Chris Hedges ~ The Greatest Evil is War

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Pulitzer-prize-winning author Chris Hedges discusses his new book, The Greatest Evil is War.
THE GREATEST EVIL IS WAR is an unflinching indictment of the horror and obscenity of war by one of our finest war correspondents. The book is available from Banyen: banyen.com/item/kJGRmM40TbfAq...
“Chris Hedges has compiled a remarkable record of reporting and analysis. He has been an incomparable source of insight and understanding, both in his outstanding career as a courageous journalist and in his penetrating commentary on world events. This is a contribution of great significance in these troubled times.” -NOAM CHOMSKY
CHRIS HEDGES is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and senior fellow at The Nation Institute. He was a foreign correspondent and bureau chief in the Middle East and the Balkans for fifteen years for The New York Times. Chris Hedges is host of the Emmy Award­-nominated RT America show On Contact. He is the bestselling author of Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt (with cartoonist Joe Sacco); Death of the Liberal Class; Empire of Illusion; and War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning, among others. He writes a weekly original column for Truthdig, and has written for Harper’s, The New York Review of Books, The Nation, Adbusters, Foreign Affairs, and other publications. He has taught at Columbia University, New York University, Princeton University, and the University of Toronto. He has taught college credit courses through Rutgers University in the New Jersey prison system since 2013.
BANYEN BOOKS is Canada's most comprehensive bookstore specializing in spirituality and healing. Located in Vancouver, Canada, since 1970, Banyen is open for in-person browsing as well as web & mail orders. Visit for books, products, and upcoming events: www.banyen.com/
Interview Host: Ross McKeachie
Event & Podcast Curator, Producer, & Editor: Jacob Steele

[@JillianEmerson-me8cx]

I was a college student during the VietNam war and the civil rights era. I have suffered major depression during my entire adult life thereafter. I now understand that this personal depression is intertwined with the horrific politics of the time and that I live in a militarized society where war is glorified, our language is violence and everything else is incidental. I listen to Chris Hedges and now understand that my personal struggles with mental health are part and parcel of the “ culture” I live in.

[@mischevious]

Have a listen to Gabor Mate on our societal case of complex PTSD for a deeper understanding of what we’re all dealing with.

[@bonsense7004]

It is indeed hard to look at and live in a world of duality that is so easily played upon by those in power. Especially now that they want to extend to absolute power. It are they who make people surf on negative emotions, causing conflicts and chaos in society. We all have a trigger point to switch to the best version of ourselves but also to the cruel vengeful version. Those in power are playing, of course, not to magnify our best versions. Happy peaceful humans will not empty their stocks of arms, will not destroy cities, where after the rich can sign lucrative rebuilding contracts. As long as we let us be played to develop our evil side, we forget that we are humans, capable of love and compassion, and we serve the unscrupulous gangsters who corrupt and dehumanize by their monetary system.

[@stutzbearcat5624]

You gotta learn how to compartmentalize.

[@mischevious]

@@stutzbearcat5624 That’s not a learnable ability, rather an automatic self defense mechanism the brain employs, typically without even our conscious awareness of it.

[@youyatubetak7624]

Exactly , good one , "The myth of normal" Gabor mates latest ... then theres the krishnamurti line : "its no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society"

[@user-kq6ri3dt5m]

Chris Hedges is an Eloquent, Brilliant, Compassionate Voice desperately Needed today !

[@ninopavkovic9382]

Big respect for Chris Hedges !

[@bingalong]

Mr. Hedges is brilliant, thank you!!! So clear and right!

[@kittysawtelle5552]

Chris hedges..a national treasure!!! One of the few with common sense!! Knows more about literature and philosophy than so many. Makes his analyses deep

[@silverfox9285]

100%%%

[@adstix]

It all begins with the most benign inconsideration towards one's neighbor! That arrogant inconsideration is ALWAYS the starting point! That audacity to encroach into the other person's "space" with reckless abandon! That mindset that military might is right! And when you now have a populist leader (backed by an unscrupulous media) fanning the embers of violence, ugly wars soon become a reality! Let's begin to teach kids the importance of tolerance and consideration. And also keep them away from vicious video games that make them numb towards violence!

[@jjutt87]

"Hell is the inability to love."

[@tuckerbugeater]

Putin and the Russians only needed hugs

[@ermias01]

That truly is a revelation indeed!

