Various and sundry things I’ve read on this blog over the months I’ve visited have reminded me of this essay in The New Republic about Howard Zinn.
Excerpt:
“At many times in our national experience, there have been radicals who have applied needed pressure to those in the seats of institutional power, forcing them to change unjust practices, reconsider self-serving conclusions, and honor unfulfilled principles. At such times, the radicals’ work has been most salutary, bringing greater equality and justice to the political sphere, opening horizons in the intellectual world. But there have been times, too, when some radicals–political and intellectual–have embraced zealotry and maximalism, or betrayed their own ideals, and allowed their impatience with the imperfections of those in power to lead them into deluded or destructive movements.”
Agree or disagree, or ignore. I’m not going to advocate for a position, but do look forward to reading people’s reactions.
You could make a guess. The present is untenable to 90%. Maybe you could take a gander at these charts.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/07/contradictions-at-the-kitchen-table-sanders-obama-and-clinton
-at-the-democratic-national-convention.html
You think another 8 more yrs of same is possible? And that is assuming we don’t get that overdue recession on top of our stagnation.
Your point? Zinn wasn’t perfect? That flaws — some serious flaws — can be found in the work of even the most admired and respected historians and academicians? That all of us aren’t bounded by and embedded in the time and place that we grew up and live in and only the best minds can get to the edge of that boundary and a step beyond it and communicate back to others?
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” advanced the cause of abolition. In a form that was accessible to people who didn’t know and therefore, took the easy path of accepting the status quo either actively or passively. Should we throw away “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” today because a peculiar northern variation of racism is condoned and embedded in it? Ridiculous. It’s still a great book. And the character of Uncle Tom bears almost no resemblance to how his name is used today to malign certain people.
I read this as: Please, please don’t vote for Jill Stein.
A perfect bullshit diary. So what do you think JoelDanWalls or are you asking our opinions so you can form your own. Or are you looking to fault others for their wrong opinions—gotcha’. The quote is also worthless because no examples are cited (though they may appear in the body of the original text).