The Life of Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn is a great American historian. Some people may not agree with that statement though because of the way he portrays history from the eyes of lower class people as opposed to always being portrayed from the view of the elite. Whenever he wrote his book “A People’s History of the United State” it was not even reviewed by official historical groups. It is a shame that some people would not take his book seriously because it is always good to look at things from more than one perspective and almost all historical books tell the same story from the same point of view.

               

Howard wasn’t only a historian though; he was also an activist, teacher, and military man. He led many people at Spelman College in Atlanta to protest against the segregation of whites and blacks. He was an advisor to the SNCC (student nonviolent coordinating committee). He was fired from Spelman College as a result of his part in the civil rights movement and how he was affecting the students.  This did not halt his battle for civil rights.

               

Civil rights were not the only thing he was ever active against. He was strongly against the war in Vietnam, as an airman during World War 2 he had flown many bombing mission, sometimes against targets that he viewed as very unnecessary to kill. This changed his view on war and made him fight that much harder against the Vietnam War. As a result of his actions 3 air force prisoners of war were released by the North Vietnamese, these were the first American prisoners released in the war.

During Howard’s life he influenced many people to stand up for what they believed in. travelling the country and the world he spread his message to thousands of people. He was an inspiration to many of his students and led them to live life in the way he did working to change the world for the better.

Bibliography

• Auken, Bill V. US Prepares Permanent Iraq Occupation. International Committee of the Fourth International, 10 Nov. 2010. Web. 12 Sept. 2012. <http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/nov2010/pers-n10.shtml>.
• Norton, Anne. Leo Strauss and the politics of the American empire. New Haven, Conn. ; London : Yale University Press, 2004.

• Sciulli, David Corporate power in civil society: an application of societal constitutionalism. New York : New York University Press, 2001.

• Schechter, Danny. "WHO OWNS OUR MEDIA AND WHY IT MATTERS." OpEdNews. N.p., (08 Aug. 2010.) Web. <http://www.opednews.com/articles/WHO-OWNS-OUR-MEDIA-AND-WHY-by-Danny-Schechter-100830-52.html>. 

•   White, Deborah. "An American Palace in Iraq and Four Permanent US Bases." About.com US Liberal Politics. about.com, n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2012. <http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/AmerPalace.htm>.

#5 What Is the War Really About?

This is my response to “Beyond The Frame: Alternative Perspectives on the War on Terrorism”. I highly agree that the war in Iraq was completely unjustified and was just a means of giving the U.S. a military presence in that area of the world. A “war on terrorism” is a war that can not be won because there is no defined target. The fear of terrorist has been exploited in many ways by the government, including going to war with a country, and limiting our privacy via the patriot act.

The fear that comes from the media constantly planting the image of terrorism into peoples minds allows them to manipulate them easier. Fear tends to make people incapable of logical thought. As the video put it people want to trust in authority during a time of fear which is what allows them to convince people of things and impose laws that would usually not be supported. The government never has as much control as it does when its people are scared. As you could imagine in a corrupt government they would stir up fear on purpose to gain a tighter grip.

The war has been going on for over a decade, Osama Bin Laden is dead, Saddam Hussein is dead and yet we still continue to fight the never ending war on terrorism. The longer we stay there the more we risk striking up another war with surrounding countries. I have a feeling that the government might not be as opposed to that idea as its citizens are though. "War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.” -Smedley D. Butler

#4 My View On Politics

I would say that my political views are liberal for the most part. People of any background should be given the opportunity to live a comfortable life, but at the same time I do not believe anyone should live with too much excess. Every person that has an overabundance of money(or property) means that someone else is living under a comfortable means as a result of it. I also believe that religion should not play into the government in the way it does. Most of the arguments against things like gay marriage and abortion are based off of religion which is supposed to be separated from the state.

I sadly don't really believe that a fully equal world will ever be possible because there will always be people obsessed with riches and also there will always be people who are easy to control. The people who are obsessed with the riches wont mind taking control of others for their own means. The best we will ever do is to try to decrease the size of that gap by trying to wake up some of the people who are willing to believe everything they hear.

Some of the ideas of anarchism in the way you described it also seemed like a good way to go about things, leadership where it is necessary but not leadership over everything someone could think of. Also the localization of leadership would make it easier to personally know the members of leadership as opposed to only know of them from what you hear through media. This would be especially true if bigger cities leadership was even split down to different districts instead of being run as a whole. I'm definitely interested in learning more about anarchism and not the rowdy teenagers looking to rebel against something that it is always portrayed as in the media.

#2 The Internet, Does It Help or Hurt?

The internet is a powerful tool for spreading information. As the author said he thought it would be the means to free people from media control, but corporations are just as capable(probably more so) of using it as a source of control just as they had done with television, newspaper, and other forms of media in the past. Luckily the internet is not as easy to lock down for one specific use. The vast majority of television stations are controlled by a handful of corporate owners where as anyone can post their opinions about things on forums and other web pages.

Even on the same pages you may post your opinions on media control you will find examples of the very thing you are talking about. The majority of web pages are lined with advertisements on the borders and through pop ups. Some sites force you to watch advertisements before you can even continue on with the things you were planning on doing. A lot of the advertisements you will see on the internet are picked out for you specifically based on the things you search which makes the effect on you even more powerful. For example if I search a lot of things about musical instruments and I start getting more advertisements relating to that they are a lot more likely to entice me to want to spend my money than if my web pages were bordered with advertisements about child's toys or a new brand of hair dye (not useful for someone with a nearly shaved head).

I hope that one day the internet can act as conduit against media control but I fear for now it is doing just as much bad as it is doing good. Maybe eventually you will be able to surf the web without first wading through an endless supply of advertising.

#1 Media Shaping Us To Serve

           I agree wholeheartedly with what the author of introduction to criticism has stated. We develop who we are based on the experiences in our life and the things that we hear. Based on this fact I believe  most of the population of the world and particularly Americans belonging to the lower to middle class would benefit greatly by opening their minds to other cultures and points of view. Especially rather than focusing all of their concentration on what celebrities are getting married or divorced and other useless information people like to fill their heads with.

            If people would put any amount of thought into what really happens in the world rather than just taking a major news networks report as undeniable fact, then the masses would be much harder to utilize for the benefit of a few. Sadly some people are so accustomed to the same culture that holds them back that thinking in any way that doesn’t support it is blasphemous to them. Their false sense of patriotism is doing quite the opposite of helping the country they love to flourish.

            Corporations (the true power holders in America) for the most part don’t care about the well being of their workers if it would mean a profit loss for their shareholders. Through advertising and other media they can do a fairly good job of convincing people otherwise. Television and other media is a powerful way to spread stories across a wide area which as Introduction To Criticism says stories help to form what makes a person so in this generation making people believe what you want them to is becoming easier and easier. All in all I enjoyed what Michael Ryan(the author) had to say and I believe more people should open up to his way of thinking.