Posted on 06/13/2017 9:48:02 AM PDT by Kaslin
This may sound like it, but it’s not a journal of winetasting. It’s about the undue, horrific influence of a man named Howard Zinn. He became a famous, or accurately infamous, historian. Zinn, more than any other man, turned our history books on their heads, and in a way, changed the contemporary course of history. “Who controls the past, controls the future.” He excelled at this task.
He was somewhat wispy and vulnerable looking in spite of being tall. He could not debate well and he spoke slowly, as if he was in a mildly drugged high. He had a following of female students that was obvious, with lots of student rumors swirling around about his character. He was liked by the majority of his students, who like myself, wanted to take his classes. He was edgy and cool.
He was one of the fathers of the new left back in the late sixties and seventies. He inspired the SDS, coupling with them, making up many of the stories of why America was such a horrible place. The stories became his famous book A People’s History of the United States. In hindsight, it was obvious he made them up (being kind, let’s just say he slanted things), because he was a Marxist. During those years he spoke of the importance of “revolutionary thinking” in his classrooms. It’s hard to believe his influence grew so much.
Oddly enough, he claimed to be a pacifist, often railing about the atrocities done by Americans, yet oddly would never respond to students who stood up and challenged him about the far greater atrocities of the Viet Cong, North Vietnam, or China. He wouldn’t even acknowledge that these atrocities happened.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Who wouldn’t want their mind to be molded by this evil man. Just look at what it has done to Matt Damon.
My daughter’s high school American history course was pure Zinn indoctrination.
The teacher, a young guy, actually hung out with Howard Zinn growing up, since they lived in the same town.
To his credit, he gave my daughter “A” grades on her class essays (written with my help in finding contrary sources).
But not every kid in the class was lucky enough to have a conservative father who followed the curriculum closely and offered an opposition viewpoint.
The indoctrination was appalling.
This guy made me wretch.
I was an undergrad history major in the early 80’s.
Zinn’s work would cause virtually every faculty member
in the department to experience a daily multiple orgasm.
No shock to me then that it now dominates the textbooks.
Oddly enough, he (Zinn) claimed to be a pacifist …Not odd at all. It was the USSR who first started rhetoric of “world peace” after all.
“War to the hilt between communism and capitalism is inevitable. Today, of course, we are not strong enough to attack. […] To win, we shall need the element of surprise. The bourgeoisie will have to be put to sleep. So we shall begin by launching the most spectacular peace movements on record. There will be electrifying overtures and unheard-of concessions. The capitalist countries, stupid and decadent, will rejoice to cooperate in their own destruction. They will leap at another chance to be friends. As soon as their guard is down, we shall smash them with our clenched fist!”Zinn merely employs the same tactic.
— Dmitry Manuilsky, 1930
Ping.
I was exposed to Zinn’s anti American diatribe in college during the 90’s. We were given the standard hard cover traditional history book along with his People’s History paperback, required reading of course. Young minds who don’t have a strong conservative parent or mentor in their lives are ripe for the indoctrination. In many ways his anti western viewpoint presents a danger to our society equal that of radical Islam, albeit in a more sublime subtle way.
Zinn is crap and his writings should be held in the same regard as the communist manifesto or mein kampf.
Much of what is seen in today’s left started with Howard Zinn. He stoked the anger, he leveled the charges of institutionalized, never-ending, and unforgivable racism. He pushed the narrative of “white superiority”, now morphed into “white privilege”.
He pressed the foolish notion that socialism was the superior political system. He made up the narrative of purposeful, indiscriminate, racist genocide of native Americans. He made up the narrative of America being founded unjustly, by greed, so flawed that it had to be remade in his image of a Marxist paradise.
He virtually invented the anti-American outrage so prevalent today, persuading our celebrities, our media, and an entire generation that America is, and has always been, awful.
This from a man who excused Castro’s Cuba, exalted Mao’s China, praised North Vietnam, and to my knowledge has never uttered a negative word concerning the hundred million plus people slaughtered by socialist regimes in the twentieth century.
[snip]
Look at what he has succeeded in getting the left to profess:
•The left has adopted his uncritical belief in socialism. They will not look at socialism’s clear and present historical mountain range of flaws.
•The United States has no trait worthy of praise. We have such a poisonous system, that it must be destroyed. At any price.
•They will continue to believe that they, the left, can do no wrong.
•They can overlook a hundred million people being slaughtered as a trifle not to be mentioned.
•They can allow narratives to be made up in order to further their cause. Truth need not apply.
Look at the past few months and you’ll see his influence. Hillary Clinton only lost the election because of “Russia, Russia, Russia” ... After all, it couldn’t have been anything she did, didn’t do, her weak campaign, or unlikability. Socialists can’t do anything wrong.
See article for more breathtaking narrative...
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Howard Zinn was pernicious.
...pinko ping....
Yes, right under our noses in plain sight for the past three generations. Academia and the media are their torch bearers.
Really shocked he gave her A’s. Leftist teachers I have experienced are never that honest.
I know. Me too, but using the sources I introduced her to, she made some very compelling and well reasoned arguments, and I know that he found her essays more interesting and well thought out than those of her classmates.
When they were studying Roosevelt's New Deal, she came into class with a copy of FDR's Folly: How Roosevelt and his New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression, and so was able to make very cogent well-reasoned arguments disputing the standard lefty assertion about Roosevelt rescuing America from the great depression.
And she even emailed him the very clever video of Keynes and Hayek having a rap battle (Fear the Boom and Bust: Keynes vs. Hayek Rap Battle).
She didn't change his mind, I know. But it was obvious that she had studied hard and knew far more on the subject than her classmates did.
He couldn't discount all the work she put in and the thoughtfulness of her arguments. (Of course, I admit I helped her with those essays, but she did the work herself and learned how to write well and think critically.)
So she won his respect, and he told her that when the students handed in their essays, he always read hers first because they were the most interesting. So she kept him on his toes, and he would often write little rebuttles in the margins to the points she made. But it was obvious that he enjoyed the debate.
So even though he was a commie, he at least had integrity. I'll give him that much.
Fellow Marxist idiot on her way out as is Howie...(her recent 1-18-17 rambling)...
https://www.thenation.com/article/throw-sand-in-the-gears-of-everything/
He also realized there was some intellectual power in the family who could easily challenge biased grades.
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