War is a Force that Gives us Meaning with Chris Hedges

Veteran New York Times correspondent Chris Hedges has covered conflicts in Bosnia, El Salvador and Israel. Tune in for this thought-provoking lecture based on his best selling book that argues life is lived most intensely in times of war, often with tragic consequences. Series: "Voices" [11/2004] [Humanities] [Show ID: 9109]

[@JamieNixx]

Chris gave this speech 19 years ago. He was so right about everything.

[@Madronaxyz]

Suicide In The Trenches I knew a simple soldier boy Who grinned at life in empty joy, Slept soundly through the lonesome dark, And whistled early with the lark. In winter trenches, cowed and glum, With crumps and lice and lack of rum, He put a bullet through his brain. No one spoke of him again. You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye Who cheer when soldier lads march by, Sneak home and pray you'll never know The hell where youth and laughter go. Written by Siegfried Sassoon, a soldier in the trenches of WWI.

[@subversivelysurreal3645]

I was just listening to an update on the Hannibal Directive and how Israel’s IDF is a kind of a death cult and I am listening to this trying to figure out how it reflects on them during this horrible genocide.

[@subversivelysurreal3645]

@@Madronaxyzthank you for sharing ❤️

[@PoetlaureateNFDL]

We need more people to talk openly about the horrors of war.

[@francishughes6313]

Ok, Hear goes....ALL PEOPLE THAT JOIN THE ARMY HAVE TO SIGN A CONTRACT AGREEING TO KILL WHOEVER WHEREVER WHENEVER AND HOWEVER FOR A FEW QUID 🤢🤮, AND ANYONE WHO SUPPORTS THEM ARE REALLY TRULY STUPID SO QUESTION IS,. HOW DO YOU SPOT STUPID PEOPLE COMING FROM A MILE AWAY 🤔 THE DUMB BASTARD'S STICK BIG POPPY'S ON THE FRONT OF THEY'RE CARS LORRIES AND VANS AND YOU CAN LITERALLY SPOT THEM COMING FROM A MILE AWAY 🤔😆😎

[@compassioncampaigner728]

Francis Hughes Given that I get the thrust of this literary attempt, this appears to be a drooling comrade casualty..........who spent 59:37 mins ........and missed the whole point Compassion needed for this individual

[@joeymurdazalotmore6355]

Right n general jesus christ n Uncle Sam will care about it's citizens.

[@joeymurdazalotmore6355]

@@francishughes6313 nobody knows wtf the punchline point or perspective ur drawing here. Let me guess. Uv never killed someone who's actively trying to kill you. So ssshhh n learn. U never been so keep ur brilliance to the other Monday morning arm chair qbs

[@francishughes6313]

@@joeymurdazalotmore6355 they say there's no atheist in fox holes 🤔 That's right they are not that stupid .

[@charliedw100]

Hedges is a national treasure. It's a shame he's blacked out by a corporate controlled media. Seek him out and pay attention.

[@MyLaura33]

I post his interviews on all the corporate media sites I can like NPR biased programming.

[@bradfordmccormick8639]

In the Ukraine War every voice that speaks out against the Biden war agenda is ignored, knowing that the American people's nominal freedom of expression will not likely find needles in haystacks of pappaganda the mainstream media saturate them with..

[@ghostpiratelechuck2259]

Man… 3 yrs ago you said this. Now his whole show has been scrubbed from this site.

[@charliedw100]

@@ghostpiratelechuck2259 It's sickening.

[@andromadaus]

✓

[@Dasstik]

Most powerful speech I have ever heard in regards to war. The way Mr. Hedges speaks about war is eerily reminiscent of the way a drug addict speaks about his addiction -- which as an addict seems the one and the same to me. I respect this man tremendously and listen to him for hours upon ends everyday. His truth telling is addictive. And the knowledge that comes with it is endless. He is my new addiction.

[@compassioncampaigner728]

Chris reads and thus communes with the great minds of civilization. Not a bad addiction to have, my friend

[@marccano5061]

How many fellow veterans are out there listening to this?

[@ChaironDeCeleste]

war never changes - yet it changes all survivors permanently. Thanks for the courage to share this video.

