Chris Hedges
Chris Hedges | |
---|---|
Born | |
Education | Colgate University, B.A. Harvard Divinity School, M. Div |
Occupation(s) | Journalist, Writer |
Spouse | Eunice Wong |
Children | Thomas, Noelle, Konrad |
Christopher Lynn Hedges (born September 18, 1956 in St. Johnsbury, Vermont) is an American journalist, author, and war correspondent, specializing in American and Middle Eastern politics and societies.[1] His most recent book is 'Death of the Liberal Class (2010).[2]
Hedges is also known as the best-selling author of War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning (2002), which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction. A quote from the book was used as the opening title quotation in the critically-acclaimed and Academy Award-winning 2009 film, The Hurt Locker. The quote reads: "The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug."[3][4][5]
Chris Hedges is currently a senior fellow at The Nation Institute in New York City.[6] He spent nearly two decades as a foreign correspondent in Central America, the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. He has reported from more than fifty countries, and has worked for The Christian Science Monitor, National Public Radio, The Dallas Morning News, and The New York Times,[1] where he was a foreign correspondent for fifteen years (1990–2005).
In 2002, Hedges was part of the team of reporters at The New York Times awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the paper's coverage of global terrorism. He also received in 2002 the Amnesty International Global Award for Human Rights Journalism. He has taught at Columbia University, New York University and Princeton University.[1] He is currently the F. Ross Johnson-Connaught Distinguished Visitor in American Studies, Centre for the Study of the United States at The University of Toronto. He writes a weekly column on Mondays for Truthdig and is married to the Canadian actress Eunice Wong. They have one son together and Hedges has two children from a previous marriage.[2]
Biography
Christopher Lynn Hedges was born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, the son of a Presbyterian minister, the Rev. Thomas Hedges. He grew up in upstate New York, graduated from the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut in 1975 and attended Colgate University where he received a B.A. in English Literature. He later obtained a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, where he studied under James Luther Adams. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in May 2009 from the Unitarian Universalist seminary, Starr King School for the Ministry, in Berkeley, California.[2]
In 1983, Hedges began his career reporting on the conflict in El Salvador. Following six years in Latin America, he took time off to study Arabic and then went to Jerusalem and later Cairo. He spent seven years in the Middle East, most of them as the Middle East Bureau Chief for The New York Times. During the first Gulf War he was taken prisoner by the Iraqi Republican Guard while covering the Shiite uprising in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. He was released after a week to the International Committee of the Red Cross. He left the Middle East in 1995 for Sarajevo to cover the war in Bosnia followed by the war in Kosovo. Later, he joined the investigative team of The New York Times, based in Paris, and covered terrorism.[citation needed]
He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University during the academic year of 1998-1999 where he studied classics. In addition to English, he speaks Arabic, French and Spanish and knows Latin and ancient Greek.[citation needed] He has written for numerous publications including The Nation, Foreign Affairs, Harper's Magazine, The New York Review of Books, Granta, Mother Jones, New Humanist and Robert Scheer's web magazine Truthdig where he publishes a column every Monday.
Hedges, an outspoken critic of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, was also an early and vocal critic of the Iraq War. He questioned the rationale for war by the Bush administration and was critical of the early press coverage, calling it "shameful cheerleading". In May 2003, Hedges delivered a commencement address at Rockford College in Rockford, Illinois, saying:[7]
- "We are embarking on an occupation that, if history is any guide, will be as damaging to our souls as it will be to our prestige and power and security."
Several hundred members of the audience booed and jeered his talk, although some applauded. Hedges' microphone was cut twice and two young men rushed the stage to try to prevent him from speaking. Hedges had to cut short his address and was escorted off campus by security officials before the ceremony was over. An editorial in The Wall Street Journal denounced Hedges for his anti-war stance on May 24. [citation needed] His employer, The New York Times, criticized his statements and issued him a formal reprimand for "public remarks that could undermine public trust in the paper's impartiality."[8] Shortly after the incident, Hedges left The New York Times to become a senior fellow at The Nation Institute, write books and teach.[8][9]
Hedges states that his outlook is influenced by moral writers and ethicists such as George Orwell, Samuel Johnson, Karl Popper, Hannah Arendt, Elias Canetti, Dwight Macdonald, C. Wright Mills, Theodor Adorno and theologians such as William Stringfellow, Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, Abraham Heschel, and Reinhold Niebuhr.
