This Brave Nation and My Crush on Tom Hayden

Posted by Erikka Yancy, Brave New Films at 11:48 AM on June 27, 2008.

I have a confession to make and I hope it doesn't change your opinion of me as a serious blogger but it has to be said; I have a wicked crush on Tom Hayden. Now, before you click away and dismiss me as some empty-headed gossip blogger - hear me out. I don't hand crushes out freely, I have very high standards. Recipients of said crushes are typically ambitious, straightforward and fearless types who never back down from a fight. They have mastered the use of wit over fists, pen over sword, and creativity in lieu of the familiar.

With criteria like that, is it even possible that I wouldn't have a crush on Tom Hayden? New York Times book reviewer Paul Berman called Tom Hayden "the single greatest figure of the 1960's student movement". But I know him as - yes my crush, and also the journalist that writes pieces that make me want to learn more about the world in which I live. The person that makes profound statements in everyday conversation, the member of the Chicago 7 that works several yards away from our office and pops in for coffee from time to time. The former state senator who faced constant protests from conservative groups, and one half of the conversation that is This Brave Nation: Tom Hayden and Naomi Klein.

Tom and Naomi talk about everything from Martin Luther King, Jr. to their upbringings to violence in Iraq to their experience at WTO 1999. I know I've said this before, but you really cannot miss this episode. Invite your friends over and watch it together! By the end I'm sure you'll be confessing your crushes on Naomi and Tom to one another.

Tagged as: naomi klein, tom hayden