ILLUMINATION Writers

Interview with Chris Hedges

Featuring creative writers of ILLUMINATION

Purpose of the Story

In this story, I share with you an interview that I conducted with Chris Hedges. I met Chris before ILLUMINATION has started and enjoyed engaging content that Chris shared on various other publications.

Chris has kindly accepted to be a writer and editor for our publication from the very beginning and has been contributing substantially. Chris created visibility to our content by applying various SEO techniques. With help from Chris, our content is indexed by Google.

Let’s explore!

Tell us a bit about your background, Chris.

I have enjoyed writing since I was young. When I was in elementary and middle school, I used to cut up BMX magazines, type on an old typewriter and make my own bicycle ‘zines. Only my younger brother and I read them, but it satisfied my need to be creative.

When I got into high school, I took pictures for the high school newspaper, yearbook and the local newspaper’s student tabloid. I also wrote commentaries. When I was 16-years-old, I was convinced I could change the world. As I have gotten older, I realize words have the power to change the world, one person at a time — even if it is just me who is changing.

I grew up an Army brat. My dad joined the Army after college because he was going to be drafted. He and my mom got married, he went overseas, then they reunited when he was stationed in Hawaii. I was born shortly after. We moved around like a typical Army family. We lived in Indianapolis, Ft. Knox, then at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey.

My parents’ families are from Kentucky, so my brother and I spent time there in the summers to visit with relatives. I never did get to go overseas, though. All of my base friends had been to Germany. We almost went to Japan. I received vaccinations and remember reading a little book of Japanese phrases when I was probably 6-years-old. We ended up in New Jersey, just outside of New York City instead.

When I was in high school, we moved to Bloomington, Indiana. My dad had retired from active duty, but was still working for the Army. He transferred to an Army operation on a Navy base in southern Indiana. I have only been to the base a couple of times, but it was always interesting to think of a huge Navy base in the middle of America away from the oceans.

I am glad we ended up in Bloomington. My high school classmates’ parents were mostly professors at Indiana University. My next door neighbor was a journalism professor. It made transitioning into college life easy since I was exposed to it beginning my freshman year of high school. Bloomington is basically Indiana University’s company town.

I studied journalism and political science and received my BA in those majors. I wrote for the National League of Cities’ newspaper during an internship I had in Washington, D.C. I worked an internship on Capitol Hill after that for the Senate Housing Subcommittee. People always wondered how someone from Indiana ended up working on a California senator’s subcommittee. I think I was in the right place at the right time when my supervisor needed someone to play softball on their senator’s summer team. I see it as an example of serendipity working its magic and me being open to new opportunities.

When I came back to Bloomington for my last year of school, I worked for the Indiana Senate Democrats as an intern helping with media relations and with a state senator. It was a great experience. This was back in the days before widespread use of the internet, so one of my jobs was to clip newspaper articles from around the state and photocopy them to distribute to the caucus members so they could keep up on news from around the state.

Being around all of the people in Washington and Indianapolis convinced me I should go to law school. I did after working a job after graduating from IU as a temporary employee working for a dean at the IU Law School for a few months. I was on the waitlist at IU, but was accepted by Valparaiso University School of Law, so I took their offer and went. I wrote for the law school’s student newspaper, then became editor-in-chief my final year. This was during the time the culture wars were ramping up. I got to see the beginnings of the proto-Tea Party movement in the pages of the newspaper as well as the beginnings of the progressive movement. I was lucky in that I got along with everyone. I remember lots of political debates while drinking beer and eating pizza.

It is interesting to think that one of my next door neighbors in law school is now a federal judge. While I was out drinking beer, I remember he was always hard at work studying. There’s a lesson for all of you there. If you want a lifetime appointment, study hard and skip going out to drink beer. Or, enjoy some beer, but continue to do your work.

I worked in the legal field doing debt collection for a firm that had major creditors as its clients. I decided I needed a change of pace when the economy failed in 2009, so I went on my own and took a year doing divorces and other family law cases while waiting for any conflicts of interest to be resolved before moving into consumer bankruptcy law. I enjoyed bankruptcy. I felt like I was making amends for my high volume collection days.

I eventually found that while I liked law, I wanted to do something else. I wanted to be more creative. I had done all of my own web design to build my business when I was on my own and saw the power words had in my work. I had also blogged during that time as well. At one point, I was helping with the Indiana Blog Review which was an effort to connect all of the state’s political blogs from all political perspectives. I got to read a lot of blogs from all corners of the state.

