now these people are at occupy DC chanting "No wars" to the leaders who will never give up this fight, and power that they consume. One that will brutalize it's citizen if he or she stands to correct these wrong's. You never know anything until it's too late.
When Bob Dylan went electric at Newport in 1965 it was a great moment. This four part video is even better. Sometimes audiences are wrong. I've watched this video about ten times now. It encapsulates the Bush years perfectly. This audience represents the electorate of 2000 and 2004. I still can't get over the results of those particular elections.
I cannot believe that as this guy tells the crowd how it is, a bunch of moronic zealots start chanting shit like "USA! USA!"
Honestly, it's like they don't care about the fact that their country rules by terrorism and brute force. When it's someone else's country, they need to be stopped right away, but if it's the country you were born in, no one may question it...
This is embarrassing for me to watch. When your only response to a rational and intelligent speech is chanting USA! USA! I feel great shame. I completely understand why corrupt politicians exploit our citizens, when they are so completely ignorant as demonstrated here. A nation of critical thinkers cannot be exploited by their leaders.
This video just goes to show how bad the truth really hurts and the weak as you see in this video just cant handle it. So yes you sheep, turn your backs because you're not only turning your backs on a man who's informed and speaks the truth, you're turning your backs on humanity.
"Where's the uplifting speech?" A guy yells, well if these words were heeded we'd actually be able to give these speeches today, in 2011-12, but alas its all about regrowth.
This is ultimately a haunting thing to behold; everything he said – EVERYTHING – came to fruition. Shame on Rockford College, but then again, what is the audience but demonstrative of the American public, circa 2003?
These people are hippies of war, they just think all war is dandy and they assume the largest empire on Earth still has to "defend its freedom". They're worse than regular hippies.
@3108711289 I knew, but only in the vaguest way, and was against the war. The lack of solid, credible information in the US is staggering. The one thing I don't understand is why so many Americans believed that Saddam had anything to do with 9/11.
Interestingly, now that so many years have passed, we can see that everything Hedges forsaw and foretold has become a reality. I wonder if those hair-trigger, emotionally charged, blind-faith, ignorant patriots in the audience are rethinking their actions on that day. My guess is probably not.
All those twice Bush-Voting assholes don't like it when someone gets up in their face, and tells them the truth! Chris Hedges is a very deep thinker who has logically considered his opinions, and ultimately lost his job, in part, because of this very speech he gave. This man is one of the very few people I really listen to, and who I consider has a handle on reality... the harsh reality of where our country is headed. The American Empire is Headed For Collapse!
@CosmicFork After listening to the booktv.org interview with Chris Hedges, you are right on. He mentions Wendell Berry, another writer who has long criticized the way our country has been going--quite bluntly.
@CosmicFork Just like the empires that came before it. Historty can repeat itself and I always tell this to the young people who think history is useless.
This college offered me a scholarship for undergrad. Thank goodness I had the sense to turn them down.
I wish Hedges delivered a speech like this at my graduation ceremony last month. It's somewhat of an unusual topic to bring up for a celebration of students' years of work (LOL), but it would have totally been worth it to see the hyperconservative wackos in my state squirm. Thumbs up, Mr. Hedges! Bravo!
Typical reaction to the truth by ignorant illiterate amerikans! Hedges is right. amerikans if filled with these right wing vermin! They need to be exterminated!
I saw this video this evening and though I knew all this was going on I am now so angry. Candidates don't have platforms, don't know history, don't know geography! Voters decide based on looks (Does he look Presidential?), on negative ads, on lies, etc. Politicians will say anything a particular audience wants to hear. Anti intellectual "voters" don't know 6th grade civics. Left, right, makes no difference. Everyone, including Obama, is just packaged to win. Then the corporations take over.
In terms of protest tactics, those who stood up and turned their backs had the right idea. Those of differing opinions who bull-horned him, shouted him down, and the assholes who cut his mic were displaying thuggish behavior.
Of course, so much of what he said proved right. How many of the class of '03 nationwide, who are about 30 now, actually heard anything this valuable at their commencements?
Most of these people turning their backs to Hedges--also one trying to punch him out--are likely not paying their mortgages, some are homeless, and most are underwater financially and/or asking their children for money to keep going. Likely they don't even know what hit them, AND, to top it off, they think things will magically return to "normal" someday.
@powergirl901 As long as they have a Support Our Troops magnet on their shopping carts or a yellow ribbon on their bed rolls at the homeless shelter, they'll still have hope.
The Rockford audience is the way the whole country was in 2003. If you were in a group of 10 people and said "I don't know if this Iraq thing is a good idea" there would be one person literally ready to punch you.
Tha could've just as easily have been Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, or Robert Kennedy on that podium saying those exact things and in those days and the reaction would have been the same...evil people do evil things. Why do we ALWAYS crucify the messenger/prophets? Why?
Please watch Chris Hedges' remarkable 2 hour, 54 minute interview on CSPAN2 BookTV on January 1, 2012. Google Chris Hedges "Brace Yourself! The American Empire is Over and the Descent is Going To Be Horrifying".
@Arroyoribera thanks for that google ref-very interesting about General and most interesting was Hedges gave a similar speech to this one to Marines going into Iraq and there was no dissent about content. Very important. Very important. Graduates should know better than this but I guess we blame the messenger...not the truth of the message.
I've never thought much about what the appropriate content of a commencement address is, not having been asked to give one and not attended many, but I'm certain that preaching from the bully pulpit is not appropriate.
And it's not true that all muslims hate us because of our foreign policy. The Kurds think G. W. Bush is literally the greatest president ever.
I wonder how many of those then graduating students are now a part of the OWS movement. As the socioeconomic condition of the US worsens, Hedges forewarning will not be forgotten. People want to scream USA, but little do they know the teachings of Jefferson, Franklin and Washington are echoed in Chris's words.
@sidmystic Precisely... in that the entire country was gearing up for the Iraq war at that time. Ya remember that? I remember all the shoutdowns of anyone that opposed the invasion of Iraq. Might as well try and reason with a lynch mob. Just chant...USA USA USA. War was so imminent at this point that to talk of anything else would be glib.
@throbbingG He wanted to send the students out into the world knowing the truth about what is actually going on in America (Heaven Forbid!). He stood up for the truth while so many others just ignore it. I think every student in America would be better off if their commencement speech was more like the one in this video, compared to sugar coated nonsense about how perfect everything is. Denial about the state of our nation should not be part of a commencement speech and only creates ignorance.
@sparkofcreativity University students are meant to be smart enough to read newspapers and political journals rather than needing a pseudo intellectual telling them what to think
@throbbingG But they're not. And post graduate students, and working adults don't care either. They watch ENTERTAINMENT and are not interested in what is going to happen to them because the don't believe that bad things can happen to them. They are still invincible.
