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January 27, 2010; Boston Globe | Old school meets new school. Our social networks exploded yesterday with the news that Howard Zinn, great activist and historian, died today while traveling in California. Perhaps most widely known for his book, A People’s History of the United States, Zinn was a lifelong activist who urged more than one generation to rethink the way history is told and how our democracy is run. One of the authors of this obit has a crystal clear recollection of standing in a park in Fields Corner, Dorchester in the early seventies and listening to Zinn as he asked us to imagine ourselves as mothers with children in the midst of war. Through his speeches and writings he played a powerful role in inspiring others to a life of principled social action. A long-time columnist at the Progressive magazine, Zinn was recently critical of President Obama and, as always, unwavering in his anti-war stance. He wrote in July, “We’ve got to rethink this question of war and come to the conclusion that war cannot be accepted, no matter what. No matter what the reasons given, or the excuse: liberty, democracy; this, that. War is by definition the indiscriminate killing of huge numbers of people for ends that are uncertain. Think about means and ends, and apply it to war. The means are horrible, certainly. The ends, uncertain. That alone should make you hesitate. . . .” So as our president, swept into office by the hope and enthusiasm of a generation raised on “A People’s History” addresses the nation tonight—two wars weighing heavy on our hearts and shoulders—we’re reminded that though we’ve lost a great American, we need to keep the fight alive. Our democracy is powerful but also as deceptively fragile as ever. NPQ expresses its deep appreciation to Zinn, a powerfully influential advocate of peace and justice throughout his life. Read the AP’s obituary published today in the New York Times.—Ruth McCambridge and Aaron Lester