[@keithwells8489]

3 Major issues that are not on the table when it comes to war is 1) Environmental destruction-loss of animal life/habitat 2)Vast resources to assemble transport & utilize weapons 3)Money gone to war in obscene amounts that could be used to retool rewild habitats, retrain and train out of work people for new jobs in those fields. I heard nothing in his talk on any of these issues. I agree with his message, just wish someone would bring these front and center combined with the other issues. Thank you

[@michaelrch]

Indeed. On the investment point, even in a narrow economic context, while money could be spent investing in a more productive and more efficient economy, building infrastructure and capacity, investment in war is literally the opposite. It is money spent in the destruction of infrastructure, the destruction of people, the destruction of economic capacity. Like so much of capitalism, it is an industry that directly gains from others losses.

[@gmw3083]

Don't worry. Civilizations crumble. No exceptions. Abandon the city for the hinterland. Watch the show from a distance and prepare....

[@michaelrch]

@@gmw3083 that won't help. Climate breakdown is going to make food production very hard in many places. Whole swaths of the US will be very hard to live in without imported food and water.

[@gmw3083]

@@michaelrch Yeah, especially with all the migrants rushing in. I'm in north western Canada. Far from the population. Crop yeilds are usually good. Of course, industrial farming will break down. I don't care. Like I wrote above, prepare....

[@mischevious]

@@michaelrchYour close. Environmental collapse, or collapse of the Earth’s biosphere- the thin layer of life covering the Earth and the intertwined living systems that make it all work together, is already well underway and nearing the end point. Is already causing dramatic declines in annual crop yields. So we’re already losing our ability to grow crops at civilizational scale, rapidly. A civilization’s viability can be measured solely by it’s ability to grow crops at scale. Loss of that ability leads to civilization collapse. But it won’t stop there, eventually we’ll be unable to grow or raise any food, which will be a loss of habitat for the human animal. We’re a part of the living world, utterly dependent on nature for our own survival. If nature can’t survive, and we know she’s already on the ropes gasping under the weight of our activities, neither can we. Positioning yourself and growing your own food will work for a time, assuming you want to stick around for that time. But that time won’t be easy, or fun, or pain free, or pretty. And sooner more likely than later, it will also end.

[@ujean56]

War's effect reaches across generations. Both of my parent were veterans of WWII. My six siblings and I lived with two people who were racked with mourning, depression, and PTSD throughout their lives. The war was the greatest event in their lives and they never really came back from it. The damage done to the children of war is generally an untold story but is potent enough to shape the social outlook and the intimate life of millions.

[@nickigonzales5544]

Thank you for sharing. I’m the daughter of a Vietnam Vet who served in 1967-68.

[@JillianEmerson-me8cx]

The secret is to build real relationships with the oppressed. These are Hedges’ words; another form of divine madness. Takes courage and compassion most of us have to work to achieve.

[@odiferousmusky1299]

Absolutely the truth, something I’m beginning to understand

[@gracewright7938]

I love to listen to Chris Hedges, he dissects things so well, but I must say it makes me sick to hear some of these things we as a country do, lie to the people, and the majority of the people believe them and refuse to hear sometimes we are the monsters. Great video

[@Keithmable]

I live a majority of time in Vietnam now. While just a child at time of conflict I have learned alot of the atrocities we did here, that still taints the society. Much propagated in name of perpetuating greed of war. Luckily they are a peaceful people in general and much of the people are too young to know what happened here. The museums here show a reality the US doesn't highlight.

[@gracewright7938]

@@Keithmable I have been to Vietnam, I am so jealous you live there. It is a lovely place and the people are so forgiving. I hope Vietnam and it's people have the same peaceful life I found in 2018 when I was there, forever .

[@Keithmable]

yes, been coming here for over 13 years.. cities just getting more crowded in largest .. but still fun.. north people more shy but just smile and all works.:) airfare more money than pre covid by 50% but domestic travel , hotels, food transport a great deal... tourism not back yet.. be another year.. good time to explore again. :) @@gracewright7938

[@jsnedd66]

Chris Heges is one! of the most important observers commentators .we are privileged to have on our side . God bless and keep him safe .

[@veronicasanacion]

Often in times when humans face horror (i.e. genocide) those who are already great become even greater. Chris Hedges is great. He combines a high intellect with emotional intelligence, plus courage and humility. How many people have such a mix?

