Your video, chris hedges-understanding our political nightmare, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

@Stormsinger

i can agree with the intent of your comment but i think it ignores a far greater,and possibly more dangerous facet of this current election cycle.

look,
when the DNC began it's political play to nudge sanders out,and was changing the rules of application to keep laurence lessig off the ballot.it became obvious (to me anyways) that clinton was tagged for the run,and the DNC was attempting to steal sanders thunder,which was shockingly impressive,and redirect it to boost clinton.

but the DNC had failed to successfully execute this plan because they didn't understand the true nature of those sanders supporters.so their plan backfired.

the RNC did almost the EXACT same thing with trump.they hated the man,wanted nothing to do with him,but they saw how powerful his campaign was picking up steam and they attempted to play the long con.for a year they allowed trump to do and say whatever he wanted,with little rebuttal or regard.they watched as trump got bigger,and bolder,and more brash.they watched his numbers climb consistently..and they waited.and after a year,they attempted to step in and steal trumps thunder by offering a more "reasonable" candidate.

ok ok...enough with the trump.
you want cruz?...nope.
how about ben carson? he is a sweet guy and BLACK....nope.
marco rubio?he is spanish with immigrant parents...nope
john kasich?...nope

because the RNC didn't get it either.they too,attempted to steal trumps thunder and their plan backfired.

liberals didnt get it.
conservatives didnt get it.
corporate media didnt get it.
political pundits,who get PAID to get it,didnt get it.
pollsters didnt get it.
suzy mcprettyface who reads the teleprompter didnt get it.

but the americans who lived in those dead midwestern towns got it.they may not understand neoliberalism,but they could see the effects by the boarded up stores,closed banks and the only jobs to have were the night shift at the one fast food joint left in the entire town.

these are the very same people who may not fully comprehend what the bank bailouts meant,or how austerity affected them,but they understood that the biggest industry in their town was no longer coal,or steel,or fishing but production of meth.they saw small shops close and crumble under the weight of a walmart superstore,and chains of pill mills.

they watched as construction jobs dried up,and private prisons expanded.there are some towns in texas and florida that literally survive on the incarceration of other americans.so they may not have fully understood that the "war on drugs" is actually a war on people,but they certainly could see the after-effects.

and these people were being told..everyday..that the economy was doing great.
that unemployment was at an all time low.
that the american dream was still attainable.
and at the very same time they were also being told that if you were on food stamps you were a loser,and a leech.
that if you lost your home it was YOUR fault.
that if you couldnt find a job you were lazy.
and if you DID happen to find a job,but it paid minimum,well then you should have gone to college or made better choices.

and since when did it become a virtue to exploit the hopeless and the desperate? to take advantage of someones misfortune and pay them pennies to do a job,but god forbid someone actually demands what they feel they are worth,because then you are accused of being a rip off artist!

when did THIS tactic become and american ideology?

and that really is the core nugget of this tale.
the ideology of america.
the amercian dream.
it was dead,and those people finally got it.
and there is NOTHING more fanatical or zealous than a defeated idealist.

so you can judge them for voting trump,but i think we should also understand WHY they voted for trump.

chris hedges wrote a truthdig piece that is far more eloquent and illuminating than anything i could ever put to paper.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/we_are_all_deplorables_20161120

From an article by Chris Hedges:

Robert Paxton wrote in “The Anatomy of Fascism”:

The language and symbols of an authentic American fascism would, of course, have little to do with the original European models. They would have to be as familiar and reassuring to loyal Americans as the language and symbols of the original fascisms were familiar and reassuring to many Italians and Germans, as [George] Orwell suggested. Hitler and Mussolini, after all, had not tried to seem exotic to their fellow citizens. No swastikas in an American fascism, but Stars and Stripes (or Stars and Bars) and Christian crosses. No fascist salute, but mass recitations of the pledge of allegiance. These symbols contain no whiff of fascism in themselves, of course, but an American fascism would transform them into obligatory litmus tests for detecting the internal enemy.

Your video, vice-chris hedges on what it takes to be a rebel, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

Chris Hedges is the MAN. Such an incredible wealth of knowledge, so well spoken, and such a heart arcing towards justice in society. If you haven't yet, check out his book, "War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning". Truly a seminal book for all.

Full interview (doesn't work with forced TLS):
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/journalist-chris-hedges/

Shocking that one of the leading mouthpieces and corporate apologists for the diseased form of capitalism that is capsizing the former republic of the United States of America would be predicting that 'market forces' will maintain an environment where CEOs such as Dan Price, who are confused as to which side of the class war they are on, will be strongly discouraged from closing the historical chasm of income disparity with their workers via a complex and myriad assortment of carefully implemented internal structures, that have been embedded over several decades starting with Reagan, and will serve to doom any business to failure for not prizing profit, and the unequal distribution of profit, over all other considerations such as income parity.

The most interesting aspect of this experiment isn't whether it succeeds or fails in the long run but rather that it will someday be used as a prime example by people like Chris Hedges who argue that the form of crony capitalism plaguing the West cannot and should not be reformed but rather destroyed and replaced with a system that doesn't have as its main aim the impoverishment of workers for the sole benefit of an oligarchical aristocratic elite.

i would not say i am anti-establishment but rather suspicious of power and authority,and rightly so in my opinion,but thats all that is..my opinion.

i tend to post chomsky because he is the most quoted and since he is so critical of power his research tends to be thoroughly vetted.i also post:chris hedges,henry giroux,sheldon wolin,carl popper all whom are extremely critical of the current power structures.

my faith dictates my politics and to me the argument is always,and i mean always:power vs powerlessness

i am critical of power.
i challenge authority and question its validity,forcing said authority to prove its relevance in todays society.

just because i criticize and challenge current power structure in no way dismisses the very good and beneficial accomplishments of the society i reside in.there are many positives to be acknowledged and applauded,but we must be vigilant and do our due diligence in order to challenge extremely powerful forces that seek to undermine the myriad of hard-won rights and privileges in order to benefit themselves at the detriment of everybody else.

so while my politics may be perceived as radical by some,it is not radical at all to me.which should be self-evident.

and disagreement is not only fine by me but welcomed,and i am glad you will engage with me (some people fear conflict).engagement forces me to refine and examine my own ideologies and if they are found lacking,then they must be discarded.without challenge and criticism we will all sit in our own hubris,an echo chamber of our own insular ideologies,smelling our own farts.

now where is the fun in that?

anyways..always a pleasure sparring with ya.
stay awesome brother and merry christmas happy new year!

Your video, Chris Hedges Interviews Noam Chomsky (1/3), has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

Chris Hedges Interviews Noam Chomsky (3/3) has been added as a related post - related requested by lurgee on that post.

Chris Hedges Interviews Noam Chomsky (3/3) has been added as a related post - related requested by lurgee on that post.

Chris Hedges Interviews Noam Chomsky (1/3) has been added as a related post - related requested by lurgee.

Chris Hedges Interviews Noam Chomsky (2/3) has been added as a related post - related requested by lurgee.

Chris Hedges Interviews Noam Chomsky (1/3) has been added as a related post - related requested by kulpims on that post.

Chris Hedges Interviews Noam Chomsky (2/3) has been added as a related post - related requested by kulpims.

*related=http://videosift.com/video/Chris-Hedges-Interviews-Noam-Chomsky-2-3