[@amandacasteel9763]

Love ALWAYS triumphs! Love may only appear to lose at any given moment, but we forget that love is timeless. It is always on time, even if we don't recognize it.

[@definitiveentertainment1658]

Wow. With Hedges, the content of his words and his story telling ability are enough. No need for the flair and the flourish of cadence or dynamic presentation. The raw words are enough to keep me engaged and waiting to learn more. This is a man who has spent a lifetime building the most accurate/honest lens with which one could possibly see the world around us. Bravo! Easily one of the top 5 most important living intellectuals.

[@compassioncampaigner728]

easily......

[@oldman66live]

" America buys war like children gobble candy." Henry Kissinger

[@compassioncampaigner728]

Some wisdom from a colostomy bag

[@subversivelysurreal3645]

fuck that war-creator and every word he utters.

[@JamesEPowell]

Chris Hedges is taking on a very tough job. He is telling the truth to people who absolutely do not want to hear it. Even the people who feel that they agree with him will most likely do nothing to change their lives or their country.

[@Ame3thyst3]

I always get a lump in my throat and have to get a tissue. His speaking moves me to tears when he speaks of war and the death of children, women, and men. So I am strongly agreeing with your comment john. Well said. NO MORE WAR!

[@raymondowes8541]

He is, indeed, awesome in his brilliance, knowledge, honesty, and bravery in risking his life, like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, John Brown, Charles Sumner, White Cloud, Geronimo, and all others who are the real and true American heroes who risk their lives, jeopardize their continuous existence, and remain undeterred in their courage and bravery who speak truth to the murderous powers and ruthless bastards who will do any and everything, including murder and genocide, to extinguish and exterminate, any serious threatprevent and obviate any meaningful change

[@Myrmecia]

"... War wipes out delicacy and tenderness. Those in war swing from rank sentimentality to perversion with little in between" 40:55

[@RELopez-mk4ic]

There is no glory in war...just the sorrow of mothers and wreckage and death of bodies.

[@Dulcimerea]

This is the most profound and moving and true speech about war, or about any subject, that I have ever heard in my life. Much appreciated, Chris. Thank you.

[@polymath1944]

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then, and only then, we will have peace.

[@androydnyc]

the man has become our National Conscience-- thank you Mr Hedges.

[@ianwoodywoodwoof345]

Spoken as a Witness of towering intellect and passion. Chris Hedges is magnificent in his testimony and philosophical, social and psychological colours that are the real drivers and characterisations of War. A profound and deeply moving speach. Love@you Chris...

[@christopherdixon5586]

Genuine, brilliant, vivid

[@jazzsocietyofecuador]

A wonderful and important speech by Chris Hedges.

[@marccano5061]

Tim Wise and Chris Hedges are two of my favorite speakers. What they both talk about intersects. War and America's history of racism. Imagine a wenn diagram and how the two subjects comingle.

[@dudorotomy]

Hedges is a seminarian and speaks in the style of great religious orators (Dr. King most obviously). What he says is so important that all should learn how to listen. There are very few truth-speakers around these days.

[@TheNoSuchThingPodcast]

Every line you spoke is a quote. Beautifully put mr hedges

[@phmfthacim]

he's not saying people view it as "good", he's saying it has a strong appeal to our sense of identity. i'm a pacifist but i cannot deny the power that war brings to my understanding of self. anyone who buys into their citizenship or refers to the actions of the nation state they dwell in the "we" sense, as in "we went to iraq", "we are a democracy", etc., is susceptible to this.

[@zehrajafri9252]

" We" the humans have been fooled into dividing ourselves into groups, so we can be exploited by the rich that are not divided,they are united for the greed they are all sick with

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

Chris has helped be a foundation for my understanding of world events since early 2000s. Solid dude, God bless honest Americans.