In December 29, 2008 column for Truthdig, Hedges identified himself as a "socialist" in contrast to what he sees as "ruthless totalitarian capitalism."[10]
Hedges has appeared on Democracy Now! [11][12] and George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight.[13]
Books
War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning (2002)
Hedges' bestselling War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning (ISBN 1586480499) draws on his experiences in various conflicts to describe the patterns and behavior of nations and individuals in wartime. The book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction.
What Every Person Should Know About War (2003)
Hedges is also the author of What Every Person Should Know About War (ISBN 1417721049), a book he worked on with several combat veterans.
Losing Moses on the Freeway (2005)
Losing Moses on the Freeway: The 10 Commandments in America (ISBN 0743255135) was published in June 2005. The book was inspired by the Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski and his ten-part film series The Decalogue. Hedges wrote about lives, including his own, which had been consumed by one of the violations or issues raised by a commandment.
American Fascists (2007)
American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America (ISBN 0743284437) was published in January 2007. In this book, Hedges argues that the Christian fundamentalist movement emerging today in the United States resembles the early fascist movements in Italy and Germany at the beginning of the last century, and therefore constitutes a gathering threat to American democracy.
I Don't Believe in Atheists (2008)
I Don't Believe in Atheists (ISBN 141656795X), published in March 2008, is a critique of what Hedges perceives as a radical mindset that rages against religion and faith. Hedges states the book was motivated by debates he had with atheist authors Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens who, Hedges feels, excessively demonize religion, particularly Islam, in ways that, Hedges believes, were eerily similar to the thinking of Christian fundamentalists. The 2009 paperback edition (1416570780) was retitled When Atheism Becomes Religion: America's New Fundamentalists.
Collateral Damage (2008)
Collateral Damage: America's War Against Iraqi Civilians (ISBN 1568583737), with Laila Al-Arian.
Empire of Illusion (2009)
Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle (ISBN 9781568584379) was published in July 2009. An exploration of how literacy is being replaced by illusion in American culture.
Death of the Liberal Class (2010)
Death of the Liberal Class (ISBN 9781568586441) was published in October 2010 by Nation books.
References
- ^ a b c Simon & Schuster, "Authors: Chris Hedges"
- ^ a b c Americans Who Tell the Truth.org "Chris Hedges Biography"
- ^ The Scotsman, "Film Review: The Hurt Locker" By Alistair Harkness, August 28, 2009
- ^ "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning", Amnesty International NOW Magazine, Winter 2002
- ^ Hedges, Chris "War is a Force that Gives us Meaning", p. 2-3 of introduction, ISBN 9781400034635, Pub. Date: June 2003 (reprint), Publisher: Random House Inc.
- ^ The Nation Institute directory, bios, Chris Hedges
- ^ Footage of the speech on YouTube; Rockford College, May 2003
- ^ a b Hedges, Chris; A Father's Gift, The Dallas Morning News, June 17, 2006, accessed Dec 21, 2010
- ^ The Nation Institute
- ^ Hedges, Chris, "Why I Am a Socialist", TruthDig, Dec 29, 2008
- ^ Pierce, Greg (25 May 2003). "Inside Politics". The Washington Times. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ ""Chris Hedges on "American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America""". 2007-02-19.
- ^ "Strombo, Chris Hedges, CBC Television". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
External links
- Hedges, Chris (2007-07-07). "A Declaration of Independence From Israel". Truthdig. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
- Hedges, Chris (2007-11-18). "U.S. IN THE TIME OF EMPIRE?". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
- Hedges, Chris (May 2005). "Feeling the hate with the National Religious Broadcasters". Harper's. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- Hedges, Chris (2004-12-16). "On War". New York Review of Books Volume 51, Number 20. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
- Hedges, Chris (2004-11-15). "The Christian Right and the Rise of American Fascism". TheocracyWatch. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- Hedges, Chris (2003-05-20). "Text of the [[Rockford College]] graduation speech". Rockford Register Star.
{{cite news}}
: URL–wikilink conflict (help) - Hedges, Chris (2003-03-07). "[[Bill Moyers]] talks with Chris Hedges on the eve of the Iraq War". NOW.
