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Howard Zinn: The End of Empire?

By Howard Zinn, Tomdispatch.com. Posted April 2, 2008.


Have justifications for empire begun to lose their hold on our minds?
Howard Zinn Cartoon
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In Iraq, in Afghanistan, and at home, the position of the globe's "sole superpower" is visibly fraying. The country that was once proclaimed an "empire lite" has proven increasingly light-headed. The country once hailed as a power greater than that of imperial Rome or imperial Britain, a dominating force beyond anything ever seen on the planet, now can't seem to make a move in its own interest that isn't a disaster. The Iraq government's recent offensive in Basra is but the latest example with -- we can be sure -- more to come.

In the meantime, the fate of that empire, lite or otherwise, is the subject of Howard Zinn today at Tomdispatch, and of a new addition to his famed People's History of the United States. The new book represents a surprise breakthrough into cartoon format. It's a rollicking graphic history, illustrated by cartoonist Mike Konopacki, that takes us from the Indian Wars to the Iraqi "frontier" (with some striking autobiographical asides from Zinn's own life). It's called A People's History of American Empire. It's a gem and it's being published today.

In honor of publication day, Tomdispatch offers the equivalent of a little online extravaganza. Below, you can read Zinn's essay on how he first learned about the American Empire; and you can also click here for two special treats. You can view an animated video, using some of the book's art, with voiceover by none other than Viggo Mortensen. (Think of it as Lord of the Rings, Part IV: The American Mordor Chronicles.) Finally, if you look below the video on that same page, you'll see an autobiographical section of the new book, focusing on Zinn's early years. (Click on each illustration to view a single page of text.) Have fun. Introduction by TomDispatch editor Tom Engelhardt.

Empire or Humanity?

What the Classroom Didn't Teach Me About the American Empire
By Howard Zinn

With an occupying army waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan, with military bases and corporate bullying in every part of the world, there is hardly a question any more of the existence of an American Empire. Indeed, the once fervent denials have turned into a boastful, unashamed embrace of the idea.

However the very idea that the United States was an empire did not occur to me until after I finished my work as a bombardier with the Eighth Air Force in the Second World War, and came home. Even as I began to have second thoughts about the purity of the "Good War," even after being horrified by Hiroshima and Nagasaki, even after rethinking my own bombing of towns in Europe, I still did not put all that together in the context of an American "Empire."

I was conscious, like everyone, of the British Empire and the other imperial powers of Europe, but the United States was not seen in the same way. When, after the war, I went to college under the G.I. Bill of Rights and took courses in U.S. history, I usually found a chapter in the history texts called "The Age of Imperialism." It invariably referred to the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the conquest of the Philippines that followed. It seemed that American imperialism lasted only a relatively few years. There was no overarching view of U.S. expansion that might lead to the idea of a more far-ranging empire -- or period -- of "imperialism."

I recall the classroom map (labeled "Western Expansion") which presented the march across the continent as a natural, almost biological phenomenon. That huge acquisition of land called "The Louisiana Purchase" hinted at nothing but vacant land acquired. There was no sense that this territory had been occupied by hundreds of Indian tribes which would have to be annihilated or forced from their homes -- what we now call "ethnic cleansing" -- so that whites could settle the land, and later railroads could crisscross it, presaging "civilization" and its brutal discontents.

Neither the discussions of "Jacksonian democracy" in history courses, nor the popular book by Arthur Schlesinger Jr., The Age of Jackson, told me about the "Trail of Tears," the deadly forced march of "the five civilized tribes" westward from Georgia and Alabama across the Mississippi, leaving 4,000 dead in their wake. No treatment of the Civil War mentioned the Sand Creek massacre of hundreds of Indian villagers in Colorado just as "emancipation" was proclaimed for black people by Lincoln's administration.

That classroom map also had a section to the south and west labeled "Mexican Cession." This was a handy euphemism for the aggressive war against Mexico in 1846 in which the United States seized half of that country's land, giving us California and the great Southwest. The term "Manifest Destiny," used at that time, soon of course became more universal. On the eve of the Spanish-American War in 1898, the Washington Post saw beyond Cuba: "We are face to face with a strange destiny. The taste of Empire is in the mouth of the people even as the taste of blood in the jungle."