@charlesvan13 Surely so, but I don't think a missplaced speech would incite anybody to rush the stage or cut a mic. We can be quite confident it was partly the content of the speech alone and people's disagreement with it that caused the outrage.
@throbbingG He is a famous journalist that received his Pulitzer Prize for his work in the Middle East. He was invited because of his work there and he wanted to share his thoughts.
@throbbingG it's like inspirational for upper/middle class soon to be professional adults who can make a difference so that the world will be a better place and stuff or somethings like you are the people who are educated and privilaged go be the best persons and do the right thing keep urselfs informed yo Dawg dee WUttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! git it?????????????? lol
What is upper/middle class these days? How many people out of our almost 300 million are in that group? How much does a college grad make these days, if they can get a job? $20or 30 K Maybe 40K? Not exactly upper middle class. In fact is there a middle class? Or just very wealthy and just getting by, maybe with two jobs?
So sad. A bunch of spoiled kids who should be getting ready to take real responsibility for their role as Americans in the world. Instead, they literally turn their backs on the truth and scream that they want to be "uplifted." I guess none of these kids are in any danger of fighting the wars that they want to know nothing about. This is the elite we've raised in America. We're doomed.
Chris Hedges is a liar. He continually blames free markets for everything he hates, yet doesn't realise that all a free market is, is the voluntary exchange of goods and services. His imaginary idea of government is what is initiating force, and 'legally' does so, because it was constructed that way.
@sheepOG What free markets? That has never ever even been close to realized in the whole history of man. Name a time and a place where "free markets existed" and I'll tell you why you're wrong.
@tstruss912 Oh, but I know that. The United States came close in the 1800s before the civil war (slavery and tariffs were obviously stupid things to condone, but imagine having the same kind of freedom in this age), but even before the civil war it was obvious that war itself was going to be a big problem (perhaps even an addiction) for America.
Which is why I find that Chris Hedges is either a moron or a liar. I presume the latter.
@sheepOG Fair enough, sheepOG (awesome name!). I disagree about Hedges, but I'm glad you--unlike most--see the tariff and slavery doctrines as being non-capitalist.
@sheepOG "slavery and tariffs were obviously stupid things to condone" - well at least you can see that. What about voting right for women and for people who were not landowners? We've come a long way, getting close during the civil rights era and now we are moving backwards again...
@sheepOG What do you propose for the alternative? The world is too overpopulated to live in anarchy. When small groups of people live together and everyone knows everyone else there is SOME chance of mutual cooperation and empathy with fair exchange of services - but it's too late for that now. What is your ideal system of living where there is a rule of law to protect people from criminal behavior? (Including financial criminal behavior)
@theonlysuz Well, I'm realistic, I know humanity isn't ready for anarchism, and won't be in my lifetime.
I propose the free market as an alternative (I'm a Rothbardian market anarchist), something we haven't been close to in almost 100 years. When the state is gone, natural law would become more important, meaning everyone has the same rights. I see a future in competition between courts, because of my severe distrust of the state courts system, which allows many people to be above the law.
@sheepOG Agree mostly with what you say. Looked up Rothbard who said that "business elites co-opted government's monopoly power so as to influence laws and regulatory policy in a manner benefiting them at the expense of their competitive rivals," which is what is ruining any possibility for a decent life for most people. The thing is natural law would work only if people were honest and empathic - which works in very small groups were everyone knows everyone else and criminals are exiled.
the free market we haveis the law of the strong against the weak and powerless. You impose conditions and get what you want. Big industry and corporations have ruthless practices with no regard for the well being of most of us, especialy in third world countries. Watch John Pilger's documentaries.He has twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award, and his documentaries have received academy awards in Britain and the US. Check for yourself.
@guscaldas2 I don't believe in the "free market"; I believe in market tyranny, a tryanny by and for the rich. And yes, I've seen all of Pilger's films. Maybe you were wanting to direct those sentiments towards SheepOG? Anyway, you shouldn't ever call it the "free market". That makes it sound free no matter what you say afterward (see Lakoff for more).
@sheepOG Does this "voluntary exchange of goods and services" include the outsourced jobs and production done in other countries? What is our free market really when the balance of trade is so unbalanced that our citizens can't get work because of the greed of corporations who only care about the bottom line for them and there 6 and 7 figure bonuses while our young people, our grads, don't have jobs, benefits, health care etc. Free market for whom?
@theonlysuz We don't have a free market right now, that's the point of me calling Chris Hedges stupid for blaming the "free market". A free market is nothing more or less than the voluntary exchange of goods and services, in which individuals have the sole right to their property (including themselves, because you own yourself).
@guscaldas2 Um.. hard to explain in a short space such as this if you aren't familiar with commencements or intuitively know. In short Commencements are generally seen as a time to celebrate. People are showing up to a ceremony celebrating the culmination of their own scholastic achievements or that of their loved one. Speeches given at such things may contain some negativity but will be expected to have an overall positive message. Hedges dives right into the bad stuff without intro. A mistake.
@guscaldas2 this is the perfect venue to hear the truth considering, i assume, some of these graduates are going off to the war to die or at least serve the "special interests" which the iraqi war intentionally concealed behind "patriotism."
This is proof, liberalism is a total mental disorder. Christians, catholics,Hindos,Jews,. Are not trying to figure out how to shove bombs up there rectums, or strap bombs to little girl panties to try to blow up, inocent women,children,and men. This guy and his type are very dilusional, to much koolaid, wow!!!! and this guy has people that follow him! They all need to have psycological exams!!!
@4stumpy1 bro, your comment is full of spelling errors, and all misspellings are clearly marked by a red underline before you post your comment... And you feel entitled to label someone mentally ill? Your uneducated, bigoted opinions only undermine our wonderful democracy! And you don't even know it!
@4stumpy1 You do realize the speaker has a degree in divinity, right? You do realize Jesus wasn't about free-markets but free speech? You do realize Jesus would not bless dropping bombs on Iraq, right? Christians are somehow not Catholics or vice versa?
Who s delusional, again? BTW, the Reverend Jones used Flavor-Aid...not Kool-Aid.Maybe you should check a lot more facts and compare them with you truth.
Even now as the illusion of America shivels up and something darker and more ominous rises up in it's place - something that wears insignias and heraldry of patriotism, preaches from the works of Jefferson and Lincoln and speaks of the compassion of Christ as it tightens it marshals the forces of economic and military oppression and artfully builds the kindling of ethnic and religious persecution - these people will spout nationalist jingos, complicit in future horrors committed in their name.
If a draft was ordered for All including "college kids" this crowd would have shut the f**k up and listened alot more closely ......you figure it out.....
To those that denounce this crowd: do you remember your opinions and thoughts on the war back in 2003? Do you remember the fear advertised to us in the form of WMDs supposedly sold to terrorists by Saddam?
So easily we turn a blind eye to our own forgetful minds. I remember being a young fool in high school who thought maybe this war wasn't such a bad thing. I wish I had been exposed to anti-war dissent back then, but I won't claim the innocence of ignorance.