When I left law, I felt like I needed to experience life from a different perspective than office work and as a solo practitioner in my own office. I worked in a Chinese-owned factory in Indiana and as a semi-truck driver pulling a Class A dump truck filled with metal to the area steel mills. I enjoyed getting to see the industrial side of my state after seeing the political and legal parts.

In many ways, there is a joy in accomplishing whatever one sets out to do, whether it is building something in a factory, delivering metal, winning cases, or helping clients solve problems. I found that people are really cool everywhere I went. It was interesting to work in the factory because it was a true cross-section of society. I met all walks of life. Older people working in their retirements, veterans, LGBTQ folks, single parents, families, immigrants, people making it a career while others were just there as a layover on their life journey. I found the same trucking. People had all sorts of experiences before they entered the professional driving world. I always enjoyed hearing stories when I wasn’t busy rolling down the road.

I am glad I was able to explore different places and careers. I would have always wondered if I hadn’t gotten out of my comfort zone and tried different things. It also built up my self-confidence for me to transition later in life. I learned people are cool if you are confident in yourself, so it was nice to have all of the experiences with different people in different situations.

The one thing I came away from all of the experiences is that we are all the same as people, no matter our experiences. We all want the same things. To be loved, comfortable, and to be listened to and appreciated.

I had a heart issue, so now, I help my ex-wife with our 14-year-old son and her elderly parents. I am also transitioning. I started around the same time I joined Medium, so I’ve been on a wonderful journey. Writing is enjoyable and keeps me happy. It is a nice therapy and a way to learn more about myself, others and the world.

Why do you write on Medium?

I found Medium when I was looking online for some self-help articles around the time I was starting my transition. I then discovered the Atlantic published on Medium. I hit my free article limit, decided paying $5 per month was worth getting access to the Atlantic and all of the self-help articles.

At some point, I read an article about writing and making a little money. I decided to try it out and typed up an article thanking everyone who spent so much time writing things I enjoyed. It just expanded from there. I kept writing. I met other writers here who encouraged me. I have kept writing.

What are your values as a writer?

I try to be positive and reflect love. When I was younger, I wanted to tell people how to think, more so than just being myself. Part of that was my training and experience. Now, I support the idea of preaching, but sometimes using words to do so. If I want the world to be a better place, I try to do that through writing. I didn’t hear “I love you” enough for what I needed, so I try to write that a lot since I know others feel the same way. I also like being positive. I don’t hesitate to write about areas where change might be needed, but I don’t want to pit people against each other. I live in a red state but am in a blue county. I see people from different political views getting along. We need to move away from division and more to seeing everyone as fellow humans. That is the great thing about this community of people from all over the world.

What are the top three books that have affected your life?

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.’s “Slaughterhouse Five,” “The Sun Also Rises,” by Earnest Hemingway and James Webb’s “Fields of Fire.”

These three books affected my life in that I might have ended up in the military if I hadn’t read books that discussed the nature and effects of war on those who fought.

I grew up on military bases and in the military life with my dad having been an officer and then a civilian employee for 40+ years. My dad had medals from is service, and also from his civilian work. For a long time when I was younger, I thought it would be cool to earn medals.

Part of me wanted to join the military, wear the uniform, earn a lot of awards, and lead that lifestyle, but remaining in the “middle management” portion of the military.

My dad worked in finance and accounting, so I knew his work was probably similar to working for corporate America. It was probably what working for a law firm was like for me. Not much hand-to-hand combat, but a lot of paperwork. I remember going to his offices when I was a kid and they weren’t much different than any other office in America. They even had Steelcase cubicles back in the day.

However, the reality of war cannot be denied. The three books above helped me to see that. I decided to pursue journalism and political science, and skipped joining ROTC. I wonder if I was being rebellious a little?

I did flirt with joining the military after law school and interviewed for a job with the judge advocate general’s office when they came to visit the campus. I didn’t get the job, but a roommate of mine did. She went on to serve and now works for the government as an attorney.

It’s not a bad lifestyle, but the reality of war was brought home by Vonnegut, Hemingway and Webb’s books. I think these books helped me to see all the facets of life when I was in my teens that would help me make decisions with a fully informed perspective when opportunities to join the military arose.

What are your hobbies?

I enjoy reading. Lately, I have been reading a lot of Medium authors. I also enjoy walking, cooking and photography. I have also been creating web designs. I write as a hobby, but also don’t mind making money from it.