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Howard Zinn is the author of A People's History of the United States and Voices of a People's History of the United States, now being filmed for a major television documentary. His newest book is A People's History of American Empire, the story of America in the world, told in comics form, with Mike Konopacki and Paul Buhle in the American Empire Project book series.

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Thank you, Dr. Zinn!
Posted by: LeftWright on Apr 2, 2008 12:36 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
For all your fine work and endorsing Dr. David Ray Griffin's Debunking 9/11 Debunking as well as his earlier book: The New Pearl Harbor.

Two great books everyone should read!

I hope that you and yours are well, Dr. Zinn.

The truth shall set us free. Love is the only way forward.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» facetious? I don't think so. Posted by: dustdevil
» Dubya is a blackmailed stooge, imo Posted by: realtruther
» corruption in agencies involved... Posted by: realtruther
» man, you're far out kooky! Posted by: realtruther
» how to grow Zionist Astroturf... Posted by: realtruther
» And Karl Rove? Posted by: buffeliscious
» no, no, they're on to us! Posted by: realtruther
» the point is... Posted by: dustdevil
» I mostly agree Posted by: realtruther
» RE: I mostly agree Posted by: dustdevil
» unlike some people... Posted by: realtruther
» Rushkoff on small brown men Posted by: realtruther
» Ruskoff is biased Posted by: joeunix
» Yes, Mr. Holland, I will admit Posted by: LeftWright
Sigh
Posted by: DropTheOBomb on Apr 2, 2008 2:57 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
As usual with everything I've read by Howard Zinn, I am underwhelmed. He seems an intensely idealistic person with little grasp on human nature. I don't need to be lectured on how the history of America is littered with injustices in order to address the current outrages. Yes, I know, he obviously wanted to give some historical background to show some kind of progression culminating in the atrocities of today, but it just seemed a bit self-indulgent.

It seems clear to me that if Bush hadn't been able to steal the last two elections that we wouldn't be in the mess we are in right now. Imperialism of the type we are seeing right now, in my humble opinion, is not "embedded in our culture", it is, to the contrary, entirely un-American. This is the point I keep trying to explain to right-wingers with Neocon sympathies and I find it irritating that Zinn can't see that for himself.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» Now we're getting somewhere! Posted by: LeftWright
» correction re: Barry Jennings Posted by: realtruther
» ah, my bad, LW! Posted by: realtruther
» no worries, bro! Posted by: LeftWright
» RE: no worries, bro! Posted by: Lauren
» a question for EncinoM... Posted by: realtruther
» could have fooled me! Posted by: realtruther
» RE: could have fooled me! Posted by: EncinoM
» Try this, EncinoM Posted by: LeftWright
» No, I don't think... Posted by: mjabele
» See, we do agree after all... Posted by: LeftWright
» RE: Sigh Posted by: Democritus
» RE: Sigh Posted by: Julian
» RE: Sigh Posted by: nochicagoboys
» RE: Sigh Posted by: tommy_slothrop
» RE: Sigh: What Is 'Human Nature?' Posted by: left_libertarian
» Could it be... Posted by: Coleman
» RE: Could it be... Posted by: left_libertarian
» RE: Sigh Posted by: ShrubtheWarcriminal
» RE: Sigh...Sniff, Sniff. Posted by: upHurled
» enough anti-Americanism Posted by: realtruther
» RE:change Posted by: cwilsondrum
» The Missionary Position Posted by: Cathyc
» RE: Sigh Posted by: Quannah
Only in our minds...
Posted by: Iconoclast421 on Apr 2, 2008 5:25 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Only in our minds have we rejected the notion of empire. But we vote with our wallets, and our wallets are voting for Saudi oil. Russian oil. Pakistani textiles. Chinese slave goods. Taiwanese semiconductors. Afghan opium (hey apparently somebody is buying the stuff, look how much they produce), etc etc.

