27 Howard Zinn Quotes That Will Highlight His Views
1. “How can you have a war on terrorism when war itself is terrorism?” ― Howard Zinn
2. “We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” ― Howard Zinn
3. “The challenge remains. On the other side are formidable forces: money, political power, the major media. On our side are the people of the world and a power greater than money or weapons: the truth. Truth has a power of its own.” ― Howard Zinn
4. “There is not a country in world history in which racism has been more important, for so long a time, as the United States.” ― Howard Zinn
5. “What matters most is not who is sitting in the White House, but who is sitting in and who is marching outside the White House, pushing for change.” ― Howard Zinn
6. “Strike is always a form of direct action. With the strike, too, you are not asking government to make things easier for you by passing legislation, you are taking a direct action against the employer.” ― Howard Zinn
7. “Historically, the most terrible things – war, genocide, and slavery – have resulted not from disobedience, but from obedience.” ― Howard Zinn
8. “To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.” ― Howard Zinn
9. “Any humane and reasonable person must conclude that if the ends, however desirable, are uncertain and the means are horrible and certain, these means must not be employed.” ― Howard Zinn
10. “The media, like the politicians, do not take note of rebellion until it is too large to be ignored.” ― Howard Zinn
11. “There has always been, and there is now, a profound conflict of interest between the people and the government of the United States.” ― Howard Zinn
12. “The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you don’t listen to it, you will never know what justice is.” ― Howard Zinn
13. “If history is to be creative, to anticipate a possible future without denying the past, it should, I believe, emphasize new possibilities by disclosing those hidden episodes of the past when, even if in brief flashes, people showed their ability to resist, to join together, occasionally to win.” ― Howard Zinn
14. “Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.” ― Howard Zinn
15. “So long as atrocities remain remote, abstract, they will be tolerated, even by decent people.” ― Howard Zinn
16. “But I suppose the most revolutionary act one can engage in is… to tell the truth.” ― Howard Zinn
17. “Capital punishment could not be justified in any society calling itself civilized.” ― Howard Zinn
18. “When you fight a war against a tyrant who do you kill? You kill the victims of the tyrant.” ― Howard Zinn
19. “I had volunteered for the Air Force and was an enthusiastic bombardier. While dropping bombs on Europe, I generally didn’t understand what I was doing.” ― Howard Zinn
20. “You call this progress because you have motor cars and telephones and flying machines and a thousand potions to make you smell better? And people sleeping on the streets?” ― Howard Zinn
21. “We need to decide that we will not go to war, whatever reason is conjured up by the politicians or the media, because war in our time is always indiscriminate, a war against innocents, a war against children.” ― Howard Zinn
22. “There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.” ― Howard Zinn
23. “You can’t be neutral on a moving train.” ― Howard Zinn
24. “There is not a country in world history in which racism has been more important, for so long a time, as the United States.” ― Howard Zinn
25. “History is important. If you don’t know history it is as if you were born yesterday. And if you were born yesterday, anybody up there in a position of power can tell you anything, and you have no way of checking up on it.” ― Howard Zinn
26. “Pessimism becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy; it reproduces itself by crippling our willingness to act.” ― Howard Zinn
27. “We don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an endless succession of presents, and to live now as we think humans should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” ― Howard Zinn
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