.
He succeeded in making the three panelists visibly anxious and unnerved. Keep it up.
Also, the indoctrination of "no talk about politics and religion" silenced and blocked the debate and deterred needed protestation, demonstration, for one movement, that is, "Anti War"
I went to a Taiwanese get together consisting of Pharmacists, dentists, PhDs, CPA and highly educated people with at least a Master's Degree, if not a Ph.D. of dozens attendees.
When I raised a political question of "Ukraine Proxy War" I was immediately called off not to talk about Politics and Religion. I protested that if we can't talk about the critical issues which hold our necks about finance, our children's future.
I was told it is mandatory that talking points are not allowed. The discussion only between personal matters and social subjects. I don't go to those events, because the events become a social function only.
Case of Point, "Meetups" groups, also, are not allowed to talk about religion and politics. I guess, that is, a design program to kill the " DEBATE POLITICS". Same as all the companies not allowed to talk about "Politics and Religions"
So Odds, what education are for? If one is censored what to talk, what to think and what to do? Even in the private function, who is watching you and policing you what to say?
Why those blinded to comply with the mandate in private function. The designed program worked magically.
Taiwanese is the front Running for the US Agenda by any means at any rate, that they paid for all the Politicians including Mike Pompeo and Pelosi's visitation, each paid couple of Millions US Dollars, in addition to all the trips covered.
Many good comments.
I think the key word in this topic is 'fear'. Fear of losing identity, fear of losing control, fear of stepping outside of the group, fear of not having any sense of agency, fear of change. The reason there is so much fear comes down to isolation. Before tv and internet etc, people were isolated in their village or district. They stayed there to support the community and because of safety in numbers. TV and social media has created similar communities where people can identify with certain values and gain a sense of power and energy from belonging or even becoming an influencer in these groups.
What is missing is a 3rd party and /or a personal ability to distance oneself from the emotions that the group carries. There needs to be some emphasis on how to become objective and therefore keeping self-control, as opposed to letting oneself become subjective and of becoming a subject of the emotional power that some of these media groups emit.
There needs to be a triangular relationship between the self, the media group and a separate entity or medium through which the information exchange can be filtered and moderated. Some people can filter and reflect independently, while others definitely need some help and guidance to do that. If the information exchange is only between the self and the media group and there is no 3rd party or moderator, and the individual cannot self-moderate his or her thoughts, then the group's ideals will gain momentum, potentially leading to conflict. I think this problem exists even very high up in American corporate society. Those in power have no moderators and have lost the ability to self-moderate.can we teach people who are so powerful to do that?
I am not a church goer or in any way religious, but we can take this triangular relationship back to Genesis where 'God' is telling Eve not to eat from that tree over there. This aroused her curiosity and she decided to check out the fruit. The tree of consciousnesses is not about covering one's nether regions with a fig leaf but rather about the energy that is released from any give and take relationship. If the relationship is negative, the energy released will spiral into negativity. If the relationship can remain positive either through self moderation or with the guiding hand of a protective 3rd party, then the energy from the relationship should be positive and grow, potentially exponentially...scuse the rap.
@@skog44
Eloquently written, thank you.❤️
HRC on Julian Assange: “Can’t we just drone this guy?”
Great Work!!!!
Beautiful conversation
Fuck AmeriKKKa
Binary thinking. If nothing exists between Zero and One there is no space for compromise, hence no room for debate. Binary thinking (and the manipulation of it ) is killing us in all respects.
100% agree! The fact is, nothing BUT compromise has happened. Therefore you have proven the second sentence a fallacy. There is PLENTY that exists between zero and one, therefore there IS space for compromise; as things stand that is all that ever happens, and we continually lose ground. Something has to be changed to reverse that trend; what shall it be and how shall it get done?
@@glintinggold By this logic, one half has to destroy the other half. That is happening already, as one half of the world is being paid to poison the other half.. Having said that, I don't believe it. I used to think that conflict and compromise were always on the table for us to choose, not absolutely, but in appropriate portions. If they are only absolute choices, then a third option is on the table, which is to simply walk away. In a totalitarian construct (where we are now) there is no walking away for those who might represent the possibility of any alternative. They will be hunted down. A fallacy, in other words.
