Howard Zinn a historian (and much more) passed away Jan27, 2010. Unless you travel in activist circles as I do, you probably never heard of this man before. But like other great individuals who have influenced many movements, Howard Zinn leaves us with an important thought to contemplate as he argues: 'Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic moment but as an endless succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society.'
He goes on to show in this 2 page article how events never thought possible did indeed happen and that there is hope for a better and just world. Would love to hear your thoughts on this article. As a side note, he has a wonderful video on the nature of man and war. It is not en grained in humans to fight each other but rather programmed...interesting notion and you can view the video here. I'll miss you Howard but your impact stays with me ...
He goes on to show in this 2 page article how events never thought possible did indeed happen and that there is hope for a better and just world. Would love to hear your thoughts on this article. As a side note, he has a wonderful video on the nature of man and war. It is not en grained in humans to fight each other but rather programmed...interesting notion and you can view the video here. I'll miss you Howard but your impact stays with me ...
First off, brilliant article. Before I read this article I had no idea of who Howard Zinn was or what he stood for, now that I do I am a definite fan. His article was enough proof to convince me that the impossible can happen, and that the little things do matter; "small acts multiplied by millions of people can transform the world". I too believe we concentrate too much on the bad, or rather we have "lost historical perspective" in that, it’s hard to see the good when what seems to be making headlines is the bad. Howard talked of how a "change in consciousness" towards racism, sexism and so on, could in fact change society. I strongly agree with this, in order for us to make a change we need to keep our spirits high and not let the Pessimism of society today let us influence how we see or act in the future.
ReplyDeleteBefore i comment on the video itself, i would like to first give my opinion on Howard Zinn as an individual.
ReplyDeleteWhen the video started and he began speaking, i thought to myself, "Hey! It's another old fart going on about history.. why am i even bothering watching this?". As he progressed though and developed his ideas more and more, i saw the evolution of a simple argument turn into a powerful tool sparking much food for thought. To say the least, my impression of him completely changed from that of a senile old kook, to that of a thinker. One who had an enormous amount of respect and care for the well being of the political world, alongside humanity in general. Someone who knew the wrongs that a handful of leaders committed, and the blame that was placed on the shoulders of the peons of a growing world. This was a man with a true passion for what he did. I found myself watching a couple of videos from Zinn actually, simply because the aggressive yet modest tone he sustains when presenting his moving ideas.
Now on the topic of the clip itself "On Human Nature and Aggressions", i agree whole heartedly with his thoughts. The argument he consistantly keeps throughout the whole video is that it's not humanitys fault for the wars it has had, but that it lies at the hands of a group influencial people. Take Hitler for instance, one of the most ruthless totalitarians in all of history if not the most, was invoked into power with the hope that peace and prosperity followed. The result of his leadership? Propaganda, genocide and some of the darkest pages of German history. The image of Germany and the axis powers from the allies side was that of the enemy, the metephorical devil of the real world. What was the view from the axis powers? Not so different, except that the enemies were the allies. In reality though, it's simply the conflict between leaders of powerful nations that pull their reluctant, unwilling nation into death and decay. Allies won WWII and who was blamed for it? Germany and her people, not Hitler alone, and because of that she was punished for it. A crime in which did not lay in the nation itself, but one person. See the clear picture?
Perhaps in the future our society can see past materialistic problems and come together. All we (you) need is love.