War is a Force that Gives us Meaning with Chris Hedges 

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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...

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

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

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.

Genuine, brilliant, vivid

A wonderful and important speech by Chris Hedges.

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

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!

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

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.

Listening today

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

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

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.

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.

How many fellow veterans are out there listening to this?

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

We need more people like him to speak the ugly truth about the foreign policies of this country. Hope people would wake up from their slumber and realize that war in the movies aren’t the reality. Patriotism is not going to war without question the leaders, patriotism is telling the truth about the corrupt intentions of American politicians.

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."

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

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.

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

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 -

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

@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).

If only we had listened

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

"(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.

Incredible

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) !!!

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

Make Love not war.

"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

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.

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

gorgeous. thank you. good luck.

I think he appeals to reason just fine.

@standingwest probably what struck me the most as well

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.

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.

This is fucking brilliant!!

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

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..

Smedley Butler?

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

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.

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

I'm afraid... Zero audio! ! ! Minutes ago, ANOTHER RU-vid video was fine!

@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.

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.

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

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.

Where can I find the text?

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.

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

Wow.

@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.

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

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

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.

3:47

@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.

who is Sean ?

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

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.

@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."

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

@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?

@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).

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

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.

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.

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.

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

We'll soon have 20th anuversary - and was has this enlightning story of truth telling been able to bring to an (under anglosaxon leadership kept) intoxicated mankind? ('War equals conflict' in general, what a nonsense! So many other possibility to give an individual or 'us' meaning! It's not only about rejecting war for meaning but activily discuss all the other options - Love will give you meaning - Jesus). (The anglosaxon example and idea of empire as of today is long now wrong everywhere and in particular in Europe.And we have to reject wrong company for to perform the better.)

What makes someone an anti-white?

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.

Hedges is a Christian.

Shame he chooses to repeat the 911 fantasy. Pause for thought.

Chris Hedges goes AGi. That's not even his voice. LOL

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.

Where are the "white countries"?

He actually, by about the 30-minute mark, is starting to sound completely pathological to me.

Perhaps this madness continues because we never actually wage war. We liberate, bring the light of freedom, carry the torch of justice, die for a greater ideal, and enable the spread of democracy, sure...But we never wage war...

I'm sure Hedges' bland sermons are inspiring to you. The west invented explosives, rifling, mass production and combustion engines, what's your point? And no, the west didn't teach a "non-industrialized world" how to do anything, we taught people many sent by their states, who came to our schools and universities philosophy, science and systems of organization. How they chose to use that knowledge isn't our concern nor should we share a collective guilt for it's implementation.

I guess I'm like the rest of The American sheep...i was bored and fell asleep while watching this...

🦬🐓🪱