Steve Brodner

Zinn

Howard Zinn, who passed away last week was a hero to many of us and a pain in the neck to the right people.  Basically, he devoted his life to seeing past mythology and getting history down to the brave reality.  Romantic history can kill, he says.  But the truth, while painful at first, is a powerful antiseptic, ultimately.   His People’s History of the United States is a classic that is a very useful reminder that history has many dark underpinnings and that movements of ordinary people have, from time to time, found the power to shine a light and prevail.   Here’s a video version of What the Classroom Didn’t Teach Me about the American Empire by Howard Zinn Narrated by Viggo Mortensen Art by Mike Konopacki:

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 3:13 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Zinn”

  1. Jay Blackburn Says:

    February 4th, 2010 at 10:27 am

    Hi Steve. It’s always a treat to watch the videos of you doing your drawing thing. Thanks for posting that. It’s a neat, personal tribute to Mr. Zinn.

    The history video is excellent too, the message, the art and the delivery. There is a divide between those that are willing to see what Howard saw and those who will never acknowledge the underlying nature of the endless stream of destructive and self destructive actions taken by this country in the name of Manifest Destiny.

    It’s interesting how that term has evolved in my perception over the decades. It seemed perfectly logical and beyond question in jr. high school, and now it just looks pathological and like a huge waste of time, lives and resources.

    Very nice looking new website sir. My compliments to Kenneth B. Smith also. I thought at first this was still Drawger related but I don’t see Drawger anywhere so I guess it’s your very own place out on the www. Congrats and well done.

  2. Steve Says:

    February 4th, 2010 at 10:57 am

    Thanks so much Jay. Zinn was a treasure. It’s so interesting to me how important what we see as the truth is. The perceived truth is a powerful thing until it’s not. Yep, this is my own deal. Ken’s pretty amazing.
    Grazie,
    Steve

  3. Kevin Moore Says:

    February 6th, 2010 at 8:04 pm

    Zinn was a hero of mine. If you haven’t heard his Veteran’s Day address from last November, go check it out. Still passionate and full of humor even while discussing his own painful experiences of war. Zinn never made it easy for anyone to accept even the best rationalizations for the wars we wage and the deaths of innocent people that they inevitably entail.

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