[@sharonhearne5014]

My father administered agriculture production for a Texas prison system and, because he was a very devout Christian he stopped the behind-the-scenes illegal exchange of goods and services by locals inside the organization. Because of the resentment of those within the system it filtered down even to my sister and me as we rode the school bus with students of all ages. The older students abused us under the gaze of and with the approval of the school bus adult driver. All of this is a tiny example of the cruelty you see enacted within the structure of war where excuses waive decent humane behavior toward fellow humans and innocents.

[@saram4318]

Thank you for allowing a non biased voice to come out

[@HexValdez]

Brilliant interview. Thank you.

[@brianrobinson3236]

Brilliant, brilliant discussion. Hedges is always deeply inspiring, and profoundly moving as well. When I'd finished listening to him this time, curiously I was reminded of Samuel Beckett's world -- the utter clarity with which he views the world, the emotional intensity but with a complete absence of any hint of false sentimentality. He has seen hell and come back to tell us about it, but with the vital, and unbearable, truth that it's always here and always now if we look and pay honest attention. I suppose there are two fundamentally polar opposite ways of dealing with it, one is to deny and always look away, the other is to plunge right into the thick of it, if not physically then intellectually. Maybe that doesn't make sense, but it's what I felt by the end of the discussion. Thanks very much indeed for letting us see and hear it.

[@monkeebizz5997]

The clear and present reality is that to deny the fact God who cannot lie has warned us that living by the sword brings death by the sword and guess who's time to die this is? He answers it when he says this military industrial issue which is nation wide south 9f the border and also country wide up here no doubt will indeed most likely be laid waste because of the cowardice of those posing as men in all of north America to bring to ruin their own regime or administration. Yuri Bezmenov in that 103 minute article said it best 8n the end and at the 43 minute mark i n the video I suggest 0eople look it up and watch it three times if not more to understand we have lost our religion and the fact these western world Christians are Satanists yet too blind to see it in themselves The truth hurts but I have to say it because 6ou are all about to be laid waste in similarity to reaping what you collectively have sown. Amen (so be it)😮

[@Danfischer81]

This should be part of all US/Canada civics curricula - A masterclass in humanity - Great interview! Thank you!

[@joellamkins7847]

Thank you Chris Hedges for always having the courage to speak the truth.

[@tuckerbugeater]

It's easy for him to speak the truth with the comfort and safety created by real men

[@hersheylima5482]

Wow! I'm going to have to read King Lear again "privilege makes you blind"

[@user-ky6il3lf1i]

You can sense the depths of Hedges genuine concern for humanity, his empathy for the oppressed, and his desire for a better world. We need more journalists like Hedges, those bold enough to tell the truth instead of merely serving as an echo chamber for the rich and their corporate masters

[@kp6215]

Chris has been my pastor as was Malcom.

[@tuckerbugeater]

You should stop worshiping men

[@robertanderson350]

Must be a heavy experience being Mr. Hedges. He reminds me of the protagonist monk in the The Name of the Rose. Praying for him and all those suffering in these times.

[@johnmitchell8925]

I love Chris content. I wish he would do more interviews 😊

[@mollacghq9]

Dr Chris Heges ,not only a journalist ,author but everything! All journalists ,medias, think tankers must learn from this brave,wisdom,intelectual human and react to live with peace in this beautiful world and naurish human human minds the value of life !

[@ogfoundation]

Wow, excellent interview. Well done host 👍

[@aamir-hk8px]

What a brilliant mind that understands the driving factors behind conflicts and wars and the dire consequences that they create.

[@flowermaze___]

Great conversation. A powerful rational and very intelligent voice amidst everything. Thanks guys! Hope this goes a long way to making changes

[@xDemonTech]

thank you for covering this book, great interview

[@antoniojazouli1160]

Sir I have been educated by your knowledge and wisdom in the field of politics and international affairs sir please accept my sincere regards thank you very much

[@Spock_Rogers]

Thank you for having Mr. Hedges on. Subscribed. 👍

[@kwest91304]

A brave and brilliant man, someone worth listening to.

[@Janewomanpower]

what a great human being!!!

[@tuckerbugeater]

Yeah he actually doesn't have any skin in the game and doesn't have to worry about anything except for critiquing the system he benefited from

[@Janewomanpower]

@@tuckerbugeater OMGosh! I can't do this tonight. Nope. Sigh

[@sgturner59]

Thanks for this.

[@rec9264]

I always learn something from Chris Hedges. Thank you for this interview.