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» RE: right you are... Posted by: wittler youth
» RE: Only in our minds... Posted by: tommy_slothrop
» RE: Only in our minds... Posted by: DropTheOBomb
» RE: Only in our minds... Posted by: Lauren
» you missed one! Posted by: realtruther
» RE: Only in our minds... Posted by: astralman
American Empire or human nature???
Posted by: divetrader on Apr 2, 2008 5:43 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It appears that Zinn is an idealist. I agree with his diagnosis of our illness. The military complex is a most effective whipping boy for the corporate imperialist. We have devastating effects where ever we leave a footprint. Unfortunately or fortunately, we aren't the only country with designs on controlling the masses as well as controlling resources. If only we would cancel each other out. Not in a way of destroying all life on the planet, but in a way of realizing that the need to control isn't necessary.
Empires and civilizations come and go. History books report what the society's of that time want them to report. Do the books mention anything about peaceful countries? Not much. But conquerors get to leave what ever mark they want written. It wouldn't be romantic, but can we please "not" be remembered???

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Silly me!
Posted by: ShrubtheWarcriminal on Apr 2, 2008 6:24 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The end of this article says it all:

"Have not the justifications for empire, embedded in our culture, assaulting our good sense -- that war is necessary for security, that expansion is fundamental to civilization -- begun to lose their hold on our minds? Have we reached a point in history where we are ready to embrace a new way of living in the world, expanding not our military power, but our humanity?"

Silly me, I actually thought that Amerikkka was starting to move in that direction before the present War Criminals TOOK office. Like Zinn, that is how naive I was and obviously in need of his now wider perspective.

It is also obvious that Zinn could only have the new perspective he has without this new tragic era starting in 2000.

Let's just hope we can turn this around now that we know what is happening. But I am not optimistic. The Amerikkkan public is to dumbed down.

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» RE: Silly me! Posted by: sre
Zinn's blind spot is large, but his contribution is also immense.
Posted by: thoughtcriminal on Apr 2, 2008 6:35 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
First of all, Zinn's People's History is an incredibly important book because it reveals American history through the eyes of the people who lived it, not through an elitist or aristocratic keyhole. It was a huge step away from the traditional "worship of the presidents" approach to teaching American history. (another must read is Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Got Wrong", by James Lowen.)

So, where does the history fail us? If you read Zinn alone on the 20th century, you only get part of the picture - an important part, but much is left out, and most of what is left out involves the rise of totalitarian imperial states that were generally far more restrictive and brutal than the U.S. is - for example, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Imperial Japan, and the Soviet Union and Chinese regimes.

Generally, what seemed to happen in the past was that American liberals were quick to point out problems with the U.S. system and its allies (Suharto, Pinochet, etc etc etc), but were happy to ignore crimes committed by "leftist" regimes. American conservatives were just as quick to point to the brutality of communism, while they ignored the crimes of Pinochet and of their own government in Vietnam and other places.

The Soviet Union was also an empire that treated its satellite colonies the same way the U.S. treats Guatemala, Mexico, etc - places for cheap labor, polluting industries, and resource extraction. Look at the record of Soviet economic and environmental devastation in Central Asia and Eastern Europe - all the proof is there. The Aral Sea was destroyed by Soviet water planners, for example - and the coal-blackened landscapes of Romania and Bulgaria are yet more examples. The public perception is that the "typical 60s era liberal" ignored all those issues in favor of criticizing the U.S. alone.

However, at the same time the Soviet Union served as a foil for the real agenda of U.S. corporate and government elites, which involve replacement of democracy with elite rule, as demonstrated by "The Project for a New American Century", and other agendas which can only be described as proto-fascist: laying the ground for the replacement of public democracy with totalitarian rule, aka "a permanent Republican majority", which was the dream of Rove, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bush. Anyone who studies the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany would see obvious parallels to the tactics of BushCo. Ask the Germans - they know about such things.

That was why Bush Sr. was not too happy about the collapse of the Soviet Union, and it led to Colin Powell's famous quote in the 90s, "I'm running out of enemies!" That's classic Orwellian logic - totalitarian states can't survive without ever-present enemies to keep the public in line.

What's needed is a new perspective, beyond the shallow labels of "conservative" and "liberal" that are used to pigeonhole public opinion. This is really about democracy vs. despotism, not about the liberal/conservative puppet show. The leaders here are the anti-globalization activists, who have made local autonomy and basic human rights (including environmental protections) the central issues, not leftist or rightist ideology.

For more on despotism vs. democracy, see the archived short movie Despotism (1948). They used to show that in schools - but not any more.

