EXCELLENT — Rebuilding 'Home' in the 21st Century (w/ Ece Temelkuran) | The Chris Hedges Report

This is a truly excellent and deeply moving interview. There are actually many antidotes to the poisonous polarizing propaganda which plagues our nation and our minds and much of the world — if we know where to look. 

My long-term ongoing experience is the awareness of the vital need to cultivate discernment in which resources of information we can trust and which we cannot. 

This can be very difficult in our culture. However, if we are courageously committed to following the threads of truth deeper and deeper, and no matter where they lead, it is possible to recognize and connect with those resources which are not aligned with either major political party in America, which are not funded by any corporate or wealthy special interest, and which embody unwavering courage, integrity, wisdom, and a profound commitment to truth. 

I have known Chris Hedges and his work for decades and he embodies all of that. This particular interview empowers us to more deeply understand where we are and how we got here. The integrity found in this conversation demonstrates how truth-telling can occur without pitting democrats against republicans or vise versa. Dividing us up into us versus a dehumanized Other acts like a poison inside of our individual and collective minds and hearts. Instead of pointing fingers of hatred outward, we are given the opportunity here to take a deep dive into the layers of propaganda that decades of neoliberalism have tragically brough upon us and which has had a profound impact on ushering us into the horrors that we face today. 

And there is hope. Understanding these deeper truths is painful, disturbing, and also freeing. The truth frees us to become empowered to act out of consciousness and wisdom, something so sorely needed within ourselves and everywhere. I hold the vision that more and more of us will turn to courageous wisdom-keepers and truth-tellers like Chris Hedges and those he interviews, which certainly includes the amazing Turkish author Ece Temelkuran. May we all be inspired to increasingly recognize fascism, resist fear, and restore our faith in humanity. — Molly

Turkish author Ece Temelkuran’s books teach us to recognize fascism, resist fear and restore our faith in humanity.

By Chris Hedges

Forced to leave her home country due to political and economic repression under the dictatorship of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish author Ece Temelkuran sought an understanding of how a population can be led down the path to fascism. Whether it is under Narendra Modi in India, Erdogan in Turkey or Donald Trump in the United States, she found that the stages are very similar and so are the mistakes people make along the way. Temelkuran strives to provide readers with an understanding of the roots of the fascist new world order and the language necessary to change direction.

In this episode of The Chris Hedges Report, Hedges and Temelkuran discuss her newest work, “Nation of Strangers: Rebuilding Home in the 21st Century,” and a previous book, “How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Fascism.” Temelkuran connects the crises of today to the neoliberalism of the late twentieth century, which made promises of prosperity but instead destroyed social infrastructure and financial security and increased state repression to subdue resultant popular struggles. Hedges calls this ‘cutthroat capitalism’, a system that divides people and pits them against each other and against their own interests. Temelkuran states, “I think people have been cheated enough with this liberal democracy promises, which were never fulfilled, so, they are perhaps taking a revenge on the entire political establishment.”

While it is tempting to believe that ousting particular political leaders, such as President Donald Trump, will solve the current crises, Temelkuran emphasizes that the crises are systemic in nature and require a long-term approach to organizing resistance.

Fundamental to that effort is breaking with a culture of fear, hatred and hostility that has been instilled by the ruling class. In this new world order, Temelkuran explains that more people are becoming ‘unhomed’ in the sense that the life they once knew no longer exists and won’t return. The antidote is a greater sense of connectedness and solidarity, of realizing that we are all vulnerable in a state that knows no boundaries in the violence, exploitation and displacement it will inflict on populations. Many people in the United States are waking up to this new phenomenon and are searching for answers. Temelkuran advises, “What neoliberalism made us believe, a dim view of humanity, we need to see that humanity and have faith in it…. Our entire economic and social system stands upon that fundamental definition of human.”

Please go here for the original interview and full transcript: https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/rebuilding-home-in-the-21st-century

Please go here for the Chris Hedges Report: https://chrishedges.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips

I continue to recommend the work of Chris Hedges to everyone.