Howard Zinn-"Lessons of Iraq War Start with U.S. History"

[Clara T]

Lessons of Iraq War start with U.S. history

By Howard Zinn

03/14/06 "The Progressive" -- -- 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.

<snip>

President McKinley lied in 1898 about the reason for invading Cuba, saying we wanted to liberate the Cubans from Spanish control, but the truth is that he really wanted Spain out of Cuba so that the island could be open to United Fruit and other American corporations. He also lied about the reasons for our war in the Philippines, claiming we only wanted to "civilize" the Filipinos, while the real reason was to own a valuable piece of real estate in the far Pacific, even if we had to kill hundreds of thousands of Filipinos to accomplish that.

<snip>

And everyone lied about Vietnam -- President Kennedy about the extent of our involvement, President Johnson about the Gulf of Tonkin and President Nixon about the secret bombing of Cambodia. They all claimed the war was to keep South Vietnam free of communism, but really wanted to keep South Vietnam as an American outpost at the edge of the Asian continent.

<snip>

We must face our long history of ethnic cleansing, in which the U.S. government drove millions of Indians off their land by means of massacres and forced evacuations. We must face our long history, still not behind us, of slavery, segregation and racism. And we must face the lingering memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Our leaders have taken it for granted, and planted the belief in the minds of many people that we are entitled, because of our moral superiority, to dominate the world. Both the Republican and Democratic Parties have embraced this notion.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12339.htm

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. We are so full of crap that we can't see where we've been

much less where we are headed.

[mom cat]

2. Howard Zinn: telling it like it is. ... K&R

[IndyOp]

3. Yes! Go Howard! (n/t)

:kick:

[Generic Other]

4. preparing us for "the next barrage of lies"

Questioning the lie of our "moral superiority." A refreshing idea.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. But..but..we've always been the "good guys". Haven't we?

It's just the stench of the millions of bodies we've left in the wake of our quest for empire that's bothering that durned America Hating historian.

He should stick to the pleasant mythology that has convinced most Americans that we only spread goodness and light to the rest of the world.

[killbotfactory]

6. Nevermind all the lies told to start the Revolutionary War

Involving incident between the British soldiers and the Colonists that either didn't happen, or were highly exaggerated.

Though this is hardly an American phenomenon.

[GreenArrow]

7. hypocritical face savers and self promoters

"We must face our long history of ethnic cleansing, in which the U.S. government drove millions of Indians off their land by means of massacres and forced evacuations. We must face our long history, still not behind us, of slavery, segregation and racism. And we must face the lingering memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Our leaders have taken it for granted, and planted the belief in the minds of many people that we are entitled, because of our moral superiority, to dominate the world. Both the Republican and Democratic Parties have embraced this notion."

Which is why the after the fact, non-apology apologies for supporting this war, given by the Edwards' et al, don't ring true: they were simply voting in accordance with long term US policy in the region. Perhaps some of them did not necessarily believe in the means, but they most certainly believed in the ends.

[meganmonkey]

8. This is a great article, ClaraT

thanks for posting!

K & R.

[Clara T]

9. Good to see you

MM.

As Always.

[stevietheman]

10. Another interesting article in the same vein...

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-5923.2005.00140.x

"The Ethic of Honor in National Crises: The Civil War, Vietnam, Iraq, and the Southern Factor"

Click the "PDF" link to view/download the article.

[genie_weenie]

11. It is the Doom of Man that each generation still must

learn these things through pain, death and destruction. Why will people not realize the monstrosities done in their name and in the name of whatever cause is fashionable at the moment?

[rman]

12. Same old, ever since the emergence of mass societies.

Democracy Now
Readings From Howard Zinn's "Voices of a People's History of the United States"
Monday, February 20th, 2006
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/20/148251

"Today we spend the hour with readings from a Voices of a People's History of the United States edited by historian Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. It is the companion volume to Zinn’s legendary People’s History of the United States – which has sold over a million copies.

We will hear dramatic readings of speeches, letters, poems, songs, petitions, and manifestos. These are the voices of people throughout U.S. history who struggled against slavery, racism, and war, against oppression and exploitation, and who articulated a vision for a better world.

Performances include Danny Glover as Frederick Douglass, Marisa Tomei as Cindy Sheehan, Floyd Red Crow Westerman as Tecumseh and Chief Joseph, Sandra Oh as Emma Goldman and Yuri Kochiyama, and Viggo Mortensen as Bartolomeo de Las Casas and Mark Twain."


"It is the duty of moral people to violate immoral laws."
- Howard Zinn