How do you connect with your readers?

I like to reach out and leave comments on stories and posts that I enjoy. I love receiving words of encouragement, so I like to give them out. I also have my websites 96c.co/i/ and x29.co where people can interact.

Why did you join ILLUMINATION and how do you find it so far?

I was invited at the beginning. Thanks Dr Mehmet Yildiz! Like most other pursuits in my life, I was curious to see what would happen. I have always been pleasantly surprised when I’ve taken an opportunity that I have felt good about. I had that feeling here. I love how fast the publication has grown. Starting out on Medium can be overwhelming, so it is nice to have a place where everyone can participate with a community of people who are caring and enjoy reading.

Who are the top ten writers you follow on ILLUMINATION?

There are so many writers I love to follow on ILLUMINATION, so I apologize for missing people since I’m limited to only 10: Gurpreet Dhariwal, Britni Pepper, Sherry McGuinn, Sherry McGuinn, Paul Myers MBA, Kira Dawn, Livia Dabs, Karen Madej 💛, Amy Marley, Marla Bishop and Timothy Key.

What are your top five stories that you want to share with your audience and why?

I always see stories about earning a ton of money on Medium, but wanted to share what I saw as success on the platform that didn’t involve earning amounts only a few people ever earn during a month. Measuring success here on factors other than earnings is the way writers should be looking at their experiences here. I love the community, so I wanted to share.

I like this article because I was afraid to write it. For a long time in my life, I just wanted to blend into the scenery. It is freeing to say, this is me! I love reading other people’s biographies as well. Thanks for contributing your life stories.

This is another story that I had fun writing. I love reading other’s stories about how they joined ILLUMINATION. I love sharing my story. It is a way that we can see our common journeys and learn what we like about joining together here.

I am a SEO geek. When I noticed I had earned a Google snippet, I did a little dance of excitement. It is fun to be able to achieve something cool. You know I’m a geek when a Google snippet makes me excited, but little things in life are so enjoyable.

This is another SEO story. Don’t try to grab the single keyword phrase, until your site gets powerful enough to do so. Target the more nuanced and niche areas. It is a lesson for writing as well. Don’t try to be the same as everyone else. Find what works for you and work your way to the top in that area.

What are the success factors for you as a writer on Medium?

Like anything in life, the more you do something, the better you will be at it.The same is true for writing. I write a lot. I’m hoping to break into the top 5.6% one of these days an earn $100 during a month of writing on Medium. I am about 75% of the way there, so I’d love to bridge the rest of the gap.

The key has been to write and to engage with others. And, read. I read a lot more than I write. Reading helps me to be a better writer.

What do you recommend to the new writers on ILLUMINATION?

I will keep it simple. Read a lot. Write a lot. Repeat. Join in the community spirit and interact with everyone. There are a lot of great people here.

What are your future plans as a writer?

I am inspired by Gurpreet Dhariwal’s new book, “My Soul Rants,” so I am thinking I want to try to publish a book one of these days.

Thank you for your time for this great interview Chris Hedges. I look forward to reading more stories from your creative pen. Your contribution to our publication is appreciated by our writers and readers. You are an inspirational writer on ILLUMINATION. We enjoy your entertaining, informative, and authentic content.

If you are a writer on ILLUMINATION and would like to be interviewed, please send a request via this link with title of “Interview Request”.

Other Interviews

You may also check other interviews I conducted with inspiring writers of ILLUMINATION recently. These stories can provide a great opportunity to know more about our creative writers and connect with them.

Timothy Key

Desiree Driesenaar

Holly Jahangiri

Dr John Rose

Ming Qian

P.G. Barnett

Jill Ebstein

Bill Abbate

Terry Mansfield

Ann K Frailey

Woei T

Charles Roast

Julia E Hubbel

Aric D Mayer

Kevin Buddaeus

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You might check more interviews in the attached collection.

You can find inspiring profiles of ILLUMINATION writers from this story.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

About the Author

Thank you for subscribing to my content. I share my health and well-being stories in my publication, Euphoria. If you are new to Medium, you may join by following this link. A small part of your membership fee will not only support my writing but your reading times can support many great writers on this platform.

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In addition to self-improvement, leadership, technology, and health, I also enjoy writing about essential molecules such as lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, digestive enzymes, magnesium, creatine, choline, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, CoQ10, NADH, TMG, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, and other nutrients for health and fitness.