Those that disconnect themselves from the world of ideas and critical thought, and are content to submerge themselves in trivia and fantasy make themselves vulnerable to manipulation, and more likely to buy into outlandish ideas, with serious consequences. With that sentence I think you summed up t...

I do agree with the criticism that Hedges presents only one side of his argument. Maybe he did it on purpose to shock people out of their complacency? At the end of his book he does comment on how love and moral courage are the qualities that may save, and gives examples of those who have stood up t...

(this is what I had previously posted before disappearing) I agree with much of what has been said already. I realized while reading the book that I felt the same way as Hedges before without being able to articulate it. The one thing I have not been able to do is watch reality television. It annoys...

Doesn't that figure! Here I go and write something lengthy for once and it gets lost Hopefully I've got it saved on my 'puter at home.
Thanks for the response seespotrun !

On Chapter 1 of Empire of Illusion, I finally had some time and wrote a rather long post on the chapter, and now I can't find it!

I did check to make sure it had posted, but now it's gone ! Help?!

I have almost finished reading the book, and want to reread each chapter again as I post my replies to the respective subheadings. It is definitely thought-provoking and should engender lots of debate. Chapter 2 was brutal. I had to take a break from reading for a couple of days about half-way throu...

I just have to say that I love these questions!!!! :clap: How do you come up with them??? And I think that in answer to the question, the person who came up with that saying had just caught a glimpse of a sleeping baby, and being childless, assumed the cherubic, tranquil face was indicative of a bab...

I think that, following in the venerable footsteps of Jed Clampett, formerly of Petticoat Junction (I believe), and thereafter of Beverly Hills, land rights would extend down as far as oil can be drilled , a viewpoint which, it seems, is also endorsed by the previous poster.

and as you can tell, I rarely post, although I do pop in to read what posts I can manage. Life is hectic lately, but of all the online discussion boards I've come across, this is the one most appealing to me. I'm a novice book discussion member, whether online or in real life, so am learning a lot f...

intrigue me. I felt rather detached at the whole Sibyl infatuation/marriage proposal/death episode, and wonder if that is not part of Wilde's ability: the reader reacts (or fails to react) the same way as Dorian did: as an observer, but not really responsible either for emotional responses or their ...