Time Period: 2000-2009

Put Away the Flags

Article by Howard Zinn. The Progressive. July 2006.
"On this July 4, we would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols: 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?"
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An Interview with Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn interviewed by Shelly R. Fredman. ZCommunications. May 22, 2006.
"For those who find a special inspiration in Judaism or Christianity or Buddhism or whatever, fine. If that inspiration leads them to work for justice, that is what matters."
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America’s Blinders

Article by Howard Zinn. The Progressive. April 2006.
"Now that most Americans no longer believe in the war, now that they no longer trust Bush and his Administration, now that the evidence of deception has become overwhelming (so overwhelming that even the major media, always late, have begun to register indignation), we might ask: How come so many people were so easily fooled?"
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Lessons of Iraq War Start with U.S. History

Article by Howard Zinn. The Progressive. March 2006.
"On the third anniversary of President Bush's Iraq debacle, it's important to consider why the administration so easily fooled so many people into supporting the war. I believe there are two reasons, which go deep into our national culture. One is an absence of historical perspective. The other is an inability to think outside the boundaries of nationalism. If we don't know history, then we are ready meat for carnivorous politicians and the intellectuals and journalists who supply the carving knives. But if we know some history, if we know how many times presidents have lied to us, we will not be fooled again."
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After the War

Article by Howard Zinn. The Progressive. January 2006.
"The war against Iraq, the assault on its people, the occupation of its cities, will come to an end, sooner or later. The process has already begun. The first signs of mutiny are appearing in Congress. The first editorials calling for withdrawal from Iraq are beginning to appear in the press. The anti-war movement has been growing, slowly but persistently, all over the country."
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Don’t Despair About the Supreme Court

Article by Howard Zinn. The Progressive. November 2005.
"John Roberts sailed through his confirmation hearings as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, with enthusiastic Republican support, and a few weak mutterings of opposition by the Democrats. Then, after the far right deemed Harriet Miers insufficiently doctrinaire, Bush nominated arch conservative Samuel Alito to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. This has caused a certain consternation among people we affectionately term 'the left.' I can understand that sinking feeling. Even listening to pieces of Roberts's confirmation hearings was enough to induce despair: the joking with the candidate, the obvious signs that, whether Democrats or Republicans, these are all members of the same exclusive club."
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The Scourge of Nationalism

Article by Howard Zinn. The Progressive. June 2005.
"I cannot get out of my mind the recent news photos of ordinary Americans sitting on chairs, guns on laps, standing unofficial guard on the Arizona border, to make sure no Mexicans cross over into the United States. There was something horrifying in the realization that, in this twenty-first century of what we call 'civilization,' we have carved up what we claim is one world into 200 artificially created entities we call 'nations' and armed to apprehend or kill anyone who crosses a boundary."
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Howard Zinn Spelman Commencement 2005 | HowardZinn.org

Against Discouragement

By Howard Zinn. Speech and article. Spelman College. May 15, 2005.
In 1963, Howard Zinn was fired from Spelman College because of his support for students' civil rights activism. In 2005, he was invited back by President Beverly Daniel Tatum to give the commencement address. Here is the text of that speech, given on May 15, 2005, and published in Original Zinn: Conversations on History and Politics.
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‘To Be Neutral, To Be Passive In a Situation Is to Collaborate With Whatever Is Going On’

Howard Zinn interviewed by Amy Goodman. Democracy Now! April 27, 2005.
Howard Zinn: I believe neutrality is impossible, because the world is already moving in certain directions. Wars are going on. Children are starving. And to be neutral, to pretend to neutrality, to not take a stand in a situation like that is to collaborate with whatever is going on, to allow it to happen. I did not want to be a collaborator with what was happening. I wanted my history to intercede and to take a stand on behalf of peace, on behalf of a racial equality or sexual equality..."
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Changing Minds, One at a Time

By Howard Zinn. Article. The Progressive. March 2005.
"As I write this, the day after the inauguration, the banner headline in The New York Times reads: BUSH, AT 2ND INAUGURAL, SAYS SPREAD OF LIBERTY IS THE 'CALLING OF OUR TIME.' Two days earlier, on an inside page of the Times, was a photo of a little girl, crouching, covered with blood, weeping. The caption read: "An Iraqi girl screamed yesterday after her parents were killed when American soldiers fired on their car when it failed to stop, despite warning shots, in Tal Afar, Iraq. The military is investigating the incident."
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Read, Learn, & Make History
Check out the Howard Zinn Digital Collection to search Zinn’s bibliography by books, articles, audio, video, and more.
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