In case you're wondering what Chris Hedges thinks of Clint Eastwood's new film "American Sniper," wonder no more:
"American Sniper" lionizes the most despicable aspects of U.S. society—the gun culture, the blind adoration of the military, the belief that we have an innate right as a "Christian" nation to exterminate the "lesser breeds" of the earth, a grotesque hypermasculinity that banishes compassion and pity, a denial of inconvenient facts and historical truth, and a belittling of critical thinking and artistic expression. Many Americans, especially white Americans trapped in a stagnant economy and a dysfunctional political system, yearn for the supposed moral renewal and rigid, militarized control the movie venerates. These passions, if realized, will extinguish what is left of our now-anemic open society.
No, I haven't seen "American Sniper." I do think Chris Hedges is one of the best cultural and political commentators around these days, however.
The photo of Chris Hedges is from his bio page at Truthdig.