Few US commentators provide as much dark wisdom as Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chris Hedges, who resigned from the NY Times after he was “reprimanded” for speaking out against the illegal US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Here’s Hedges at his best in Troy, New York this week – deftly connecting the dots on the US of Empire’s slow trundling towards Collapse.

What is missing from Hedges’ otherwise brilliant critique is a decentralist vision, a place-based response to Empire. “Resistance” to evil, Hedges suggests, will be painful and demand pain and sacrifice, and he is right. And! Resisting Empire in community, in the company of family, neighbors, and friends, is vital, as we’ve suggested here since 2005. Listen closely to Hedges, and then let your life, work and community “be as friction to stop the Machine,” and more importantly, provide an alternative to the dystopian madness of Empire. Free Vermont, and long live the Untied States!