[@nsbd90now]

"And they executed the fisherman who carried me..."

[@marccano5061]

I just returned from a Christmas trip to Mexico City, what struck me was the profound cultural differences between the two countries, and the warmth of the Mexican people something I don't see in most Americans. The manner in which they address you is so different than in Anglo- American culture. I could tell most people work for low wages, but there's this warmth that doesn't exist in the US. I always the street vendors eeking out an existence, people trying to sell their wares and the economic levels that exist as well as subtle ethnic differences in Mexico.

[@whatmeworry7184]

"The Greatest Evil is War" and so is the money behind it.

[@noblshtplz]

Although not necessarily a Nixon fan, I have often considered his honest quote on war. "Short of changing human nature...the only way to achieve a practical livable peace in a world of competing nations is to take the profit out of war."

[@whatmeworry7184]

@@noblshtplz He's absolutely right.

[@jamescalandrillo3181]

Thank you for this wonderful interview with the knowledgeable, and freely speaking Chris Hedges, who is an encyclopedia of information on all that is important to know on this our journey on a war torn planet. Also thanks for Chris' explaining of what he calls a moral imperative.

[@geoffreynhill2833]

I've watched Chris's vids for years. If he's retired now I don't blame him but I'll miss him a lot. 🤔("Green Fire", geoff nelson hill, UK )🌈🦉

[@zezefulfule]

Wonderful

[@geyerbrad1]

join us, work along with us at the CutThePentagon Coalition, Veterans for Peace and friends

[@menudobucket9837]

Suicides among military veterans as of about ten years ago (2013/14) were as many as 22 per day.

[@gabrielmaroto18]

There was a military sniper on the Larry Wilmore show and he said the military taught us how to kill they did not teach us how to live with it

[@menudobucket9837]

@@gabrielmaroto18~ That’s a fact. I was in the Marine Corps in Vietnam and I learned how to kill quite efficiently, but having to live with what happened wasn’t easy.

[@gabrielmaroto18]

@@menudobucket9837 I did four years of ROTC and high school was going to join the army after graduation former military officer told me not to Best advice ever

[@onerider808]

War and the Soul, by Ed Tick addresses the costs of war.

[@tuckerbugeater]

And who gave him the safety to speak with such certainty

[@sereanaduwai8313]

Ashoka the Great after a great battle saw the battlefield covered with dead bodies. It was then he realised how deadly the killing of another human being was. It was the he vowed “never again” . He decided that if he ever wanted to “ conquer” people again it was going to be through peaceful means and the use of knowledge. That is the legacy he left when he sent his emissaries to the rest of Asia. That is why you see all those Temples as far as Bali , Japan , China and almost the whole of South Asia. Pity not too many Leaders and countries have learnt the lessons of Ashoka the Great.

[@mohsinafzaal7159]

❤❤❤

[@hannah4peace]

Chris doesn't waste one word..... thank you

[@rdavis7350]

‘… in the final stages of totalitarianism an absolute evil appears absolute because it can no longer be deduced from humanly comprehensible motives.’ -The Origins of Totalitarianism. Hannah Arendt

[@OldJackWolf]

No, I personally think fossil fuel driven abrupt climate change will be even worse than war, perhaps worse than all past wars combined. I think this because I understand the consequences of both on a personal and professional level. (A scientist mom who saw 3 of her boys go to war.) And I do wish Hedges would speak about it more, if anything, to warn of what's ahead. Thank you.

[@carmenonea3800]

worthy and unworthy victims along the chosen ones devide...by deviding God we fail to respect life and peace.

[@deanhowell9251]

I was introduced to ya at city of Santaimoica Calif woman's club!

[@vivalaleta]

Amen.

[@pipnipipa7627mimmahappunchaol]

Seasons Greetings At Christmas 2023

[@tonycaine5930]

I believe America is the Beast of the book of Revelation

[@Spock_Rogers]

My stepdad died in 1998, when he was 48. I still think that (undeclared) war killed him.

[@vthilton]

War was invented.

[@RonnieMinh]

Love is the only way to defeat war.

[@abrogard142]

gpt can't find a direct quote for the dostoevsky 'hell is the inability to love' but reckons it is a theme of his...

[@MsDarylM]

From The Brothers Karamazov

[@abrogard142]

@@MsDarylM Thank you for that. :)

[@cidacosta6182]

Newton's Law of "action producing reaction"! This is what Hamas (and others) seems to be!!

