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Empire of Illusion
Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle | Chris Hedges
6 posts | 6 read | 7 to read
We now live in two Americas. Onenow the minorityfunctions in a print-based, literate world that can cope with complexity and can separate illusion from truth. The otherthe majorityis retreating from a reality-based world into one of false certainty and magic. To this majoritywhich crosses social class lines, though the poor are overwhelmingly affectedpresidential debate and political rhetoric is pitched at a sixth-grade reading level. In this other America, serious film and theater, as well as newspapers and books, are being pushed to the margins of society. In the tradition of Christopher Laschs The Culture of Narcissism and Neil Postmans Amusing Ourselves to Death, Pulitzer Prize-winner Chris Hedges navigates this cultureattending WWF contests, the Adult Video News Awards in Las Vegas, and Ivy League graduation ceremoniesto expose an age of terrifying decline and heightened self-delusion.
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keithmalek
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Valeka
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Looking forward (sorta) to diving into this book. I want to learn more about how our country has ended up where it is now and why some chose to elect the person they did to our country‘s highest office.

19 likes1 stack add
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Notafraidofwords
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Panpan

Hedges argues that America is not been able to distinguish reality /illusion. And that will lead to a crisis. He argues that reality tv and a collapse of education has lead to this. This is supposed to be a cohesive book that feel like singular essays. He argues in the end that love can save us, specifically sacrificial love that parents experience. No offense, but I understand sacrificial love without being a parent. Been doing it all my life.

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PagesOfKate
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"This is what the contemporary self wants. It want to be recognised, wants to be connected. It wants to be visible"
...and I'm posting this on social media!
What we need now is a good #cheerleader to draw us further into this crazy spectacle. I wonder if Trump is available...
#Fiercefeb
@Cinfhen @batsy

batsy Interesting... And accurate, I think. 7y
46 likes2 stack adds1 comment
quote
keithmalek

An image-based culture communicates through narratives, pictures, and pseudo-drama. Scandalous affairs, hurricanes, untimely deaths, train wrecks—these events play well on computer screens and television. International diplomacy, labor union negotiations, and convoluted bailout packages do not yield exciting personal narratives or stimulating images. Reality is complicated. Reality is boring. We are incapable or unwilling to handle its confusion.

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GoneFishing

We‘ve bought into the idea that education is about training and “success”, defined monetarily, rather than learning to think critically and to challenge. ...the true purpose of education is to make minds, not careers. A culture that does not grasp the vital interplay between morality and power, ...which fails to understand that the measure of a civilization is its compassion, not its speed or ability to consume, condemns itself to death.