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Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn Quotes

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Famous Howard Zinn Quotes

“If democracy were to be given any meaning, if it were to go beyond the limits of capitalism and nationalism, this would not come, if history were any guide, from the top. It would come through citizen's movements, educating, organizing, agitating, striking, boycotting, demonstrating, threatening those in power with disruption of the stability they needed.”

IfsGivenDemocracyMovementNeededCitizensLimitsCapitalismGuidesNationalismStabilityThreateningDisruptionDemonstrating
Book:A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present
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“Objectivity is impossible and it is also undesirable. That is, if it were possible it would be undesirable, because if you have any kind of a social aim, if you think history should serve society in some way; should serve the progress of the human race; should serve justice in some way, then it requires that you make your selection on the basis of what you think will advance causes of humanity.”

IfsThinkingWayShouldHumansKindWould BeHumanitySocialCausesJusticeRaceProgressImpossibleBasesAimHuman RaceSelectionObjectivityUndesirable
Author:Howard Zinn
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“Whenever I become discouraged (which is on alternate Tuesdays, between three and four) I lift my spirits by remembering: The artists are on our side! I mean those poets and painters, singers and musicians, novelists and playwrights who speak to the world in a way that is impervious to assault because they wage the battle for justice in a sphere which is unreachable by the dullness of ordinary political discourse.”

WorldWayMeanRememberPoliticalSpiritArtistThreeSpeakSidesJusticeFourPoetBattleMusicianOrdinarySingersPainterLiftsNovelistsSpheresDiscourseAssaultDiscouragedPlaywrightTuesdayDullnessImperviousPolitical DiscourseUnreachable
Book:The Historic Unfulfilled Promise
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“Control in modern times requires more than force, more than law. It requires that a population dangerously concentrated in cities and factorites, whose lives are filled qith cause for rebellion, be taught that all is right as it is. And so, the schools, the churches, the popular literature taught that to be rich was a sign of superiority, to be poor a sign of personal failure, and that the only way upward for a poor person was to climb into the ranks of the rich by extraordinary effort and extraordinary luck.”

WayPersonsSchoolLawLiteratureForceCausesChurchPoorEffortCitiesRichModernTaughtLuckFilledExtraordinaryPopulationClimbsRebellionSuperiorityModern TimesPersonal FailurePopular Literature
Author:Howard Zinn
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“There was an idea in the air, becoming clearer and stronger, an idea not just in the theories of Karl Marx but in the dreams of writers and artists through the ages: that people might cooperatively use the treasures of the earth to make life better for everyone, not just a few.”

PeopleIdeasUseDreamMightAgeEarthArtistAirTheoryBecomingStrongerTreasure
Book:A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present
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“The historian's distortion is more than technical, it is ideological; it is released into a world of contending interest, where any chosen emphasis supports some kind of interest, whether economic or political or racial, or national or sexual.”

WorldKindPoliticalInterestJusticeSupportEconomicSocial JusticeChosenHistorianEmphasisIdeologicalDistortionContending
Book:A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present
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“Nations are not communities and never have been. The history of any country, presented as the history of a family, conceals the fierce conflicts of interest (sometimes exploding, often repressed) between conquerors and conquered, masters and slaves, capitalists and workers, dominators and dominated in race and sex. And in such as world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, as Albert Camus suggested, not to be on the side of the executioners.”

PeopleThinkingWorldHas BeensCountrySometimesJobsNationsSexSidesInterestCommunityRaceMastersConflictVictimSlaveWorkersCapitalistFierceConquerorRepressedExplodingExecutionersConflict Of InterestMasters And Slaves
Author:Howard Zinn
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“To be hopeful in bad times is based on the fact that human history is not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand Utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

PeopleIfsThinkingWayGivingShouldHumansFactsPastRememberHopeEnergyWaitingHuman BeingsCompassionKindnessHistorySacrificeWorstGreatnessVictoryFutureCapacityInfiniteCrueltyHopefulGood TimesOur FutureMarvelousHuman BehaviorHuman HistoryMy FutureSuccessionDefianceBad TimesUtopianPast Present FutureHope For The FutureBright FutureGreat InspirationalHopeful Future
Author:Howard Zinn
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“What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places--and there are so many--where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.”