[@Queenie-the-genie]

I am not on one side or the other as far as the Middle East is concerned but I do want to point out that the “saintly” practice of suicide bombing is a horrific thing to deal with. Why people have so much difficulty living together in peace is such a strange thing to contemplate. No mention is made - most of the time of the recent terrorist attack for for some reason.

[@sanadahmani1301]

I suggest that you should imagine that you are that person who bombed him self. I don't know but, i think it is the hardest thing he did, and he end his life because his live, i think, was end before that moment. It is not from nothing that he did that savage thing.

[@shamim621]

I think you step off the propaganda machine and be open minded, the listen to Chris Hedges again

[@christophersuits7582]

Yet war persists.

[@deanhowell9251]

And why..?

[@jjutt87]

Masculine/Femenin < Numbness/Feeling

[@facilitiesmaintenance]

So, men need to feel again. I wouldn't call the military a hypermasculine environment, but a masculine environment. Masculinity is toxic. We men are numb. Learning to feel is key to reclaiming our full humanity.

[@Diana-jx1ju]

What would actually bring a lessening of power of the American arms regime?

[@esoterodactyl]

Who's a more accomplished journalist? "I covered the conflict in Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador for five years. I spent seven years in the Middle East; significant time in Gaza, I covered the first two Palestinian uprising. I covered the civil war in Yemen, I covered the war in Algeria after the 1991 overthrow of the government. I covered the first war, entered Kuwait with first battalion first marines. and then I was in Bosra during shi'ite uprising after the war. when I was taken prisoner by the Iraqi Republican guard for a when and then covered Northern Iraq. I covered the PKK fighting in Southeastern Turkey, and then I would be shipped off to all sorts of conflicts. The Sudan was worked in, in the Punjab, and then I went onto Yugoslavian, was based in Saro, and covered the war in Bosnia, and the siege of Sarajevo, and then the last where I covered was Kosovo, and then, after that I was in Paris, and I covered Al-Q-eda in Europe.

[@micheldisclafani2343]

Humanity will reach civilization only when war will be substitute by international laws and efficient diplomacy. Presently war makes human prehistoric.

[@brandahmessenger433]

Have you read Stephen Covey’s The Third Alternative? ❤❤❤

[@user-nl9wj1lw2p]

Before Ukraine and Poland, France and Germany lost wars againt Rusija too 😢😢😢

[@HelenaWilliams8696]

Now, the world has gone mad...power, capitalism, fascist governments, corruption, wars, racism and global climate upheavals are causing severe mental health issues for humans. In my experience the best treatment to control depression is reading, poetry gives positive thoughts, listening to classical music and watching drama plays on KZbin are excellent economical treatments for the soul.

[@sturgis8483]

Dear Helena, the world is and has always been mad , sweetheart only the technology has changed allowing information true and false to be exchanged more effectively. The good old days we look back to was a time when we were unaware of what was actually going on.

[@tomkarnes69]

Tangential Tangential Tangential

[@randee51]

Americans are too worried about the Super Bowl and the Grammy's to realize what will happen to them too.

[@alfred-vz8ti]

explain that to the russians who fought the nazi invasion.

[@Avantgarde909]

The Greatest Evil is “Forget”. Because the most Evils take place as an Effect of “Forget” Eve Forgot The command and added “touch” Mankind strays from G_d because he “Forgot” God “Forgets” our sin and Evil rises up again. Again and again humans “Forget” and Are trapped in the eternal reoccurrence because they “forget” The Greatest Evil is Forget

[@louisfifteen]

USA can always excuse itself by saying, we are protecting American interests and thus having the right to wage wars on any country that oppose US interests. Simple, but that is the way of an Empire that sees other as a means to an end. Utilitarianism at its worst.

[@muhammadjawaid1601]

Gh

[@micheldisclafani2343]

War is anachronistic, very expensive and eminently STUPID and CRUEL. Michel Di Sclafani 85 going 86.

[@user-uj3lb7pn7j]

Love this guy but he looks exhausted. Needs a well-deserved break!

[@saskk2290]

For someone like Chris, talking about these issues brungs more relief than disengaging. The stakes are always too high

[@Orson2u]

“The greatest evil is war.” It is if you enjoy submitting or being enslaved to others ends. Not at all if you don’t.

[@gopher7691]

So it was evil to defeat the Nazis in ww2

[@johnmitchell8925]

I hope the bio weapon hasn't got you Chris 😮