These willing fascists, these feckless and craven pigs in the audience, deserve neither the freedoms of their birth, or the privileges of the education they were being honored for. These willing dupes, these barbaric and bloodthirsty mobs, were what Americans became. Who will remember it? Who will remember this shame? The fools in the audience pretend they never supported war, that they didn't worship Bush. These liars and murderers are your neighbors, your family, and you. God fucking bless.
@aoiwarai They do in fact. These things are rights, things that, for better or worse, people are entitled to in a republic. Their actions aside, they are still entitled to the freedoms of "birth".
Also, please keep that in mind if you ever get that dennis o'brien poem
#drunkescapade I'm not sure you'd know good writing if it landed in your lap and sounded out all the words for you. Chris Hedges is Pulitzer prize reporter, his books have won awards and just because his discourse is above your reading level, does not mean he's a poor writer. It most likely means you don't get it. You couldn't begin to understand the topics this man, a polyglot, articulates as he invites us to consider the premises of Thucydides, Socrates, Reinhold Niebuhr, Augustine, Kant, etc.
Why would they invite Chris Hedges to give a speech and then proceed to attempt to shut him up? Didn't the committee know of his views? Hello? What did they expect: a speech to cheer-lead the next generation of corporate drones? Come on, now.
Well, I haven't seen the comparison yet, but to me it is obvious... THE TWO MINUTES HATE OF NINETEEN EIGHTYFOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is astounding the subtle similarities of past fascist nations to modern United States.
@jpp3g i totally agree. My daughters HS pt on the play Cabaret, and the similarities were stark and yet completely modern...all we are missing are those stupid swastika armbands. Welcome to Neo-Fascist America-inverse totalitarianism as Mr Hedges argument evolves to currently. Life is a cabaret...
Why is he preaching about doomsday at a college graduation ceremony? Maybe they just think he's a jackass for doing so. (that's not to say that I think the US is perfect by any means, just that Hedges is a jackass)
if you've read anything hedge's has wrote or heard him speak on universities and their desertion of the role as a liberal institution, then making this speech at a commencement does not only make perfect sense but is a dire necessity. The point is, the war now, but especially back then is lacking the criticism that the liberal class tends to hold to war (you can read more on his take of this in Death of the Liberal Class). And instead of contemplating the meaning
of what he is truly trying to convey to the audience is dismissed by booing and name calling such as "jackass." Maybe people do not want to hear what he has to say, but it is vital, especially to the upcoming generation to assess the cruelty of the wars their country is perpetrating and question if it is sustainable for their country, economy, society, etc.
otherwise those who have been responsible for making bad decisions will continue to make bad decisions, without facing criticism or opposition. As harsh as it is, these graduates were lucky to receive a commencement speech that addresses major social issues, point blank, without some fabricated sugar coating. If he were to give these speech now, he'd probably receive a standing ovation.
@drunkscapades I've read two of his books which is why I think he's a jackass; not so much because of this speech. War is a Force was ok, just meandering and poorly written. Empire of Illusion was a 200 page rant from a grumpy old man preaching about doomsday, fraught with ridiculously misinterpreted information. His key informant on education seemed to be some undergrad at Berkeley. He even managed to reneg in Illusion on his claim from War is a Force that we mythify our ancestors by
@drunkscapades talking up his dad's generation as if we've fallen from their grace. He's a terrible writer, terrible at putting together cohesive arguments, and terrible at interpreting data. That being said, I probably am giving the people in this crowd a bit too much credit. Blind patriotism is certainly a bad thing and seems to be displayed here. I guess I just feel sanguine about seeing Hedges lampooned after making it through two of his self-righteous diatribes.
@joshisanonymous hey faggot, i bet you supported the war in iraq. BTW how many pulitzer prizes do you have? ZERO. You're nothing. That's what I thought. go suck a dick you fat fuck american.
It appears that Rockford College didn't manage to teach their students much about the ability to think independently. They sound like a bunch of jingoist goons.
How many of the Rockford Goon Squad still think the Iraq war was such a noble, worthy cause?
If you went to Rockford College, clearly your tuition money was wasted.
@LivingDead221 Please don't blanket all of us Americans in that particular cloak. Not all of us have been brainwashed into believing America is a great place that does no wrong. Sadly, our leadership (and several of the little people) are filled with people who don't seem to care, but I for one am not one of them! I wish I could tell you that you are wrong with your beliefs about America and some of her people... but I cannot.
Well, in fairness to the audience, this speech was spoken less than 3 months after the illegal invasion of iraq took place, so it was fresh in the minds of all. And as we all know, it takes time for people to accept truth and reality. Which leads me to add that Mr. Hedges WAS RIGHT!!
I go to Rockford College in the present... and this speech is still talked about on campus.
Oh, and blurting "USA, USA, USA" is not an adult level defense when confronted with reality.
moronic war mongering brainwashed yanks.... yeehaw, hey hey lookey here paw, we got us one of them educated folk talking sense. no wonder the world is fucked
the art of corporate brainwash, hypnosis and mind control
die in your camp america! you didnt want to listen, now its 2011 and your concentration camp america is more and more turned to a high tech evil policestate, again; die in your camp-america!
What a bunch of idiot fucking hicks. never have i seen people so uncivilly stupid in my life. even more pathetic that they're are graduating students... and people wonder why this country is drowning, ask these indoctrinated fools singing their anthem. what a fuckin joke.
All shouting students look like blood thirsty mad hounds as they are neither trained by parents nor by the teachers about listening courageously even to their opponent and outwit him / her in their logic , reason and knowledge. They don't like like
American who have great tolerance of ideas and passion for learning . They seem just like wild animal rather worse than that.. David E. Hawke , Toronto , Canada
All shouting students look like blood thirsty mad hounds as they are neither trained by parents nor by the teachers about listening courageously even to their opponent and outwit him / her in their logic , reason and knowledge. They don't like like
American who have great tolerance of ideas and passion for learning . They seem just like wild animal rather worse than that.. David E. Hawke , Toronto , Canada
I am student and I feel ashamed while I see some nonsense students protesting too stupidly like mad dogs against such a great scholar of this era. My eyes can't believe if the students are really American or hired puppets as American students really know that grace and dignity lies in tolerance of view point of others courageously and then taking exception to the speakers in a decent way in the question - answer session through logic, knowledge and reasoning.
I am student and I feel ashamed while I see some nonsense students protesting too stupidly like mad dogs against just a great scholar of his times. My eyes can't believe if the students are really American or hired puppets as American students really know that that grace and dignity lies in tolerance of view point of others even opponents courageously and then taking exception to the speakers in a decent way in the question - answer session through logic, knowledge and reasoning. Robert-Canada
What a sad commentary the shouting, non-thinking, fascist croud of "Americans" make about OUR country... THIS is a prime example of why "they" (pick a they and/or them) hate US!!! Goddess only knows where this type of non-thinking will lead US next.... As usual, prescient thoughts from Chris Hedges. Shameful that WE NEVER seem to learn!