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» Cuba is an exception, tc Posted by: LeftWright
HIstory Lesson First Hand
Posted by: peterpiano on Apr 2, 2008 6:44 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Yes Dr. Zinn has hit upon the salient points of our sorry history as a nation and how we went about our business. As a Vet of the Vietnam undeclared War, I have to say that I agree because I have been there as well and seen what we are capable of as a country who justs bombs who and whomever we like and say we are delivering them to
liberty and justice for all and it is for your own good. That is the rhetoric that they want us to believe and we are so good at carrying it out that we have created more enmity and hatred toward us as a nation who only meant to do good.
I learned my lessons about the USA in 1969 when I was called to duty to serve God and Country to fight the menace in South East China. I was not totally ignorant off our motives, but what we were being told as young men at the time is that we were called to do a noble job of ridding the world of the reds. What bunch off lies!

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» RE: HIstory Lesson First Hand Posted by: willymack
» RE: HIstory Lesson First Hand Posted by: cwilsondrum
GOOD-Wouldn't that be nice!
Posted by: donl51 on Apr 2, 2008 6:53 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I never liked being considered from an empire anyway,definately bound to happen the way this country's been heading,then along comes GW w/the coup de grace! Now maybe we can act like other countries ,you need to help somebody,that's what the UN's for, everybody chips in, and no more of this our big corporations dictate power to the rest of the world, wouldn't that be nice, but that won't change,the bullyness, power and greed will still be around! we're still going to be the assholes on the block.....so in effect nothings gonna change just the term''empire''

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The Alien Aristocracy 2.0!
Posted by: williameon on Apr 2, 2008 6:54 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Our Country and most of the World has been taken over by Capital interests:
The Cor‘pirates’.

The last free Countries on the face of the planet are being Destroyed by them, as we speak.
The prerequisite for invasion is natural resources and a weak Military!
If you have anything of value the Corpirates will steal it.
Greed is their motivating force.

They have developed and used various forms of powerful (Subliminal and Blatant) invasive and pervasive powerful Hypnotic Techniques to gain access into the (psyche) minds of the People.
They open their heads up like cans and Dump Garbage in.
The programming and conditioning of the People is done in conjunction with the total control of the Media.
A million Bull Horns in unison spew BU__! SH__!
Their Mind control, Programming and Conditioning techniques are so powerful that they can get people to do anything.
Even against their own proclaimed principles, laws and wills.
We are part of this Evil Experiment.
The sending of Americans to Kill, Torture and Terrorize innocent Civilians in a phony WAR.
All things that should normally find abhorrent.
Considering the amount of Lawlessness Hypocrisy, Arrogance and Deceit displayed by these Corpirate Crooks,
Why are the American people still putting up with it?
It is quite apparent that these acts of depravity display their total disregard for:
The wants, needs and wishes of:
The American People.
Dead Eye and The Shrub are Ruthless, Corrupt Decrepit, Decepti-Cons.
The Depth of their Depravity and Deception is total and deep.
The cost of their Destruction has yet to be fully revealed and realized.

They’re in control over every facet of our way of life.
From Educational, Religious, Manufacturing, Farming, Media, Pharmaceutical, Medical to the Arts (Movies, Music, Literature and Language).
They have run Shadow Government since WWII and feel entitled to rule us for forever.
These Evil Despots that rule with an Iron Fist and a Assassin’s Gun.

In America we have a Monarchy today.
King George II is a direct descendent of the very European Aristocracy we fought
The Revolutionary War against
To gain our own Independence.
Capital interests have usurped the control of our own Government out of our hands and into theirs.
Firing terrifying salvos:
Into the Leaders chosen by the People.

The Whole System has to be redesigned for our survival.
The Survival of the American People.
The Capitalist System is a sham.
It is self destructing as we speak.

The Schlock Market is a big con game.
Investing in the Corpirate’s shell companies is a modern form of Three Card Monty.
A shell game.
Watch as your money and savings melt away.

The Federal (Bankers) Reserve is bailing out their own Shell Companies while the people are floundering and drowning in debt.
A Financial Katrina!

Unregulated, unmitigated Greed is prevalent throughout the Corpirate Empire.
The over centralization of Corpirate economic power is disastrous for locally owned businesses.

We must decentralize immediately.
Our very survival is at stake.
Hit them where it hurts!
In the wallet.
Become self sufficient and self reliant.