[@PetadeAztlan]

Fascinating. Makes me wonder about my own near obsession with being a warrior ~the appeal of being in dangerous situations and all the time knowing that war is truly hell on Earth. I am glad I have lived long enough to mellow out compared to my younger days. "We were once ravenous wolves ready to devour anything that moved." ~Somebody must of written that somewhere. Namaste! @Peta_de_Aztlan

[@ghostpiratelechuck2259]

I know I’m super late. But if I’m not too late. Please don’t take that path, my friend. There’s nothing like it. Nothing as intoxicating. And it’s not a drug I would wish upon my worst enemy. It’s ruined my entire adult life, every adult relationship. And only those who’ve imbibed have any idea of what I’d mean. Super late, and you have no reason to take my words seriously. Yet, still, I beg you to not. My brother ❤

[@Trav_Can]

24:23 So true. Movies meant to show the horrors of war unwittingly end up romanticizing war. I think Cormac McCarthy's Judge in Blood Meridian might be right in that "war endures because young men love it and old men love it in them. Those that fought, those that did not."

[@hornetobiker]

Does you know the name of the opening music? Thanks.

[@marccano5061]

This is an incredible speech 👏🏻! Mr. Hedges articulates everything i was indoctrinated with and lived through as a young Marine when i enlisted at the âge of 20. To this day im trying to analyze that experience. The men i served with we came from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and social strata but now we all were part of this machine that engulfed us all.

[@micheldisclafani2343]

Chris Hedges is not only a great journalist of international fame and a great speaker, he is an extraordinary person as a human being that loves life and humanity. I drank every word that you spoke and in my mind and 86 years of life I can add : War is anachronistic, very expensive and eminently STUPID and CRUEL. The United Nation should declare war illegal and protect peace with strong laws. Only laws can control war.

[@TrueNorthNorway1970]

When was this speech recorded? 2002 or later - as he refers to the 9/11 2001 "attacks". Looks like it is from 2004.

[@Myrmecia]

@Chinomareno " I can't believe he's suggesting the 911 attacks were somehow modern warfare" Isn't he suggesting that those who planned the 911 events had the modern ability to judge where their enemy was extremely vulnerable (a symbol at the very centre of global capitalism) - but not most vulnerable (like hitting superbowl or a children's hospital).

[@gaylewaltersdorf7940]

don't forget... the plane headed for the White House ended up in a corn field with barely any evidence it was even an aircraft? Huh?

[@TheGodlessGuitarist]

"Even the people who feel that they agree with him will most likely do nothing to change their lives or their country." One way to make a difference is to write to your political representative, as I do. It's a little tricky to get it right but there are some key points to remember in order not to close the recipient's mind: * don't be deliberately insulting * dont ramble * write in ink, it makes it personal and inviting * try to appeal to their philosophy e.g. Christianity

[@bapyou]

"(Hedges) rants for chapter after chapter while never offering a reference or a footnote" What references does Hedges need? Hedges has seen the wars he writes about; he has first-hand experience. In that sense his writings are primary journalistic documents.

[@marccano5061]

Why don't you debate him?

[@not2tees]

If I compare Hedges' reporting of war to Hemmingway's, Hedges comes out as considerably more realistic and visceral and more completely human - an amazing, and really encouraging fact about this guy, and maybe humanity. The moral dimension merges with the usually demoralizing horror of war and in him somehow still lives. We are compelled to witness, and the witnessing - I hope - is like a bitter but saving inoculation for minds at risk of being infected with war propaganda.

[@marccano5061]

Hemingway was a narcissist egomaniac.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

@5:53 - "Isolation always impares judgement" .. sound like what happened in the last 2 years?? To the extreme. Go Chris :)

[@seDj64]

Where in the bible does it say that war is the lust of the eye? Genuinely curious because I cannot find it but would love to be able to quote it.

[@unklezors]

Chris is an informer. He is poetic and true. He speaks from his heart. Many say that is irresponsible when it comes to war. It's not that simple. I disagree. There is no logic in war, unless defending. We believe what we are told by our government with no due diligence performed by ourselves. What makes our government so honest. Why do we believe? Sheep we are. And at our own expense while they profit from our support.

[@tubeyoudyslexia]

I'm afraid... Zero audio! ! ! Minutes ago, ANOTHER KZbin video was fine!

[@rajasmasala]

gorgeous. thank you. good luck.