That way better than the commencement address for my graduating class. Everything he said that day in 2003 has come to pass. Hedges had the facts right. It's be bad his audience were such a bunch of dumbs dumbs mixed in with well aged trash and other various rubbish. Pull your fucking heads out of your fat asses. Loving your country isn't the same thing as blind stupidity. ya fucking trash without facts.
Look at those free speech hating proto fascist pieces of SHIT. Disgusting ass products of incest. FUCK THEM ALL. Let the corporations eat their children alive.
"The language & symbols of an authentic American fascism would, of course, have little to do with the original European models. They would have to be familiar & reassuring to loyal Americans . . . No swastikas in an American fascism, but Stars and Stripes & Christian crosses. No fascist salute, but mass recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance. . . An American fascism would transform [it] into [an] obligatory litmus tests for detecting the internal enemy." ~ Robert O. Paxton, Anatomy of Fascism
Wow - before Chris Hedges was speaking for even two minutes, the nit-wits started to heckle him. I hope Rockford College has improved its admission standards.
lol @ the idiot in the end shouting "send 'im to iraq!" hedges has spent over 15 years covering war, much of it in the middle east. he was IN iraq which is why he was saying what he was saying. this is goddamn chilling. and depressing.
now these people are at occupy DC chanting "No wars" to the leaders who will never give up this fight, and power that they consume. One that will brutalize it's citizen if he or she stands to correct these wrong's. You never know anything until it's too late.
hotjuiceonit 2 days ago
When Bob Dylan went electric at Newport in 1965 it was a great moment. This four part video is even better. Sometimes audiences are wrong. I've watched this video about ten times now. It encapsulates the Bush years perfectly. This audience represents the electorate of 2000 and 2004. I still can't get over the results of those particular elections.
concretetundra 4 days ago
I bet at least some of those booers today live in tents.
237Michael 1 week ago
Some are booing cause they thought like led zep would have a reunion concert, imagine that. Yeah also pretty classic yeah good ! #gooood
theycallmenavid 2 weeks ago
I cannot believe that as this guy tells the crowd how it is, a bunch of moronic zealots start chanting shit like "USA! USA!"
Honestly, it's like they don't care about the fact that their country rules by terrorism and brute force. When it's someone else's country, they need to be stopped right away, but if it's the country you were born in, no one may question it...
CoronaMage 2 weeks ago 3
@CoronaMage but it's USA, the glorious and beautiful country! USA! USA! rofl
norsende 2 weeks ago
I will take great delight in watching this abomination of a country disintegrate painfully and horribly.
KhanneaSuntzu 2 weeks ago 3
This is embarrassing for me to watch. When your only response to a rational and intelligent speech is chanting USA! USA! I feel great shame. I completely understand why corrupt politicians exploit our citizens, when they are so completely ignorant as demonstrated here. A nation of critical thinkers cannot be exploited by their leaders.
favianutube 2 weeks ago 3
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c29Mor 2 weeks ago
This is what was and is wrong with America.
rza1m 2 weeks ago 4
How prophetic...
pleeb87 2 weeks ago 4
stupid fucks, enjoy watching your empire fail....the rest of the world is
memberHD 2 weeks ago
The truth falls on deaf ears in this world.
Fennias 2 weeks ago
Truth hurts
MrDarkTides 2 weeks ago
Nevar 4get!
sohc287 2 weeks ago
This video just goes to show how bad the truth really hurts and the weak as you see in this video just cant handle it. So yes you sheep, turn your backs because you're not only turning your backs on a man who's informed and speaks the truth, you're turning your backs on humanity.
RoonGang09 2 weeks ago 3
"Where's the uplifting speech?" A guy yells, well if these words were heeded we'd actually be able to give these speeches today, in 2011-12, but alas its all about regrowth.
skydome29 3 weeks ago 2
This is ultimately a haunting thing to behold; everything he said – EVERYTHING – came to fruition. Shame on Rockford College, but then again, what is the audience but demonstrative of the American public, circa 2003?
YoknapatawphaKid 3 weeks ago 8
Reality is a bitch, ain't it?
seriousguynogames3 4 weeks ago
these people didnt deserve this speech. they where intellectually unworthy.
jonhestananet 1 month ago 4
These people are hippies of war, they just think all war is dandy and they assume the largest empire on Earth still has to "defend its freedom". They're worse than regular hippies.
htiberian 1 month ago
LOL Rockford College Status: Trolled Hard.
newsradiohead 1 month ago
He was right. We know now what he knew then.
christo930 1 month ago
@christo930 anyone with two brain cells knew. problem is americans only have one.
3108711289 1 month ago
@3108711289 I knew, but only in the vaguest way, and was against the war. The lack of solid, credible information in the US is staggering. The one thing I don't understand is why so many Americans believed that Saddam had anything to do with 9/11.
christo930 1 month ago
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maryann0718 1 month ago
Interestingly, now that so many years have passed, we can see that everything Hedges forsaw and foretold has become a reality. I wonder if those hair-trigger, emotionally charged, blind-faith, ignorant patriots in the audience are rethinking their actions on that day. My guess is probably not.
SylvanaForrester 1 month ago
All those twice Bush-Voting assholes don't like it when someone gets up in their face, and tells them the truth! Chris Hedges is a very deep thinker who has logically considered his opinions, and ultimately lost his job, in part, because of this very speech he gave. This man is one of the very few people I really listen to, and who I consider has a handle on reality... the harsh reality of where our country is headed. The American Empire is Headed For Collapse!
CosmicFork 1 month ago 4
@CosmicFork After listening to the booktv.org interview with Chris Hedges, you are right on. He mentions Wendell Berry, another writer who has long criticized the way our country has been going--quite bluntly.
esslar1 1 month ago
@CosmicFork Just like the empires that came before it. Historty can repeat itself and I always tell this to the young people who think history is useless.
RoonGang09 2 weeks ago
@RoonGang09 history*
RoonGang09 2 weeks ago
This college offered me a scholarship for undergrad. Thank goodness I had the sense to turn them down.
I wish Hedges delivered a speech like this at my graduation ceremony last month. It's somewhat of an unusual topic to bring up for a celebration of students' years of work (LOL), but it would have totally been worth it to see the hyperconservative wackos in my state squirm. Thumbs up, Mr. Hedges! Bravo!