{{cite news}}
: URL–wikilink conflict (help) - Bush's Nuclear Apocalypse - An article written by Chris Hedges and published on the 8th of October 2006 on www.truthdig.com and on www.pravda.ru in Italian (L'Apocalisse Nucleare di Bush)
- I Don't Believe in Atheists - An interview with Chris Hedges by Charly Wilder at www.salon.com, 13 March 2008, on why New Atheists are as dangerous as Christian fundamentalists.
- Our Father - An essay by novelist Christian Bauman that provides a behind-the-scenes view of the writing of What Every Person Should Know About War, at IdentityTheory.com, February 2009.
- Nation Books description of Death of the Liberal Class, October 2010
Video links
- George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight. CBC. November 3, 2010. 13mn
- The Agenda with Steve Paikin: debate with Chris Hedges on The Liberal Class. TVOntario. October 29, 2010. 37mn
- The Agenda with Steve Paikin: interview of Chris Hedges on The Liberal Class. TVOntario. October 29, 2010. 14mn
- Chris Hedges - The Death of the Liberal Class: Talk by Chris Hedges at Media Sanctuary. October 17, 2010. 46mn
- Chris Hedges - The Death of the Liberal Class: Q & A by Chris Hedges at Media Sanctuary. October 17, 2010. 40mn
- Chris Hedges - Empire of Illusion: Interview by Allan Gregg. March 19, 2010. 30mn
- Chris Hedges - Empire of Illusion. December 12, 2009. 1h22mn
- Chris Hedges - Collateral Damage: America's War Against Iraqi Civilians (Google video). June 27, 2008. 1h05mn
- An evening at Maryknoll with Chris Hedges (Google video). February 21, 2007. 1h10mn
- Chris Hedges on “American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America”. Democracy Now!. February 19, 2007. 46mn
- Who Are the American Fascists?. Cambridge Forum/WGBH. February 14, 2007. 1h14
- The Hour. CBC. February 6, 2007. 10mn[dead link]
- BookTV talk. CSPAN. Jan 18, 2007. 54mn
- Teach-In at G.W. University (Google video). December 4, 2006. 33mn
- The Connection: Iraq and the Meaning of War with Chris Hedges (Google video). Houston PBS. November 28, 2006. 27mn
- War is a Force that Gives us Meaning with Chris Hedges. UCTV. November 1, 2004.1h
- Commencement address at Rockford College (YouTube video). May 17, 2003. 21mn
- War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. WGBH Forum Network. Jan 22, 2003. 1h18mn
- Hedges: President Obama is a "Poster Child for the Death of the Liberal Class" - video interview by Democracy Now!
Audio links
- Chris Hedges interviewed on Death of the Liberal Class December 1, 2010, KBOO Community Radio
- Chis Hedges lecture on corporate power and media January 9, 2010 web audio lists and program times
- Chris Hedges interviewed on Humankind Public Radio November 15, 2009
- Chris Hedges and Adam Sternbergh on CBC debate the effect of sensational pop culture September 16, 2009
- Chris Hedges talks on consumer culture, the cult of the self, corporations and media manipulation. July 22, 2009
- Scott Horton Interviews Chris Hedges. Antiwar Radio. October 19, 2007. 26mn
- Christo-Fascism?. The Dennis Prager Show. February 21, 2007. 35mn
- American Fascists. Pacifica Radio. February 16, 2007. 21mn
- The Religious Right. CBC Radio. February 8, 2007. 28mn
- Author Argues Christian Right Hurts Democracy. NPR. Jan 25, 2007. 30mn
- On David and Goliath. Open Source. July 26, 2006. 1h
- Does God love war?. March 11, 2006.
- Reflections on War. AFSC. November 6, 2004. 35mn
- War Is A Force that Gives Us Meaning. Altruists.org. October 11, 2003. 49mn
- War Is A Force... Reading by Criss. (suitable for dial-up users)
- Has Religion Been a Boon or Bane to Humanity?. Kuow.org. March 27, 2008. 54mn
- Chris Hedges presents his newest book, Empire of Illusion http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/36777
- American Presbyterians
- American foreign policy writers
- American political writers
- American reporters and correspondents
- American socialists
- Christian Science Monitor people
- Colgate University alumni
- American people of English descent
- Harvard Divinity School alumni
- Nieman Fellows
- New York Times writers
- The Nation (U.S. periodical) people
- War correspondents
- 1956 births
- Living people
- People from St. Johnsbury, Vermont
- People from Schoharie, New York