PeopleIfsWorldGivingDifferentRememberEnergyOur LivesWorstPossibilityFutureCapacityComplexesDetermineOur FutureSpinningMy FutureDifferent DirectionsHope For The FutureSpinning Tops
Book:A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
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“Memorial Day will be celebrated ... by the usual betrayal of the dead, by the hypocritical patriotism of the politicians and contractors preparing for more wars, more graves to receive more flowers on future Memorial Days. The memory of the dead deserves a different dedication. To peace, to defiance of governments.”

DifferentWarGovernmentMemoriesFlowerPoliticianDeserveBetrayalGravesUsualDedicationPreparingMemorialDefianceMemorial DayHypocriticalContractor
Book:The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy
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“Where progress has been made, wherever any kind of injustice has been overturned, it’s been because people acted as citizens, and not as politicians. They didn’t just moan. They worked, they acted, they organized, they rioted if necessary to bring their situation to the attention of people in power. And that’s what we have to do today.”

PeopleIfsKindHas BeensMadeTodayAttentionSituationProgressCitizensPoliticianInjusticeOrganized
Book:Howard Zinn Speaks: Collected Speeches, 1963-2009
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“War is by definition the indiscriminate killing of huge numbers of people for ends that are uncertain. Think about means and ends, and apply it to war. The means are horrible, certainly. The ends, uncertain. That alone should make you hesitate. . . . We are smart in so many ways. Surely, we should be able to understand that in between war and passivity, there are a thousand possibilities.”

PeopleThinkingWayShouldMeanWarEndsAbleNumbersPossibilityHugeThousandSmartKillingDefinitionsHorribleUncertainPassivityHuge Numbers
Author:Howard Zinn
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“The struggle for justice should never be abandoned because of the apparent overwhelming power of those who seem invincible in their determination to hold on to it. That apparent power has, again and again, proved vulnerable to human qualities less measurable than bombs and dollars: moral fervor, determination, unity, organization, sacrifice, wit, ingenuity, courage, patience.”

ShouldHumansSeemsJusticeQualityMoralStruggleSacrificeDeterminationOrganizationDollarsUnityWitVulnerableBombsOverwhelmingAbandonedAgain And AgainInvincibleIngenuityFervorHuman Qualities
Book:Failure to Quit: Reflections of an Optimistic Historian
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“Through repeated practice of the body scan over time, we come to grasp the reality of our body as whole in the present moment. This feeling of wholeness can be experienced no matter what is wrong with your body. One part of your body, or many parts of your body, may be diseased or in pain or even missing, yet you can still cradle them in this experience of wholeness. - Jon Kabat”

MayStillsMatterWholeMomentsFeelingsBodyRealityInspirationPainPracticeMeditationMissingNo Matter WhatYour BodyPresent MomentWholenessCradleDiseased
Author:Howard Zinn
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“I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don't BELIEVE in it. It's not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. Not overwhelming evidence, just enough to give HOPE, because for hope we don't need certainty, only POSSIBILITY.”

NeedsGivingBelieveI CanMatterEnoughPossibilityEvidenceHistoricalDon't BelieveCertaintyPessimismOverwhelming
Book:The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy
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“Each situation has to be evaluated separately, for all are different. In general, I believe in non-violent direct action, which involve organizing large numbers of people, whereas too often violent uprisings are the product of a small group. If enough people are organized, violence can be minimized in bringing about social change.”

PeopleIfsBelieveDifferentEnoughActionI BelieveSocialNumbersSituationViolenceGroupsProductsDirectI Believe InViolentOrganizedSocial ChangeLarge NumbersUprisingSmall GroupsNon ViolentDirect Action
Author:Howard Zinn
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“History is instructive. And what it suggests to people is that even if they do little things, if they walk on the picket line, if they join a vigil, if they write a letter to their local newspaper. Anything they do, however small, becomes part of a much, much larger sort of flow of energy. And when enough people do enough things, however small they are, then change takes place.”

PeopleIfsWritingLittlesEnoughEnergyLinesWalksFlowLettersNewspapersLocalsLittle Things
Author:Howard Zinn
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