Sadly Howard Zinn has passed away. He died yesterday at the age of 87. He had a long and fruitful life, but there are very few like him, and we need as many people like him as we can get.
Check out his wonderful websites here and here.
Sláinte!
Laurel
4 comments:
Very sad indeed.
I've read some lovely, deserving tributes and I really like this quote of his that somebody posted on the Guardian's comment section:
"The lesson of that history is that you must not despair, that if you are right, and you persist, things will change. The government may try to deceive the people, and the newspapers and television may do the same, but the truth has a way of coming out. The truth has a power greater than a hundred lies. I know you have practical things to do -- to get jobs and get married and have children. You may become prosperous and be considered a success in the way our society defines success, by wealth and standing and prestige. But that is not enough for a good life...
...My hope is that whatever you do to make a good life for yourself -- whether you become a teacher, or social worker, or business person, or lawyer, or poet, or scientist -- you will devote part of your life to making this a better world for your children, for all children. My hope is that your generation will demand an end to war, that your generation will do something that has not yet been done in history and wipe out the national boundaries that separate us from other human beings on this earth."
Sorry...I've just thought, it's strange and somehow fitting that Zinn died on Holocaust Memorial Day...like even in his death he was still taking action!
I hope that doesn't come out disrespectfully - I didn't mean it so.
I'm not surprised that he had trouble getting cred for his ideas and work. Do not want to offend you but in Europe the main wiew is that most people on your continent fear and loathe liberalism and socialism. Comming from a country with a history of having had socialist government a majority of the 20th century this is sometimes hard to understand, this American fear. Well, cheers to Howie.
Bek: That is a beautiful write up. :) Oh, and I didn't realize that it was Holocaust Memorial Day!
Metronyx: I agree with you 100 percent. I wish that Canada would go more in the way of Sweden {well, in most things anyways!}. :)
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