AKSBSU 1 month ago
there must be a dead rodent in his speechwriter machine
skyfreak909 1 month ago
Typical reaction to the truth by ignorant illiterate amerikans! Hedges is right. amerikans if filled with these right wing vermin! They need to be exterminated!
mrbeatnikjd 1 month ago 2
@mrbeatnikjd Remember too that this is a COLLEGE commencement speech.
djartklom 2 weeks ago
I saw this video this evening and though I knew all this was going on I am now so angry. Candidates don't have platforms, don't know history, don't know geography! Voters decide based on looks (Does he look Presidential?), on negative ads, on lies, etc. Politicians will say anything a particular audience wants to hear. Anti intellectual "voters" don't know 6th grade civics. Left, right, makes no difference. Everyone, including Obama, is just packaged to win. Then the corporations take over.
theonlysuz 1 month ago
In terms of protest tactics, those who stood up and turned their backs had the right idea. Those of differing opinions who bull-horned him, shouted him down, and the assholes who cut his mic were displaying thuggish behavior.
Of course, so much of what he said proved right. How many of the class of '03 nationwide, who are about 30 now, actually heard anything this valuable at their commencements?
zyxek 1 month ago in playlist Hedges, Chris: 2003 Rockford College graduation speech
Most of these people turning their backs to Hedges--also one trying to punch him out--are likely not paying their mortgages, some are homeless, and most are underwater financially and/or asking their children for money to keep going. Likely they don't even know what hit them, AND, to top it off, they think things will magically return to "normal" someday.
powergirl901 1 month ago 20
@powergirl901 As long as they have a Support Our Troops magnet on their shopping carts or a yellow ribbon on their bed rolls at the homeless shelter, they'll still have hope.
Amhlair 1 month ago
and a lot these sheeple have probably come around now to realize that Hedges was right. Morons.
stama9 1 month ago
The Rockford audience is the way the whole country was in 2003. If you were in a group of 10 people and said "I don't know if this Iraq thing is a good idea" there would be one person literally ready to punch you.
jcaust 1 month ago
A Man of Courage, Mr. Hedges dares to walk his talk, and bring Truth to those of power and privilege.
lorpa2102 1 month ago
Tha could've just as easily have been Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, or Robert Kennedy on that podium saying those exact things and in those days and the reaction would have been the same...evil people do evil things. Why do we ALWAYS crucify the messenger/prophets? Why?
kc1964kc 1 month ago
@kc1964kc I believe Oscar Wilde said it best, "If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you."
mike4robots 1 month ago
Stupid sheeple wake up.... oh this was 2003...... ostriches.
456manny1 1 month ago
MoooOOooooooooooOooOOOOOooooooo!
sleepwrekt 1 month ago
He's trying to explain to you why you're country is fucked.
Meloman0001 1 month ago 2
Please watch Chris Hedges' remarkable 2 hour, 54 minute interview on CSPAN2 BookTV on January 1, 2012. Google Chris Hedges "Brace Yourself! The American Empire is Over and the Descent is Going To Be Horrifying".
Arroyoribera 1 month ago 51
@Arroyoribera thanks for that google ref-very interesting about General and most interesting was Hedges gave a similar speech to this one to Marines going into Iraq and there was no dissent about content. Very important. Very important. Graduates should know better than this but I guess we blame the messenger...not the truth of the message.
kc1964kc 1 month ago
@Arroyoribera can you provide a link to that, I would love to watch it. IF you can't post the link, maybe you can send me a PM with the link in it?
christo930 1 month ago
Silly rabbit. Doesn't he know that college students just want uplifting lies?
jimbills 1 month ago 3
Rockford College- Redneck school for the "gifted".
drgoodvibesxxx 1 month ago 2
Wow the audience is full of a bunch of sheeple, rednecks.
fallingleafmotion 1 month ago 4
The truth is hard to hear
kcdad2806 1 month ago 4
@kcdad2806 Good one!
Tzara86 1 month ago
Amazing Speech Chris!
FifaSir 2 months ago
I've never thought much about what the appropriate content of a commencement address is, not having been asked to give one and not attended many, but I'm certain that preaching from the bully pulpit is not appropriate.
And it's not true that all muslims hate us because of our foreign policy. The Kurds think G. W. Bush is literally the greatest president ever.
charlesvan13 2 months ago
I wonder how many of those then graduating students are now a part of the OWS movement. As the socioeconomic condition of the US worsens, Hedges forewarning will not be forgotten. People want to scream USA, but little do they know the teachings of Jefferson, Franklin and Washington are echoed in Chris's words.
JThomas20112012 2 months ago
If all else fails, and you have no logical reality-based argument at all, chant "USA, USA". That, at least, is good for emotionalism.
tstruss912 2 months ago 3
Cowards will always attack the brave at the behest of tyrants.
tstruss912 2 months ago 2
What does this have to do with a commencement address??????????????????
throbbingG 3 months ago
@throbbingG precisely
sidmystic 3 months ago
@sidmystic I like his work and everyting but yeah don't they usually say "congratulations and good luck"?
firstfamilyoffahrts 2 months ago
@sidmystic He's preparing them for the world they are stepping into, idiot.
tallswede80 1 month ago 4
@sidmystic Precisely... in that the entire country was gearing up for the Iraq war at that time. Ya remember that? I remember all the shoutdowns of anyone that opposed the invasion of Iraq. Might as well try and reason with a lynch mob. Just chant...USA USA USA. War was so imminent at this point that to talk of anything else would be glib.
jiggystardust 1 month ago
@throbbingG He wanted to send the students out into the world knowing the truth about what is actually going on in America (Heaven Forbid!). He stood up for the truth while so many others just ignore it. I think every student in America would be better off if their commencement speech was more like the one in this video, compared to sugar coated nonsense about how perfect everything is. Denial about the state of our nation should not be part of a commencement speech and only creates ignorance.
sparkofcreativity 3 months ago 3
@sparkofcreativity University students are meant to be smart enough to read newspapers and political journals rather than needing a pseudo intellectual telling them what to think
throbbingG 2 months ago
@throbbingG But they're not. And post graduate students, and working adults don't care either. They watch ENTERTAINMENT and are not interested in what is going to happen to them because the don't believe that bad things can happen to them. They are still invincible.
theonlysuz 1 month ago
@throbbingG everything?
pigasus 2 months ago
@throbbingG
I watched the whole speech. And the negative audience reaction is partly his fault.
Never once did he acknowlege the students or even that he was at a graduation ceremony.
Something similar would happen if you spoke at a funeral or wedding and didn't acknowlege the people of which it was about.
charlesvan13 2 months ago in playlist Chris Hedges
@charlesvan13 Surely so, but I don't think a missplaced speech would incite anybody to rush the stage or cut a mic. We can be quite confident it was partly the content of the speech alone and people's disagreement with it that caused the outrage.
nocturnezero 1 month ago
@throbbingG he's telling the new generations what the old generations did wrong and how to change the direction which the country has taken.
johnnyreality 1 month ago 2
@throbbingG He is a famous journalist that received his Pulitzer Prize for his work in the Middle East. He was invited because of his work there and he wanted to share his thoughts.
Meloman0001 1 month ago 2
@throbbingG "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God."
kc1964kc 1 month ago
@throbbingG
It has a lot to do with a commencement address.