My strategy in all this has been to get ahead of the predictable curve of all this and show, by my opponents' own logic and record, where all this is going, and try to get the information out virally, and then get back to riding point. If the parties I give the information to ignore it or cannot be reasoned with, then I figure Ii am on my own, and nothing is to be done. Increasingly, that's where I'm at with it.
Thank you for your thoughtful response.
Morality is binary.
@@gonzalolirasbartab5200 Ideally. But survival is complicated.
@OG Sky Watch Which makes me wonder, what is more dangerous; a perceived enemy or a perceived friend? There is a saying; "The sheep fears the wolf at the treeline, but it is the Shepard who steals her babies." Are we not being shepherded? There is another saying; "the devils' greatest trick is to convince people that he does not exist." Games within games.
Another excellent discussion that none of my social media friends (ok, maybe 1 or 2) will see when I share it because it seems the major platforms are simply not interested in allowing my friends and followers to see anything of import.
Oh get over yourself
Thank you very much.
True words. I remember the times when a Rep and a Dem could drink a beer together.
Got some great notes from this. Empathy first not last. The rational debate cannot begin if feelings are ignored. This takes time and energy and persitance. Practicing empathy keeps us strong and healthy for when the climate is fair for debate.
So appropriate as we witness the struggle to elect a speaker of the house, and the ridicule heaped upon those who dare to dissent from the uni party orthodoxies. Also so sad to see children cutting off communication with their parents because they disagree politically, when blood ties and love might transcend these petty politics that will mean nothing on our deathbeds. No one is going to care about Trump on their deathbed, except his loved ones.
And then not even, I would wager
Mickey is my role model.
Everybody please shared this - thank you; your Honor thank you for sharing the correct information
Just goes to show you how true literacy works compared to being illiterate. Facts, proof, an evidence. Checking the source of the information. This is 101 when you're in a situation with higher learning i.e.. The collegiate level. Yes we have a lot of small-minded people on this planet critical thinking is something of the past. Yes respect for each other very important. Yes self reflection is a start
Thank you Chris. Can there can be any critical debate in an environment saturated with propaganda?
The system is rigged.
"I've always thought if writers don't define morality, businessmen will."- Saul Bellow
As far as developing an appropriately nuanced sense of what is meant by "truth," I can only tell you about what worked for me. There were two principal areas of study involved. The first, which in my experience is a slightly tougher nut, is serious phenomenology. The second is deductive logic in the form of relational predicate calculus (i.e., symbolic logic). My entire processing apparatus was overturned in the most shocking manner I have ever experienced.
Hi, T.. I'm reminded of the issue as cited by Palomades in Homers epic where Odeesius frames him as a traitor... And Palomades is sentenced to death, he shouts "Truth I mourn you who have predeceased me"
Social media has made this problem so much worse
Just don't use it... It's not necessary at all...
So very very true! In fact I am in awe at the information shared regarding The Christian And Missionary Alliance Churches that just moved their Nation Headquarters from Colorado Springs, Colorado to Columbus ( Reynoldsburg), Ohio. I wonder about their connection & ties to The growing Vineyard Church ( Rich Nathan) Plant global movement and their ties to The UK Vineyard USA global movements. When I think of the possibility of John Kasich being tied to both as well as attending the WEF meetings we may be in for a surprise when Kasich is announced ( someway, somehow as the next President of The United States. He is the greatest privatization Governor in the world. He quietly throws stones behind our back and then lays low long enough only to arise as the NO.1 Savior of The World. Thank you for this story you are again giving us much needed vital information.
As always, a critically important and informative conversation.
Privatization is just the government’s way of avoiding the constitution.
What...how did you get that so wrong?
Privatization is the corporate state's way of avoiding the constitution.
Wealth transfer
@@ivandafoe5451 that’s exactly what I said. Verbatim.
@@skrrt-skrrt Yep. What's the diff?
Who needs it? Just take to twitter and call one another names 🙄
The USA democracy is NOT dying, IT WAS NEVER ALIVE!!! Nothing has changed! Same old, same old, just look at US history and how it has treated Americans who have complained. It all started with a black American being WORTH one fifth of a white American, which STILL is in our 247 year OLD Constitution, just as a REMINDER.
Thank you !