Chris Hedges’ April 5 lecture encompassed a large range of topics, from the United States’ political system to the economic crisis to global warming. He spoke within the context of large corporations’ overwhelming power over nearly every aspect of culture and society. At times, Hedges’ speech was nearly apocalyptic. And yet, it seems somehow fitting that he began with a description of Michael Jackson’s funeral.
According to Hedges, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, the power of United States corporations has spiraled to enormous proportions. No action can be taken by government, by celebrities, or even by consumers without extensive, deliberate planning by large companies, which work tirelessly to grind away at the middle class and exploit citizens in search of higher profits. Lobbying in Congress has reached the point where the president himself is powerless to effect any change that would counter corporations’ interests.
Summoning Ray Bradbury’s disturbing imagery of a dystopian world in Fahrenheit 451, Hedges described the thrill with which the public enjoys watching a disaster unfold on television. The manner in which corporations broadcast news appeals to an audience the same way a movie would, down to the attractive anchor and the tragic ending. Celebrities are turned into “commodities” that can be packaged, sold, and discarded at will. Their lives are ruined by the childhood, the privacy, and the dignity that they are stripped of. Famous people, like their admirers, seek to emulate a physical ideal created by an entity that is, in fact, faceless. Omnipresent puppet masters can exert so much emphasis on personal appearances that people seek radical means of transforming themselves.
Meanwhile, corporations are involved in far more sinister activity. Hodges emphasized that the ceaseless manipulation of government has rendered the political process worthless. Both Democrats and Republicans are equally entrenched in the influence of private companies. For example, because the oil business plays such a large role in government manipulation, there is no way to create real change for the environment, allowing global warming to escalate to life-threatening proportions.
Equally as pressing is the issue of the financial crisis, brought about by the ruthlessness of financial corporations, which purposefully destroyed the lives of millions for profit. As Hedges put it, in modern society “fame and wealth are their own justification,” and “those who lose deserve to be erased [from existence].” As a result, politicians find ways to manipulate unemployment rates into smaller percentages to pacify the public, hiding the ugly truth that the American lifestyle can no longer be supported, and collapse is eminent. In fact, the United States may soon find itself “devolving” into a developing nation. As the middle class dips farther and farther into the lower class, and the lower class retreats into poverty, the upper class will find itself hiding from the horrors of society by closing itself off.
Due to declining literacy and interest in literature, the public has become as docile as sheep. They have, for the most part, lost their ability to fight injustice and use reason for analytical thinking. People are perfectly content to close their eyes and imagine a brighter future, convincing themselves that they can move forward and achieve success, when really such endeavors are impossible from the start. After all, Hedges made it clear in his speech that the average citizen has nobody on his side, because corporations have used their influence to wipe away any security nets long ago.
Hedges’ vision for the future gets even more frightening. As the nation will fall farther and farther into despair, they will seek radical approaches to finding some semblance of happiness, particularly in the arms of the mega-churches, which preach racism, ethnic cleansing, and extreme intolerance. In short, the massive amount of evil in the United States has set the stage for totalitarian rule.
Despite the sobering reality that Hedges described, he ended his lecture on a hopeful note, encouraging his audience to become part of a counter-force to the current system, one that seeks to change the country, and the world, for the better by actively revolting against the government as it is arranged now instead of working through it. There is still hope of casting off the yoke of corporations, before life in America begins unhinging completely.
This presentation was made possible (in part) through support from the Arthur Coleman Tuggle Lecture Fund.