[@dansocha401]

@IcarusAllsorts Yes, I think what we're saying is much more similar than different. Neither of us support war as I imagine we are both lovers of peace. But my main point is this: War, properly understood, cannot ever be abolished. War is not a myth nor a misunderstanding between parties. War has been a part of all of human history. It's not going anywhere. Nations use war to act in accordance with their self-interest. In this sense the decision to go to war can be a calculative, rational and

[@yukimuara19]

What confuses me is that people are arguing on Hedge's religious background, rather than delving into his conversation. Yes, Hedges does advocate his voice in a rambling way but it's takes a lot of practice to balance "your voice" and your "references' voice." As a writer, and a speaker, I'm sure we all know it's difficult to keep a balance so that our voice is still evident.

[@ElviraGarkusha]

Where can I find the text?

[@wynetsang]

Meaning is not important to majority of people but warape provides the high that is instinctual need of all human.

[@shadowbeastie]

Sort the world into two camps: those who have the virus and those who don't, those who endanger others with a virus and those who don't. Fall in line, citizens.

[@EvilEddtheRed]

Wow.

[@RipTheJackR]

@standingwest probably what struck me the most as well

[@Shaewaros]

I didn't mean to sound disparaging, I just prefer less dramatic way of presenting these serious issues, such as those of Noam Chomsky and Adam Curtis. Rhetoric is an important skill for all lecturers, it can greatly enchance the message of the speaker. Whether you prefer one way of presentation over another is just a matter of opinion. What's important is the message itself, as far as I'm concerned.

[@Dulcimerea]

I think he appeals to reason just fine.

[@debralegorreta1375]

By "War is a Force that Gives us Meaning" do you mean one of these three things? One - war is an addiction and that addiction is what informs us, "gives us meaning," something to aspire to even if it kills us, like your colleague. Two - war is an addiction, and having survived that addiction, as you did, you come to appreciate life without war, and that appreciation is what gives us meaning. Three - Freud is right. War is part and parcel of being human, a dark side to our nature, and we must recognize that to understand who we are, what we are capable of doing, what atrocities lie in everyone's heart and say no to those yearning, thus living with a deep understanding of our goodness and evil.

[@JamesBrown-ux9ds]

'Cartoon is a force that gives me meaning' Walt Disney

[@MercurialStatic]

3:47

[@luv2touchpink]

Mind blowing

[@sgturner59]

Thanks for this.

[@standingwest]

This is riveting. His comments on comradeship are dead on...

[@derekbrisson2448]

Incredible

[@sxnoss40]

Spot on.

[@professorspf]

Smedley Butler?

[@bogohoboho]

what he said; organized, industrial violence. he speaks plainly and we should all listen.

[@Aiden057]

See the animated version of The War Prayer, posted on youtube.

[@dansocha401]

@IcarusAllsorts Thank-you for the reply. I think it is imprudent to dismiss all war as a "failure of reason." Was it unreasonable to declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland or Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor? Was it unreasonable for African national groups (FLN, ANC, etc) to declare war against racist imperial governments? The answer to these questions is of course no. Yes, the ability to reason should lead one to peace but it is sometimes reasonable to go to war.

[@alrhayul5536]

Impoverished villagers resisting European imperialism is not in any way comparable to WWII. If Nazi's had won the war nothing would have fundamentally changed. It was a conflict between European elites who manipulated the general public in their respective country's to kill poor people in other countries so their master can maintain his version of aristocracy. I can't even say Nazis were more extreme or brutal than "the allies", there is a blurry line to differentiate them all.

[@Dulcimerea]

It's not an assertion. It's a question. Unfairness and condescension are not in it, but in your thoughts only. As for his question, can you answer it? It is a fact that the industrialized world taught the non-industrialized word how to use explosives. Your last sentence is half right. You're correct that people don't need to take inspiration from our history of warfare to desire large explosions. But to create explosions, it was necessary to learn from people who know how to make explosives..

[@Myrmecia]

@standingwest "His comments on comradeship are dead on..." and his observations and interpretations on "smut" (35:20) are astute and doubtless correct.

[@rosamik]

enormously thk u 4 posting this video...=>

[@dansocha401]

Respond to this video... All of human existence opposes the view that war is simply "a failure of reason." This is particularly true when one considers the internal conflict that man experiences. That is to say, the spiritual war that exists between one's passion and reason cannot be properly described as "a failure of reason." Man, by virtue of his nature, is a conflicted being. Reason helps him escape the life of "war of all against all," but cannot abolish war completely.

