Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The inimitable Hedges is not only a saint with a penetrating intelligence, but also a man of superior eloquence with the power to pull you into his descriptions of the collapse of western civilization. Hedges says that the new American Capitalism no longer produces products — rather America produces escapist fantasies. I found this paragraph [page 233] particularly relevant. The act of being dedicated to the ‘greater good’ has in itself become dangerous. Chris Hedges: “We do not become autonomous and free human beings by building pathetic, tiny monuments to ourselves. It is through self-sacrifice and humility that we affirm the sanctity of others and the sanctity of ourselves. Those who fight against cultural malice … have discovered that life is measured by infinitesimal and often unacknowledged acts of solidarity and kindness. These acts of kindness … spin outward to connect our atomized and alienated souls to others. The good … draws to it the good. This belief — held although we may never see empirical proof — is profoundly transformative. But know this: when these acts are carried out on behalf of the oppressed and the demonized, when compassion defines the core of our lives, when we understand that justice is a manifestation of love, we are marginalized and condemned by our sociopathic elites.”