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Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn Quotes

Historian

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Famous Howard Zinn Quotes

“We are not hated because we practice democracy, value freedom, or uphold human rights. We are hated because our government denies these things to people in Third World countries whose resources are coveted by multinational corporations. That hatred we have sown has come back to haunt us in the form of terrorism....”

PeopleWorldHumansCountryGovernmentFormValuesPracticeDemocracyRightsResourcesHatredThirdsHuman RightsDenyTerrorismHatedCorporationsThird WorldMultinationalsThird World CountriesMultinational Corporations
Author:Howard Zinn
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“We need to organize ourselves and protest against existing order - against war, against economic and sexual exploitation, against racism, etc. But to organize ourselves in such a way that means correspond to the ends, and to organize ourselves in such a way as to create kind of human relationship that should exist in future society. That would mean to organize ourselves without centralize authority, without charismatic leader, in a way that represents in miniature the ideal of the future egalitarian society.”

WayNeedsShouldHumansKindMeanWarEndsOrderLeaderEconomicAuthorityRacismIdealsEtcProtestExploitationOrganizeHuman RelationsHuman RelationshipsCharismaticMiniaturesAgainst WarAgainst RacismFuture Society
Author:Howard Zinn
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“The democratic principle, enunciated in the words of the Declaration of Independence, declared that government was secondary, that the people who established it were primary. Thus, the future of democracy depended on the people, and their growing consciousness of what was the decent way to relate to their fellow human beings all over the world.”

PeopleWorldWayHumansGovernmentHuman BeingsConsciousnessPrinciplesDemocracyGrowingFellowsIndependenceDemocraticPrimariesRelateDecentDeclarationDeclaration Of Independence
Book:A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present
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“I see this as the central issue of our time: how to find a substitute for war in human ingenuity, imagination, courage, sacrifice, patience... War is not inevitable, however persistent it is, however long a history it has in human affairs. It does not come out of some instinctive human need. It is manufactured by political leaders, who then must make a tremendous effort--by enticement, by propaganda, by coercion--to mobilize a normally reluctant population to go to war.”

NeedsHumansLongDoeWarPoliticalImaginationEffortLeaderIssuesSacrificeAffairPopulationInevitablePropagandaOur TimeSubstitutesPersistentCoercionReluctantIngenuityPolitical LeadersHuman NeedsEnticement
Author:Howard Zinn
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“But human beings are not machines, and however powerful the pressure to conform, they sometimes are so moved by what they see as injustice that they dare to declare their independence. In that historical possibility lies hope.”

HumansSometimesLyingHuman BeingsPowerfulPossibilityMachinesPressureIndependenceMovedHistoricalInjusticeDareConformityConform
Book:You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times
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“Human beings, whatever their backgrounds, are more open than we think, that their behavior cannot be confidently predicted from their past, that we are all creatures vulnerable to new thoughts, new attitudes. And while such vulnerability creates all sorts of possibilities, both good and bad, its very existence is exciting. It means that no human being should be written off, no change in thinking deemed impossible.”

ThinkingShouldHumansMeanPastHuman BeingsExistenceAttitudeImpossibleWrittenPossibilityCreaturesBehaviorExcitingBackgroundsVulnerableVulnerabilityGood And BadNew ThoughtNew Attitude
Book:The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy
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“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.”

ThinkingShouldHumansHopeHuman BeingsCompassionVictoryFutureInfiniteOur FutureMarvelousHuman HistoryMy FutureSuccessionDefianceHope For The FutureHopeful Future
Book:You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times
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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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“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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“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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