July 3, 2005

• PEOPLE WHO KNOCK ME OUT

  Howard Zinn
  (See sidebar for others)

  On the eve of the 4th of July, I thought I would check this guy out, since he has something to say about the holiday, and since his name has been flickering on the border of my peripheral awareness for some time.

  Put away the flags
  By Howard Zinn
  Sunday, July 3, 2005
  We would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols on Independence Day — its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blessed.
  Is not nationalism — that devotion to a flag, an anthem, a boundary so fierce it engenders mass murder — one of the great evils of our time, along with racism, along with religious hatred?
  These ways of thinking — cultivated, nurtured, indoctrinated from childhood on — have been useful to those in power and deadly for those out of power. (Rest of article here.)

  So who is Howard Zinn?

  Well, 83 for starters. Professor Emeritus at Boston University and major boat-rocker for another. Born in New York City in the slums of Brooklyn in 1922 to parents who were immigrant factory workers. They were so poor they clipped coupons from the New York Post to send in with a quarter for individual volumes of Dickens because they knew he liked to read. He volunteered as a bombardier in World War II and returned at age 23 a decorated soldier, graduated Columbia University, taught at Spelman College in Georgia in the 1950’s, and began teaching political science at Boston U in the late ‘60’s. He opposed the war in Vietnam, U.S. policy in Central America, and the Gulf War. Needless to say, he’s not thrilled with the war in Iraq. Ironically, he also wrote a book in 1980 called “A People’s History of the United States” that tried to tell the story of the United States from the perspective of minorities and it is a standard text in many U.S. high schools that has profoundly influenced the public’s perception of Columbus, the Founding Fathers and American foreign policy. Here is a page that has many of his writings and here is an interview he gave a few years ago. And so, on this holiday when I can hear increasingly frequent fireworks going off around my neighborhood in broad daylight at 5 pm and the scent of god knows what kind of red meat on the barbies on my block floating past my nose, and interestingly the sight of very few American flags hanging out from the houses in my neck of the woods compared to the heady days immediately post 9/11, I would like to say I’m grateful for just about anybody (especially if they can express themselves like this guy) speaking out for the human race over the single nation. My nation needs them – bad. Maybe they can help us all live to be 83. Have a safe Monday!
  

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  Deep Thought: “Many people never stop to realize that a tree is a living thing, not that different from a tall, leafy dog that has roots and is very quiet.”
  Today I am grateful for: Secularity
  Guess the Movie: “What I remember most about my childhood is holding your hand. My wee hand in your big hand, and the smell of tobacco. I remember, I could smell the tobacco in the palm of your hand. When I want to feel happy, I try to remember the smell of tobacco.” Answer: In the Name of the Father, 1993. Winner: thenarrator.
  A July 4th Covenant
  by Marcus Raskin
  July 4th 2005 will surely be known to future generations as a period of terror and insecurity for Americans who wish nothing more than a consecration to a set of purposes and ideals that seem ambiguous and contradictory.
  Caught in a war not of the citizenry’s choosing, but that was an outgrowth of government deception, moral and political blindness—and even criminality—the people search for a meaning that will capture the sensibility of our better selves. This feature is there, but increasingly hard to find because of the hubris, war and selfishness that plague certain elements of the nation. (Rest of article here.)
  End of Day: 9:46 pm
  + = Biopsy negative for cancer.
  - = I’ve got the lowdown deja vu Supreme Court Blues.

  • 9:35 pm
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