Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt

[No Elephants]

The Other America
‘Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt’


By PHILIPP MEYER
Published: August 17, 2012

This book is a collaboration between Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco, showing us daily life in four centers of 21st-century American poverty. Hedges’ contribution — a combination of reportage and commentary — is in a long tradition of literary journalism. Sacco’s is the sort of graphic art popularized by Art Spiegelman in “Maus.” Both writers have decades of experience as correspondents in war zones, but in “Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt” they turn their attention to the bombed-out and collapsed areas of their own country.

Sacco’s sections are uniformly brilliant. The tone is controlled, the writing smart, the narration neutral; we are allowed to draw our own conclusions. Hedges sees this book as a call to revolution, and as with most works in which the author’s philosophical and political beliefs are aired in an unfiltered manner, a lot of what you appreciate about Hedges’ writing will depend on how closely you identify with his politics.

From my point of view — and perhaps I could be accused of not being political enough — this is unfortunate. This is an important book. But it is at its best when simply presenting the facts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/books/review/days-of-destruction-days-of-revolt.html?_r=0



First, full disclosure. I found out Chris Hedges existed only within the past year, but I quickly became a fan. So, I am biased because of my admiration for him. I have not read the book, so, for all I know, the reviewer is correct and I am wrong. (End of disclosure, start of opinions.)



This review basically says that this book is at its best when a reporter (Sacco) simply reports to us that there is terrible poverty in the United States and describes certain pockets of poverty, including Pine Ridge. However, the reviewer believes the book falls short when Chris Hedges urges us actually to do something about that poverty.


Say what? What on earth is the point of depressing us with descriptions of heart-wrenching poverty without telling us what to do about it?



We live in an economy geared to transfer assets from the people as a whole (natural resources, airwaves) and from poor people and middle class people, to the top 5% (being generous--probably the top .5%). Everything else in the society supports and enables that, with a few bones thrown to the rabble, though fewer and fewer bones as time progresses.

As Hedges says, we live in corporate America. Our politicians are merely the public face of corporate America.



My greatest fear is that we have been sheeple too long and the situation is now irreversible. That they are as capable of ignoring peaceful demonstrations and peaceful civil disobedience (which Hedges advocates. not armed revolution) as they are of ignoring a million emails and polls favoring a public option by over 70%.

And, if it comes to anything more than very mild civil disobedience, they will gun us down in the streets, making Kent State seem like a few kids falling down during recess (meaning no disrespect to the Kent State victims--quite the opposite, in fact).

My greatest hope is that Americans finally figure out which actions they can take to turn the tide and then fucking take those actions instead on talking about them, posting about them and/or writing about them. (Seems to me that many equate those three things with taking action.)

Maybe the Sacco Hedges book will at least help us figure out what to do.

God, I hope so.

[Enthusiast]

1. I share this greatest fear.

"My greatest fear is that we have been sheeple too long and the situation is now irreversible. That they are as capable of ignoring peaceful demonstrations and peaceful civil disobedience (which Hedges advocates. not armed revolution) as they are of ignoring a million emails and polls favoring a public option by over 70%."

They just do not show the demonstrations on TV. If they do show the demonstrations, the participants are uniformly mischaracterized by the media as lazy, dirty hippies that want a government handout. The media is so obvious in their duplicity that it erodes our hope.

[No Elephants]

2. Yes. I was recently reminded how they did not cover OWS for about two weeks.

And when they did cover it, it was to report beatings and infiltration by anarchists and street crazies and how someone's back pack got stolen and how OWS had no message.

Shortly before that, though, they were pretending every little clump of teabaggers who can't spell and stayed only until it was nap time was evidence of a huge grass roots revolution--to vote Republican, LOL.

But, seriously, folks, sadly, your post is not making me feel better.

For every person who tells me Republicans own the media, I ask, "And why do you think Democrats did not compete with them to buy up at least some outlets?

Jeesh, even the supposedly Democratic channel, MSNBC, is owned by Republican NBC and employs Mrs. Greenspan, Chuck "I pretend to be objective" Tool, etc.

They always say "money," but Obama spent almost a billion on his general campaign alone and lord knows how much on his primary campaign. If they could raise enough to put just one man in one office, please tell me why they could not have raised enough to buy even one small TV station after they held control of Congress for 40 almost consecutive years?

And most of their money came from unions. Gee, I wonder why that dwindled? Between the older, more vigorous unions and the likes of Soros and Buffet, and most of show business, they couldn't raise anything?

Which reminds me, the final nail in the coffin of the Fairness Doctrine, which cost Democrats nothing, went in during this administration. What Reagan began, Clinton continued and Obama completed, just as with so many things.

So much for the cries of poor mouth.

You know another suspicion I have? That the PTB love message boards, where some people think they are actually being activists by typing and others are paid to post to control the message. "Keyboard warrior," one person called herself. And one owner of a small board called the board her contribution to the cause.

I'll end this post with a line I find myself wanting to use at the end of so many posts, "I'll retire to Bedlam."