Passionate Declarations: Essays on War and JusticeFrom the bestselling author of A People's History of the United States comes this selection of passionate, honest, and piercing essays looking at American political ideology. Howard Zinn brings to Passionate Declarations the same astringent style and provocative point of view that led more than a million people to buy his book A People's History of the United States. He directs his critique here to what he calls "American orthodoxies" -- that set of beliefs guardians of our culture consider sacrosanct: justifications for war, cynicism about human nature and violence, pride in our economic system, certainty of our freedom of speech, romanticization of representative government, confidence in our system of justice. Those orthodoxies, he believes, have a chilling effect on our capacity to think independently and to become active citizens in the long struggle for peace and justice. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 8
... fact ( including very recent events ) , hoping to clarify issues of urgent concern to our time . I will not be too respectful of chronology , but will wander back and forth across the centuries , from Machiavelli to Kissinger , from ...
... fact , by presenting ideas and ways of looking at issues that are outside the orthodox . I am hopeful that given more possibilities people will come to wiser conclusions . In my years of teaching , I never listened to the advice of ...
... fact , the Constitution was drawn up by fifty - five men , all white and mostly rich , who represented a certain elite group in the new nation . The document itself accepted slavery as legitimate , and at MACHIAVELLIAN REALISM AND U.S. ...
... facts about two instances involving German submarines and American destroyers ( claiming the destroyer Greer , which was attacked by a German submarine , was on an innocent mission when in fact it was tracking the sub for the British ...
... facts and supported by the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved , it is the Survey's opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945 , and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945 , Japan would have surrendered even ...
Contents
1 | |
32 | |
FOUR The Use and Abuse of History | 48 |
The American Class System | 147 |
Second Thoughts on the First Amendment | 182 |
The Black Experience | 231 |
ELEVEN The Ultimate Power | 278 |
NOTES | 303 |
INDEX | 333 |