Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt by Chris Hedges

On the contrary, they are left to live in dire poverty and despair. But the people in the sacrifice zones are not those who experience the financial or social benefits of their own production. These are the forgotten vicinities where American citizens, workers, and natural resources are utilized and commodified to the extreme in the name of capitalism. Pulitzer Prize winning correspondent Chris Hedges unites with Joe Sacco’s award winning graphic and comic arts to rematerialize these lost voices and movingly communicate their testimonies while painting a portrait of enduring destitution.ĭays of Destruction, Days of Revolt is a harrowing account of the exploited American underclass living in what the author defines as “the sacrifice zones” (xi). These are the stories of the individuals who slaved to achieve the chimerical American dream, but were ultimately exploited, alienated, and deemed expendable. Hence, Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt chronicles the lives of the people who were once analogous to the machines and natural resources that were exploited to yield the highest financial gain. However, what will occur if society deems you or a group of people as unproductive or interchangeable? You are simply pushed to the fringes of society and fully erased from our cultural and political landscapes. “It’s like a jungle, where a jungle is survival of the fittest…Unions communities, people – everybody’s gonna have to learn to accept that in the United States you have a capitalist society, and that capitalism, from a business standpoint, is survival of the most productive” (168).

Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt by Chris Hedges