[@bapyou]

Chris Hedges' father was a Presbyterian minister. Hedges himself earned a master's degree from Harvard Divinity School. I'd say his belief system is pretty mainstream Christian, unlike the extremists whom he writes about in his book.

[@RodrigoRamirez-eq6gj]

The attraction to war he refers to is trauma repetition compulsion.

[@leealexander3507]

I don't support any war at all unless we are directly attacked and then only against the attacker. What our country is doing overseas hurts, horrifies and shames me.

[@fnchrstphr]

who is Sean ?

[@davidbouchard8963]

This is fucking brilliant!!

[@Dulcimerea]

He didn't say "violence". He mentioned a modern form of violence "huge explosions" which are invariably techonology-based. (I mean man-made booms, not supernovas or volcanoes). "Where else but from the industrialized world did the suicide bombers learn that huge explosions and death above a city skyline are a peculiar and effective form of communication?" I don't see the word "violence" in that statement, probably because he didn't say it. >You< said it, but falsely attributed it to him.

[@dansocha401]

@IcarusAllsorts To say that that "all wars have their roots in a failure to reason" is unhelpful in trying to understand the true nature of war. Recall that man is not a purely reasonable being. Man has passion and necessarily will fail to reason. Hobbes argued that the nature of man was "solitary, nasty, brutish, and short," with human existence characterized as a "war of all against all." It is only by virtue of man's reason that he elevates out of this state.

[@laxmanbisht2638]

Listening today

[@Chinomareno]

@Myrmecia "Where else but from the industrialized world did the suicide bombers learn that huge explosions and death above a city skyline are a peculiar and effective form of communication?" said somewhere in the 8th minute is a horrible and simplistic assertion, one that is completely unfair and actually profoundly condescending. People don't need to take inspiration from our history of warfare to desire large explosions to kill people, they have their own motivations and methods.

[@felixdevilliers1]

A brilliant eloquent speech. Keats was right_. beauty is truth and truth beauty. Beauty to become really beautiful must be trrue an when truth really becomes true it i must be beautiful -

[@dansocha401]

Respond to this video... reasonable decision. In international relations, passion play little significance in determining whether a nation goes to war. What matters is if war is in accordance with the self-interest of the nation. Consider the Bismarckian wars of the 19th century, fought as the results of prudent calculations and reasoning. Far from reason always leading man away from war, in the field of international relations and rational choice, it is reason that can cause war.

[@perfectibility999]

What you disparagingly call "rhetoric" is, in this case, familiarity with word meanings beyond the obvious ones. Hedges is obviously well versed in etymology, probably knows a lot of Greek and Latin, and he definitely knows a lot of history and quite a bit about phenomenology, philosophy, and literature. His usage of words is beautiful, but it's not mere rhetoric. It's undergirded by the logic of many subtle and older meanings of words.

[@compassioncampaigner728]

?

[@delicheres]

Yeah you're right ! Do your Homework and then come back again .

[@iamFegor]

If only we had listened

[@professorspf]

I don't want anyone branded, but I would like a just equitable society. Why is that such a bad thing?

[@Reezy37]

War is a monster that devours everything in its path.

[@rachendrapyakurel9143]

No, if the title of this video is the point of this talk.

[@bahoss]

Make Love not war.

[@bapyou]

@lolcat23 "Are you talking about the american extreme right that made this last war happen, or ... extreme muslims?" The subject of Hedges' book is politically conservative fundamentalist American Christians. In fact, both Christian right-wingers & Islamic radicals promote nearly-identical ideologies. A case could be made that Christian right-wing nuttery started the Iraq War, since no ties between Saddam & Al Qaeda existed )their bloated egoes precluded such a connection).

[@albwilso9]

Chris is totally correct as usual, but not listened to by enough people. If more would listened we would be different , and realize what the horrors of really are. More would refuse to go, more would vote out the war-waging Capitalist Rich (who never go themselves) !!!

[@lolcat23]

@bapyou said : I'd say his belief system is pretty mainstream Christian, unlike the extremists whom he writes about in his book. Are you talking about the american extreme right that made this last war happen, or are you talking about the extreme muslims?