He's speaking to young people who are celebrating their education and looking forward to their future.
He is speaking about responsibility and empathy.
He's speaking from his experience and appealing (hopefully) to the graduates' open minds and hearts.
malma1 1 month ago
@throbbingG
EVERYTHING
malma1 1 month ago
@throbbingG
EVERYTHING
malma1 1 month ago
@throbbingG it's like inspirational for upper/middle class soon to be professional adults who can make a difference so that the world will be a better place and stuff or somethings like you are the people who are educated and privilaged go be the best persons and do the right thing keep urselfs informed yo Dawg dee WUttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! git it?????????????? lol
mythnow 1 month ago
What is upper/middle class these days? How many people out of our almost 300 million are in that group? How much does a college grad make these days, if they can get a job? $20or 30 K Maybe 40K? Not exactly upper middle class. In fact is there a middle class? Or just very wealthy and just getting by, maybe with two jobs?
theonlysuz 1 month ago
@throbbingG This is way better than the crap they usually talk about, and what an entertaining reaction from the braindead groupthink mob.
AKSBSU 1 month ago
So sad. A bunch of spoiled kids who should be getting ready to take real responsibility for their role as Americans in the world. Instead, they literally turn their backs on the truth and scream that they want to be "uplifted." I guess none of these kids are in any danger of fighting the wars that they want to know nothing about. This is the elite we've raised in America. We're doomed.
lafarrell68 3 months ago 2
Chris Hedges is a liar. He continually blames free markets for everything he hates, yet doesn't realise that all a free market is, is the voluntary exchange of goods and services. His imaginary idea of government is what is initiating force, and 'legally' does so, because it was constructed that way.
sheepOG 4 months ago
@sheepOG What free markets? That has never ever even been close to realized in the whole history of man. Name a time and a place where "free markets existed" and I'll tell you why you're wrong.
tstruss912 2 months ago 4
@tstruss912 Oh, but I know that. The United States came close in the 1800s before the civil war (slavery and tariffs were obviously stupid things to condone, but imagine having the same kind of freedom in this age), but even before the civil war it was obvious that war itself was going to be a big problem (perhaps even an addiction) for America.
Which is why I find that Chris Hedges is either a moron or a liar. I presume the latter.
sheepOG 2 months ago
@sheepOG Fair enough, sheepOG (awesome name!). I disagree about Hedges, but I'm glad you--unlike most--see the tariff and slavery doctrines as being non-capitalist.
tstruss912 2 months ago
@sheepOG "slavery and tariffs were obviously stupid things to condone" - well at least you can see that. What about voting right for women and for people who were not landowners? We've come a long way, getting close during the civil rights era and now we are moving backwards again...
theonlysuz 1 month ago
@theonlysuz You're confusing the state with the market. The market was almost free. The state was not (and still isn't).
sheepOG 1 month ago
@sheepOG Besides, I don't advocate having a "state" at all.
sheepOG 1 month ago
@sheepOG What do you propose for the alternative? The world is too overpopulated to live in anarchy. When small groups of people live together and everyone knows everyone else there is SOME chance of mutual cooperation and empathy with fair exchange of services - but it's too late for that now. What is your ideal system of living where there is a rule of law to protect people from criminal behavior? (Including financial criminal behavior)
theonlysuz 1 month ago
@theonlysuz Well, I'm realistic, I know humanity isn't ready for anarchism, and won't be in my lifetime.
I propose the free market as an alternative (I'm a Rothbardian market anarchist), something we haven't been close to in almost 100 years. When the state is gone, natural law would become more important, meaning everyone has the same rights. I see a future in competition between courts, because of my severe distrust of the state courts system, which allows many people to be above the law.
sheepOG 1 month ago
@sheepOG Agree mostly with what you say. Looked up Rothbard who said that "business elites co-opted government's monopoly power so as to influence laws and regulatory policy in a manner benefiting them at the expense of their competitive rivals," which is what is ruining any possibility for a decent life for most people. The thing is natural law would work only if people were honest and empathic - which works in very small groups were everyone knows everyone else and criminals are exiled.
theonlysuz 1 month ago
@sheepOG Did we really have something close to a Rothbardian market ever? Where and when?
theonlysuz 1 month ago
@sheepOG The state and the market are currently massively rigged.
AKSBSU 1 month ago
@tstruss912
the free market we haveis the law of the strong against the weak and powerless. You impose conditions and get what you want. Big industry and corporations have ruthless practices with no regard for the well being of most of us, especialy in third world countries. Watch John Pilger's documentaries.He has twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award, and his documentaries have received academy awards in Britain and the US. Check for yourself.
guscaldas2 1 sec ago
guscaldas2 1 month ago
@guscaldas2 I don't believe in the "free market"; I believe in market tyranny, a tryanny by and for the rich. And yes, I've seen all of Pilger's films. Maybe you were wanting to direct those sentiments towards SheepOG? Anyway, you shouldn't ever call it the "free market". That makes it sound free no matter what you say afterward (see Lakoff for more).
tstruss912 1 month ago
@tstruss912 yes, I meant to send it to the other commentator!
guscaldas2 1 month ago
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guscaldas2 1 month ago
@sheepOG Does this "voluntary exchange of goods and services" include the outsourced jobs and production done in other countries? What is our free market really when the balance of trade is so unbalanced that our citizens can't get work because of the greed of corporations who only care about the bottom line for them and there 6 and 7 figure bonuses while our young people, our grads, don't have jobs, benefits, health care etc. Free market for whom?
theonlysuz 1 month ago
@theonlysuz We don't have a free market right now, that's the point of me calling Chris Hedges stupid for blaming the "free market". A free market is nothing more or less than the voluntary exchange of goods and services, in which individuals have the sole right to their property (including themselves, because you own yourself).
sheepOG 1 month ago
While Hedges is mostly right. The venue of a commencement was not the place to deliver these words, at least in the manner he began his introduction.
Those in the crowd and whomever pulled the plug on the microphone are morons. No doubt many in that very same crowd thought the same.
DRourk 4 months ago
@DRourk, why isn't the venue a place to deliver those words?
guscaldas2 4 months ago
@guscaldas2 Um.. hard to explain in a short space such as this if you aren't familiar with commencements or intuitively know. In short Commencements are generally seen as a time to celebrate. People are showing up to a ceremony celebrating the culmination of their own scholastic achievements or that of their loved one. Speeches given at such things may contain some negativity but will be expected to have an overall positive message. Hedges dives right into the bad stuff without intro. A mistake.
DRourk 4 months ago
@guscaldas2 this is the perfect venue to hear the truth considering, i assume, some of these graduates are going off to the war to die or at least serve the "special interests" which the iraqi war intentionally concealed behind "patriotism."
kc1964kc 1 month ago
Well I hope all those assholes who were glad his mic was cut had a nice war.
