"Radical historian" and author Howard Zinn addressed an enthusiastic crowd at Kresge Auditorium last Friday. Zinn, author of the popular A People's History of the United States, and, more recently, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal Memoir of Our Times, spoke about the war in Iraq and the need for young people to become involved in politics.
Zinn expressed his concern that "too often, Americans suffer from historical amnesia," adding that, by understanding past conflicts, Americans can possess a more complete perspective on current events. "I wonder if when we went into Iraq, if people remembered the Spanish-American war," he said. "If people know their history, they are skeptical."
Zinn called this skepticism essential in today's political atmosphere. "Faith in government, faith in democracy, is deadly. Government requires skepticism," he said. Encouraging his audience to search outside the mainstream media for alternative sources of news, Zinn prompted students to "think independently, question authority, and become involved in the smallest of ways."
Speaking out against the war in Iraq, Zinn criticized Congress, saying that "[they] have always acted like a flock of sheep; Congress has always acted dutifully." He added, "We are all involved, whether we like it or not, whether we admit it or not.... To be neutral is to collaborate with what is happening."
"Once you have decided that a war is a good war," Zinn later said, "you don't have to think anymore. That's why there are always atrocities in war." Zinn voiced his concern for the number of civilian casualties in Iraq, and reasoned, "however noble the objectives in war, war has become a war against the innocent."
During the question-and-answer segment of the lecture, a Bowdoin government major interested in government service asked Zinn how "we can take our stances, what we believe in, and use it in our lives." To mild laughter and applause, Zinn responded, "Don't join the government. You get into the government, you get absorbed."
Zinn instead suggested that students take stands outside the government, mobilize, and participate in acts of civil disobedience. "We must not be seduced by government leaders and experts," he warned. "When it comes to the serious moral issues of right and wrong, there are no experts."
Lindsay Bluntman '06 enjoyed Zinn's lecture but felt that the hour-long timeslot may have limited him. "I felt like a lot of his points were well-founded, but not necessarily too novel. The audience could have handled a bit more than the 'get involved message,' no matter how important a message that may be."
Mary Ostrowski '05 praised the lecture, calling it "refreshing that this historian can remind us to look beyond American history books and news channels for our information."
"We should be able to recognize the slant of our media," she continued, "and should form intelligent conclusions based on a wide diversity of information." Ostrowski, having read A People's History of the United States, was ecstatic to meet Zinn. "He was great, I hope to see him again sometime."