[@derekwfrazier]

Jesus I had no idea he went in the bush that long

[@Mjhavok]

I'm not sure what supernatural beliefs he has though.

[@dudorotomy]

Yes, you should try to learn to do the hard work of listening...

[@ChrisDutch]

@dansocha401 So let's hear a "reasonable" discussion of war and when you come with that tell it to the families of the 4,500 Americans who died in Iraq for lies or the families of the innocents killed or driven from their homes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Let me and others hear. War IS an emotional issue, our emotions, not our sense of reason, are appealed to by the "warriors."

[@taggline]

@demarcos69 ... sad...but, predictable, given the status quo in the Western common psyche

[@Shaewaros]

Chris' presentation relies heavily on ceremonious rhetoric. Even if his message is noble and on point, I still can't enjoy listening to a speech that relies so heavily on rhetoric. This is of course just his style of presentation so my opinion is only a matter of taste really.

[@writersblock26]

54:13-54:33 "The current warmongers...haven't been involved in war, so what's going on with them? Are they addicted as you and your friends were?" Very good question.

[@mjc01]

I you so sure it's that simple? Human use reason. They think, but they do so in an emotional context. But with genuine critical debate perhaps we can change that emotional context, ie perhaps we can become more honest with ourselves or even gain new insights into our own motivation. I hope you have not taken Hedges to be attacking reason.

[@debralegorreta1375]

Reason among humans is the exception not the norm. And even the most rational of humans is driven more by emotions and instincts than by reason. Life is not a rational enterprise; it is an emotional excursion of discovery, of immersion and repulsion. Reason is but a tool of discovery at the service of our emotions in the quest for intimacy dampened by a fear of rejection.

[@shamanbob]

What makes someone an anti-white?

[@professorspf]

there has been, and to some extent still is white privilege, and I take the egalitarian view that all people should be treated equally. Nobody should suffer. That is the whole point.

[@dansocha401]

This speech is of the greatest offense to the truth. Hedges appeals solely to one's emotion and passion, but not to one's reason. His opening lines fully reveal his rejection of any sort of reasonable conversation with respect to the nature of warfare. He reduces all warfare to the purely emotional level. It is true that warfare has a indispensably important emotional component, as man is an emotional being. But man also has the ability to reason, something Hedges fails to realize.

[@side1981]

whats that got to with this lecture.

[@Dionysos37]

First read up on the world's agreed definition of genocide. This has nothing, zero, to do with it. You are arguing with your own mental shadows.

[@DefaultPosition]

Hedges is a Christian.

[@darkmiles22]

Of course war is horrible (several estimates put the war dead in Iraq over one million), and there are often ways the government can incite a populace to war too easily. But sometimes not going to war is worse. When not going to war means leaving a dictator in power who started wars of selfish purpose and persecuted his own people and has the blood of millions on his hands, then not going to war is worse. Well, worse for the oppressed, it would have been to America's advantage to not go to war.

[@obfuscated3090]

Saddam was a US ally for many years (the photo of Rumsfeld shaking his hand is famous) and never came close to damaging Iraq and the region as much as the invasion and resulting (because Shinseki was ignored by civilian politicians) subsequent destabilization very much including ISIS. The US was fine with Saddam attacking Iran. Saddam never had the blood of "millions" on his hands, one reason the US was pragmatically quite fond of him when he was useful. Numbers matter. Desert Storm put Saddam back in his box. Invading Iraq smashed the box and destabilized the region. It was strategically counter-productive (there can be no moral obligation to bad strategy), militarily damaging (constabulary wars of choice weaken the ability of engaged militaries to wage peer conflict, one reason the NLF had their slogan "two, three, many Viet Nams!", and generally toxic to US power. It was a NeoCon mistake. BTW I'm not a progressive and am a career veteran who cares not for idealism and watch these videos with cold analysis. The Iraqi invasion was grotesquely foolish and produced nothing of remotely commensurate value. It is quite like the late wars of the British and French empires NeoCons admire and wish to replace. I defy anyone to articulate what benefit the American public got from the Iraq invasion.