TheDystopiaInside 4 months ago 39
fascists. were worse than the nazis.
Pianophile57 4 months ago
This is proof, liberalism is a total mental disorder. Christians, catholics,Hindos,Jews,. Are not trying to figure out how to shove bombs up there rectums, or strap bombs to little girl panties to try to blow up, inocent women,children,and men. This guy and his type are very dilusional, to much koolaid, wow!!!! and this guy has people that follow him! They all need to have psycological exams!!!
4stumpy1 4 months ago
@4stumpy1
Your prose speaks for itself you illiterate white trash lemming.
beek420 4 months ago
@4stumpy1 bro, your comment is full of spelling errors, and all misspellings are clearly marked by a red underline before you post your comment... And you feel entitled to label someone mentally ill? Your uneducated, bigoted opinions only undermine our wonderful democracy! And you don't even know it!
ZebraGoat 4 months ago
@4stumpy1 You do realize the speaker has a degree in divinity, right? You do realize Jesus wasn't about free-markets but free speech? You do realize Jesus would not bless dropping bombs on Iraq, right? Christians are somehow not Catholics or vice versa?
Who s delusional, again? BTW, the Reverend Jones used Flavor-Aid...not Kool-Aid.Maybe you should check a lot more facts and compare them with you truth.
kc1964kc 1 month ago
Even now as the illusion of America shivels up and something darker and more ominous rises up in it's place - something that wears insignias and heraldry of patriotism, preaches from the works of Jefferson and Lincoln and speaks of the compassion of Christ as it tightens it marshals the forces of economic and military oppression and artfully builds the kindling of ethnic and religious persecution - these people will spout nationalist jingos, complicit in future horrors committed in their name.
bigollameo 5 months ago
If a draft was ordered for All including "college kids" this crowd would have shut the f**k up and listened alot more closely ......you figure it out.....
43fatfax 5 months ago 2
To those that denounce this crowd: do you remember your opinions and thoughts on the war back in 2003? Do you remember the fear advertised to us in the form of WMDs supposedly sold to terrorists by Saddam?
So easily we turn a blind eye to our own forgetful minds. I remember being a young fool in high school who thought maybe this war wasn't such a bad thing. I wish I had been exposed to anti-war dissent back then, but I won't claim the innocence of ignorance.
ChrisWEEZ 5 months ago
DUMBASSES
GveMeLbrtylGveMeIPad 5 months ago
U DONT LIKE MURRIKA U KIN GIIIIT OUT
tdc424242 5 months ago
These willing fascists, these feckless and craven pigs in the audience, deserve neither the freedoms of their birth, or the privileges of the education they were being honored for. These willing dupes, these barbaric and bloodthirsty mobs, were what Americans became. Who will remember it? Who will remember this shame? The fools in the audience pretend they never supported war, that they didn't worship Bush. These liars and murderers are your neighbors, your family, and you. God fucking bless.
aoiwarai 6 months ago
@aoiwarai They do in fact. These things are rights, things that, for better or worse, people are entitled to in a republic. Their actions aside, they are still entitled to the freedoms of "birth".
Also, please keep that in mind if you ever get that dennis o'brien poem
Konform2zoidberg 5 months ago
@aoiwarai i feel very ashamed - what you write is mostly true. As a progressive we let our country down.
kc1964kc 1 month ago
The mindless drone and apologist of fascism vs. Know-nothing bible thumpers. Just because one is wrong doesn't make the other right.
wilkja02 7 months ago
stupid Americans turn their back from the truth
rebel7332 7 months ago
#drunkescapade I'm not sure you'd know good writing if it landed in your lap and sounded out all the words for you. Chris Hedges is Pulitzer prize reporter, his books have won awards and just because his discourse is above your reading level, does not mean he's a poor writer. It most likely means you don't get it. You couldn't begin to understand the topics this man, a polyglot, articulates as he invites us to consider the premises of Thucydides, Socrates, Reinhold Niebuhr, Augustine, Kant, etc.
godivademaus 7 months ago 3
Why would they invite Chris Hedges to give a speech and then proceed to attempt to shut him up? Didn't the committee know of his views? Hello? What did they expect: a speech to cheer-lead the next generation of corporate drones? Come on, now.
cosmicviewer477 7 months ago 2
This terrifies me. I admire you, Chris Hedges.
dixxx 9 months ago
Well, I haven't seen the comparison yet, but to me it is obvious... THE TWO MINUTES HATE OF NINETEEN EIGHTYFOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is astounding the subtle similarities of past fascist nations to modern United States.
jpp3g 9 months ago 2
@jpp3g i totally agree. My daughters HS pt on the play Cabaret, and the similarities were stark and yet completely modern...all we are missing are those stupid swastika armbands. Welcome to Neo-Fascist America-inverse totalitarianism as Mr Hedges argument evolves to currently. Life is a cabaret...
kc1964kc 1 month ago
Mr. Hedges just showed a group of retarded hyenas a card trick!
jayflo92008 9 months ago
pearls to pigs
esiosan 9 months ago
Why is he preaching about doomsday at a college graduation ceremony? Maybe they just think he's a jackass for doing so. (that's not to say that I think the US is perfect by any means, just that Hedges is a jackass)
joshisanonymous 10 months ago
@joshisanonymous
if you've read anything hedge's has wrote or heard him speak on universities and their desertion of the role as a liberal institution, then making this speech at a commencement does not only make perfect sense but is a dire necessity. The point is, the war now, but especially back then is lacking the criticism that the liberal class tends to hold to war (you can read more on his take of this in Death of the Liberal Class). And instead of contemplating the meaning
drunkscapades 9 months ago
@joshisanonymous
of what he is truly trying to convey to the audience is dismissed by booing and name calling such as "jackass." Maybe people do not want to hear what he has to say, but it is vital, especially to the upcoming generation to assess the cruelty of the wars their country is perpetrating and question if it is sustainable for their country, economy, society, etc.
drunkscapades 9 months ago
@joshisanonymous
otherwise those who have been responsible for making bad decisions will continue to make bad decisions, without facing criticism or opposition. As harsh as it is, these graduates were lucky to receive a commencement speech that addresses major social issues, point blank, without some fabricated sugar coating. If he were to give these speech now, he'd probably receive a standing ovation.
drunkscapades 9 months ago
@drunkscapades I've read two of his books which is why I think he's a jackass; not so much because of this speech. War is a Force was ok, just meandering and poorly written. Empire of Illusion was a 200 page rant from a grumpy old man preaching about doomsday, fraught with ridiculously misinterpreted information. His key informant on education seemed to be some undergrad at Berkeley. He even managed to reneg in Illusion on his claim from War is a Force that we mythify our ancestors by
joshisanonymous 9 months ago
@drunkscapades talking up his dad's generation as if we've fallen from their grace. He's a terrible writer, terrible at putting together cohesive arguments, and terrible at interpreting data. That being said, I probably am giving the people in this crowd a bit too much credit. Blind patriotism is certainly a bad thing and seems to be displayed here. I guess I just feel sanguine about seeing Hedges lampooned after making it through two of his self-righteous diatribes.
joshisanonymous 9 months ago
@joshisanonymous I liked Death of the Liberal Class, I think he is a huge intellect, maybe he's over your head....
rusedorange 8 months ago
@joshisanonymous hey faggot, i bet you supported the war in iraq. BTW how many pulitzer prizes do you have? ZERO. You're nothing. That's what I thought. go suck a dick you fat fuck american.
americansrfaggots 8 months ago
@joshisanonymous the only jackass is you. he has right to say whatever he wants. you don't like it? move to north korea, you commie faggot.
americansrfaggots 8 months ago
It appears that Rockford College didn't manage to teach their students much about the ability to think independently. They sound like a bunch of jingoist goons.
