Losing Moses on the Freeway: The 10 Commandments in America

I’m a voracious reader of fiction and non fiction rotating from escape reading to philosophy . Every once in awhile one of these books on learning about ideas has a deeper resonance that bids you follow and if you do it has the power to shift your expectations of Life and in Life. This is just such a book. Considering it not a work on religion is a requirement. It is however the system of values of all Western civilization and the crux of our views on them today matters .

Chris Hedges takes each of the Ten Commandments, interprets it, and through personal experience or anecdotes shows how violating this commandment causes unhappiness, misery, even war and destruction. Solid biblical backing from his seminary days does not get in the way of his teaching valuable lessons - not as a hypocritical moralizer, but as someone who (though his many and varied experiences in living) has found the truth in it all. The final chapter shows that love (the mysterious force that ties it all together, and without which happiness is impossible) emanates from following the commandments and their summation: having life means living for others. An interesting, educational and uplifting read.

Chris Hedges breathes new life into the Ten Commandments. Devoting a chapter to each commandment, he relates them to modern life in a highly provocative manner outside the context of religion. Each chapter is a short story in itself, usually with him as the protagonist, imbuing them with a memoir-like quality except for an overabundance of musing, which is where his real power lies. He speaks with great passion from a keen intellect hewn from experience and religious scholarship. The Family: Honor your father and your mother, was my most favorite chapter recounting a speech he delivered in May 2003 to the graduating class of Rockford College. It was a time when the majority of Americans still supported the Iraq War, when most believed in its mission, shortly after a media blitz with President Bush pictured standing on an aircraft carrier claiming victory behind a banner that read "Mission Accomplished" (incidentally, today is its fourth-year anniversary). Chris Hedges inflamed many that day with caustic words highly critical of the wisdom behind our invasion of Iraq, accurately predicting a future that has become reality. I admire this man and I won't be satisfied until I've read all of his books.

In Losing Moses on the Freeway, Hedges, who studied at Harvard Divinity School, tells his own personal stories, many of which relate to his Christian upbringing, to probe the emptiness of capitalism and the abilities/inabilities of Christianity to effectively respond to that society. It is well-written and engaging, and his views into society are thoughful. They make one think. Though at times it feels a little dramatic.

Chris Hedges has a very keen sense of justice and truth. This is the third book I have read written by him recently and I am amazed by his consistency and ability to explain the positions he takes on all of the major issues of our time. I sincerely hope that many people will join me in developing a way to get those we know who are not listening to the wisdom he is sharing with us in his books and his talks which I have found on YouTube.

Bob Dylan, in the lyrics of his song "Things Have Changed", expresses that "all the truth in the world adds up to one big lie". Chris Hedges articulates the day to day lies and deceit that all of us experience but few willingly challenge. Not only does he write about the lies of the culture, the institutions, and the bad actors, he does so by relating personal experiences that make the ten commandments come to life. Chris Hedges work is nothing short of profound, courageous, and illuminating.

Chris hedges is a tremendous writer. He is vivid, eloquent and passionately about the stories he tells. I agree with him that there are tremendous problems in our world. He describes them with wonderful honesty. In the end however, his answer, try harder to follow the ten commandments because they are inherently noble, fails to compel me. The human condition he describes is in need of a more profound solution.

The clarity and simplicity of the language make it easy to absorb the illumination Hedges provides. This is a monumental feast for the hungry soul. The book single-handedly reached into my heart and refashioned it. Few books are modifying and capable of reorienting your life. This book has that depth of truth. Read it more than twice.

This book reminds us that although something may have been written thousands of years ago it is still relevant for us today. The commandments are universal and not just for one section of any society. If you liked this book may I recommend another: The Mustard seed by Osho Very much in the same vain

Man muss nicht religiös sein um ein Buch über die zehn Gebote zu lesen, und selbst Chris Hedges ist es wohl auch nicht so sehr, obwohl sein Vater Prediger war. Dies ist eher ein Buch über Ethik, indem das Hedges für jede der Gebote Schicksale aus dem alltäglichen Leben schildert. Er wirft ethische Fragen auf, die den Leser oft zum Nachdenken zwingen. Manche Passagen muss man mehrmals lesen, obwohl der Text sonst wie gewohnt meistens sehr flüssig und leicht zu lesen ist. Chris Hedges ist ein sehr moralisch denkender Mann, der immer Partei für die schwächeren in der Gesellschaft nimmt. Man muss nicht immer seine Meinung teilen, aber er ist ein Mann, der großem Respekt verdient. Als er 2003 bei einem Abschlussfeier einer Universität eine Rede gehalten hatte wo er ganz stark den Einmarsch in Irak kritisierte, wurde er fast von der Bühne gejagt und musste später sein Arbeitsplatz bei der New York Times verlassen. Obwohl die Kritik berechtigt war, hätte er vielleicht eine andere Bühne dafür wählen können. Manchmal geht seine Moral und seine Prinzipientreue etwas zu weit, aber es lohnt sich immer, seine Texte zu lesen.

This book is nearly 20 years old, but it is about 2019. We may be less likely to go to war to feel comfortable, but we are more likely to seek public emotions at the cost of our souls. The paradoxical relationship of greed and anxiety seems to hit home in France, where I live, or in the US, where I am from. I like the notion of the commandments choosing us, rather than the inverse. On the other hand, that death ultimately ends life does not mean all lives fail. Whether we love others or not is the deciding factor, and the commandments are one way to learn this love. So, it seems, is reading Dante and Dostoyevsky. A book that makes you want to go on a pilgrimage, an outward journey that leads to places unbound by time or space.

If you enjoy books that deal with controversial thoughts or events, I would recommend any book by Chris Hedges. You may not agree with his viewpoints but his descriptions and writing is both thought provoking and entertaining. This book is a great buy!

All of us age throughout the years and eventually grow old. Sadly, most of us reach the end point of our lives without ever moving past the emotional and intellectual stage of high school juniors. We believe all that is told to us because we never question the mystique of authority, we view the tip of our nose as being the center of the universe and our greatest achievement is that of defeating our classmate in a brief, sweaty encounter of arm-wrestling. A few of us, and the number is far fewer than we wish to admit, move beyond these halls and actually face life for what it is and not for what we are told or simply wish it to be. Chris Hedges is one of those courageous few. Taking the dogmatic Ten Commandments, which may or may not have been produced in the manner in which were told, Mr. Hedges puts 'skin and bone' on these tenets and makes them truly applicable for the world we see around us. His conclusions are quite unlike those which we heard in Sunday School and will smack, to some, as being irreverent. But, it is only the person who has not seen life as it really is one who would feel such an immature and empty impression. If you can get through the end of this book without a tear in your eye and a shiver down your back, you, indeed, are leading a meaningless and totally selfish life. I wish you luck with your endeavor. Thank you Mr. Hedges for verbalizing the thoughts, doubts, fears and emotions that I have had throughout my life. Yours is probably the only book I have, among the hundreds on the shelves, that I will reread on a regular basis.