Greed and Selfishness is Evil.
It fails us.
The Iraqi War, Katrina, Abu Ghraib are a few examples and
The list is endless.

Any system based on a negative Human trait must fail.
The Total Destruction of the planet is at stake.
He has no God or Country.
He is morally Bankrupt.
W is a Charlatan.
Pretender to the Throne!
Surge! Purge!
REBOOT!

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Shame: It's Hard To Describe The Lion That Ate Us
Posted by: JoAnne on Apr 2, 2008 6:57 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Shame could be a pseudo emotion, with pride being it's sublimation, is not written about because shame itself causes shame;it's not easily recognized both because it's hard to describe and because we've not been taught/trained to recognize it. It's been with us for ever, and it's permeated ourselves and societies. It's the cause of greed, war, rage an violence, silence, and passivity, the addiction to distract. If we want to survive we must have the courage to understand it, manage it, and respect it. Stephen Pattison, a theologian has it, and had the courage to "steer into the skid" and writes about it, giving personal examples:"Shame: Theory, Therapy, Theology"

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Human nature and imperialism
Posted by: daw13 on Apr 2, 2008 7:11 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It isn't againt our nature to place in-group interests ahead of others'. Our hard wired compassion easily allows us, however reluctantly, to santion the oppression, even the massacre of those competing with us in a struggle for scarce resources. Which is indeed the situation today, as global warming and diminishing fossil fuels create a world with too many people and not enough energy to enable capitalism to put everybody to work.

On the other hand, the history of our species is just as much one of negotiation as of warfare. When war seems a feasible way to get what we need, we engage in it. Othewise, we negotiate. Zinn's message tends to be only that US ruthless imperialism is immoral. Not that it is unfeasible.

Much evidence indicates that it has become unfeasible. Modern warfare is not about armys and navies and airforces confronting one another. It's about guerilla fighters ravaging civilian populations. The idea that with all its power the US military can destroy other citizenries on behalf of its own citizens, without exposing its own citizenry to significant devastation, is absurd.

But it's an idea understated on the left. It goes against the grain of showing how the incumbency uses scare tactics to justify building its police state. In consequence, the incumbency succeeds brilliantly at fanning xenophobia and masking real threats posed by people we beat up on, who have become quite competent at fighting back.

Our dangerous ruling regime is less likely to accomplish the domination or destruction of "enemies," than the destruction of all. They need to be opposed for the same reason that those surrounding John Kennedy during the Cuban Missle Crisis rejected Curtis LeMay.

I would like to hear strong voices on the Left advising citizens that the danger of a presidency that channels LeMay is very real. Getting this message across is far more likely to mobilize opposition to Imperialism than telling us how immoral it is.

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AMERICANS ARE NOT BAD
Posted by: VZEQICVA on Apr 2, 2008 7:34 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
People from all around the world still want to be 'one of us'. But we have turned into a nation to be feared. In return for which other countries have seen the need to beef up their defenses. Face it, we're scary. So worldwide human interests are sacrificed for military priorities. The cost of 'being prepared' is high. So countries ready for war still have kids dying from measles and in the U.S. our jails are filled with young people. Time to re-evaluate. Thanks, ANNA

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Empires....they rise......
Posted by: eosrk on Apr 2, 2008 8:20 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
....and fall, only to be taken over by another, and the cycle happens all over again.

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» RE: mpires....they rise...... Posted by: astralman
Teacher don't teach me nonsense!
Posted by: wagadog on Apr 2, 2008 9:29 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Great Fela tune -- Zinn is SO right.

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Mark Twain knew we are stupid
Posted by: AngstotheRealClown on Apr 2, 2008 2:14 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
"Still, it is true, lamb," said Satan. "Look at you in war -- what mutton you are, and how ridiculous!" "In war? How?" "There has never been a just one, never an honorable one -- on the part of the instigator of the war. I can see a million years ahead, and this rule will never change in so many as half a dozen instances. The loud little handful -- as usual -- will shout for the war. The pulpit will -- warily and cautiously -- object -- at first; the great, big, dull bulk of the nation will rub its sleepy eyes and try to make out why there should be a war, and will say, earnestly and indignantly, "It is unjust and dishonorable, and there is no necessity for it." Then the handful will shout louder. A few fair men on the other side will argue and reason against the war with speech and pen, and at first will have a hearing and be applauded; but it will not last long; those others will outshout them, and presently the anti-war audiences will thin out and lose popularity. Before long you will see this curious thing: the speakers stoned from the platform, and free speech strangled by hordes of furious men who in their secret hearts are still at one with those stoned speakers -- as earlier -- but do not dare to say so. And now the whole nation -- pulpit and all -- will take up the war-cry, and shout itself hoarse, and mob any honest man who ventures to open his mouth; and presently such mouths will cease to open. Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception." Samuel Clemons aka Mark Twain