How many of the Rockford Goon Squad still think the Iraq war was such a noble, worthy cause?
If you went to Rockford College, clearly your tuition money was wasted.
renosucker 10 months ago
@LivingDead221 Please don't blanket all of us Americans in that particular cloak. Not all of us have been brainwashed into believing America is a great place that does no wrong. Sadly, our leadership (and several of the little people) are filled with people who don't seem to care, but I for one am not one of them! I wish I could tell you that you are wrong with your beliefs about America and some of her people... but I cannot.
captfoster1 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Well, in fairness to the audience, this speech was spoken less than 3 months after the illegal invasion of iraq took place, so it was fresh in the minds of all. And as we all know, it takes time for people to accept truth and reality. Which leads me to add that Mr. Hedges WAS RIGHT!!
I go to Rockford College in the present... and this speech is still talked about on campus.
Oh, and blurting "USA, USA, USA" is not an adult level defense when confronted with reality.
captfoster1 10 months ago
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captfoster1 10 months ago
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cdasa005 10 months ago
moronic war mongering brainwashed yanks.... yeehaw, hey hey lookey here paw, we got us one of them educated folk talking sense. no wonder the world is fucked
daveydave168 10 months ago
the art of corporate brainwash, hypnosis and mind control
die in your camp america! you didnt want to listen, now its 2011 and your concentration camp america is more and more turned to a high tech evil policestate, again; die in your camp-america!
LivingDead221 11 months ago
What a bunch of idiot fucking hicks. never have i seen people so uncivilly stupid in my life. even more pathetic that they're are graduating students... and people wonder why this country is drowning, ask these indoctrinated fools singing their anthem. what a fuckin joke.
terrorshark666 11 months ago
All shouting students look like blood thirsty mad hounds as they are neither trained by parents nor by the teachers about listening courageously even to their opponent and outwit him / her in their logic , reason and knowledge. They don't like like
American who have great tolerance of ideas and passion for learning . They seem just like wild animal rather worse than that.. David E. Hawke , Toronto , Canada
keewandevil 11 months ago
All shouting students look like blood thirsty mad hounds as they are neither trained by parents nor by the teachers about listening courageously even to their opponent and outwit him / her in their logic , reason and knowledge. They don't like like
American who have great tolerance of ideas and passion for learning . They seem just like wild animal rather worse than that.. David E. Hawke , Toronto , Canada
keewandevil 11 months ago
@keewandevil Good point man.
dangoettel100 11 months ago
I am student and I feel ashamed while I see some nonsense students protesting too stupidly like mad dogs against such a great scholar of this era. My eyes can't believe if the students are really American or hired puppets as American students really know that grace and dignity lies in tolerance of view point of others courageously and then taking exception to the speakers in a decent way in the question - answer session through logic, knowledge and reasoning.
Robert E. David Canada
keewandevil 11 months ago
I am student and I feel ashamed while I see some nonsense students protesting too stupidly like mad dogs against just a great scholar of his times. My eyes can't believe if the students are really American or hired puppets as American students really know that that grace and dignity lies in tolerance of view point of others even opponents courageously and then taking exception to the speakers in a decent way in the question - answer session through logic, knowledge and reasoning. Robert-Canada
keewandevil 11 months ago
....I wonder after so many years do the feel the same or shame...???
maxMAXmaxs 11 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
What a sad commentary the shouting, non-thinking, fascist croud of "Americans" make about OUR country... THIS is a prime example of why "they" (pick a they and/or them) hate US!!! Goddess only knows where this type of non-thinking will lead US next.... As usual, prescient thoughts from Chris Hedges. Shameful that WE NEVER seem to learn!
pholly62 1 year ago
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pholly62 1 year ago
they should do like the ostrich and put their heads in the sand
who wants to hear the truth, we prefer to deny our mistakes and our faults than to admit them
claudelebel55 1 year ago 2
That way better than the commencement address for my graduating class. Everything he said that day in 2003 has come to pass. Hedges had the facts right. It's be bad his audience were such a bunch of dumbs dumbs mixed in with well aged trash and other various rubbish. Pull your fucking heads out of your fat asses. Loving your country isn't the same thing as blind stupidity. ya fucking trash without facts.
realgoodscoobysnacks 1 year ago 2
siech heil ladies und gentleman!
JimmyJamesee 1 year ago 2
The crowd is steeped with lemmings!
ssnickelfritz 1 year ago
Low GPA, all of them.
rickbar123 1 year ago
chris hedges rocks!
CerrutiMan 1 year ago
Look at those free speech hating proto fascist pieces of SHIT. Disgusting ass products of incest. FUCK THEM ALL. Let the corporations eat their children alive.
rightwingnutcake 1 year ago 13
"The language & symbols of an authentic American fascism would, of course, have little to do with the original European models. They would have to be familiar & reassuring to loyal Americans . . . No swastikas in an American fascism, but Stars and Stripes & Christian crosses. No fascist salute, but mass recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance. . . An American fascism would transform [it] into [an] obligatory litmus tests for detecting the internal enemy." ~ Robert O. Paxton, Anatomy of Fascism
bapyou 1 year ago
What a bunch of mob-mentality cowards.... Yet another reason to be ashamed to be American....
What are the admission standards for attending Rockford? Signing your name? Any name?
eaodak 1 year ago 2
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eaodak 1 year ago
truth is the ultimate rebellion and liberator
southsydney 1 year ago
Wow - before Chris Hedges was speaking for even two minutes, the nit-wits started to heckle him. I hope Rockford College has improved its admission standards.
jimlaregina 1 year ago
lol @ the idiot in the end shouting "send 'im to iraq!" hedges has spent over 15 years covering war, much of it in the middle east. he was IN iraq which is why he was saying what he was saying. this is goddamn chilling. and depressing.
russianpaul77 1 year ago 5
Interesting, very interesting that Chris Hedges could see and say all of this so long ago in 2003!
MM2222ut 1 year ago
The words "Pearls before swine" come to mind.
833P 1 year ago