A Man for This Season

I've been waiting for Q&A to post a transcript of the Chris Hedges interview on Sunday night. But it's been two days already. Nada. So click the link and watch the video. It's stunning. [Aug. 12 — Finally, the posted transcript.]

The reason for the interview is publication of his latest book, "Collateral Damage: America's War Against Iraqi Civilians," but he talks about many other subjects as well with the kind of moral insight rarely heard on television.

Hedges laments the decline of the mainstream press, points out that elite TV journalists (the late sainted Tim Russert not excepted) are mere courtiers to the political establishment, and speaks of the reason for his departure from The New York Times.

He describes our democratic system as corrupted ("We live in a corporate state." [It's] "a coup d'état in slow motion.") and the election campaign as deeply flawed ("You can't run for president of this country unless you allow yourself to become a commercialized product.").

Asked whom he'll vote for, he says, "I'm going to vote for Nader. Part of it is a moral issue. I can't vote for anybody who doesn't call for an immediate end to the war in Iraq."

What makes the interview so striking is not that Hedges's beliefs are unique. Many others have expressed them -- Gore Vidal, for one, and perhaps with greater brilliance. It is his willingness to act on those beliefs at no little cost that makes Hedges are rare one.

(Crossposted at HuffPo)