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America
Posted by: Cathyc on Apr 2, 2008 5:45 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
is the epitome of the Christian West.

Yeehaw!

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Cartoons are a Terribly Smart Idea
Posted by: PaulK on Apr 2, 2008 6:48 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The cartoonist Thomas Nast brought down Boss Tweed at Tammany Hall. It turns out that average people don't absorb editorials, let them write anything they like, but they absorb cartoons.

I suppose this says something about sanitized television too.

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The Good Fight
Posted by: Mister_PsyOps on Apr 2, 2008 7:37 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Zinn amped by Morgenstern is a champion to fight the good fight and stress the obvious fact American is ruled by fiat corporate empire - not "democracy", especially outside America's borders.

But even that external contrast was ended with the foisting of sham 9/11 "war on terror" over the west and the world at large.

America is now as conquered a nation as Iraq or Afghanistan.

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Remarkable Inspiring Work...
Posted by: NDK on Apr 3, 2008 2:20 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I just want to laud Howard Zinn's very fine, frank and honest writing. The excerpt I read is truly excellent, detailing a journey that has been lived, considered, re-searched and then freely articulated so that we may see beyond the veil.

To tell such stories takes remarkable courage and determination, and it is truly an heroic endeavor to take on any nation's perception and illusion or delusions about itself. When you take on the Duperpowers, you are the living embodiment in your era of those men and women who ripped the veil from our eyes that we may all live a safer, more secure life, where we can pursue worthwhile dreams that make us all better human beings.

Thank you for your work.

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Brillliant Article!
Posted by: Ipsi Dixit on Apr 3, 2008 7:00 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The title says it all....

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Tis a shame that Mr. Zin article is not required
Posted by: drfun on Apr 3, 2008 11:39 PM   
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reading, for it would awaken the public from its slumber.
History has always been written by the conquerer, with the victim's story seldom heard.
The privileged within the U.S. lusted for more, just like their peers within the Old World, and tweaked their agenda accordingly to galvanize the nation behind the imperialists goal to stake a "claim" in the profits of waging wars, running drugs, and trafficking humans whether as soldiers or laborers in their enterprises.
The mantra of democracy for the world rings hollow, as the use fear to demand that Americans give up their liberty for security as the NWO brand of democracy is exported around the world.
As the financial ponzi schemes to fleece the public crumble one after another slowly eroding the Middle Class of what little they possessed.
The NWO privileged complete their fascist agenda of converting the U.S. into the North American Union.
And much of the public out of touch with this reality.

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America's Imperialism
Posted by: osramirez@sbcglobal.net on Apr 4, 2008 11:58 AM   
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The ongoing litany of subjugation by this country adds boundless enthusiam to the imperialists who embrace wholesale execution of humanity. Control plays a powerful role in America and it is such repressive power that has to be confronted in the years ahead if this country is to survive.

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Yes, but
Posted by: talkville on Apr 6, 2008 4:46 AM   
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Much has been accomplished in de-mystifying and de-bunking the multifarious pre-texts, assumptions, excuses, justifications and down-right assertions of Imperial Manifest Destiny and the right to the planet. More and more it seems that the Attitude, the Posture is retreating.

But there is still much work and many years to traverse. The Empire remains and advances; even sheer Inertial Forces will keep it going (buttressed by a slavish and servile sector of European and Other States). By no means can one think that it is "the end", perhaps the mote of a beginning of an end. More and more human beings are rising to contest assumptions and prejudices as old as 2008 years and even older. Such "traditions" are formidable and very much with us, vitally with us.

Even naked and dis-robed and in all its monstrous and ugly contours, Empire is still here. Too early to celebrate.

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