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
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... of American political discourse . " -Los Angeles Times Previously titled Declarations of Independence About the Author HOWARD ZINN is a historian , playwright. Author of A People's History of the United States Front Cover.
... political leaders and accepted by the American public in 1964 , that communism in Vietnam was a threat to our " national security " led to policies that cost a million lives , including those of 55,000 young Americans . The belief ...
... political ideas . When political ideas are analyzed issues like violence in human nature , realism and idealism , the best forms of government or whether there should be government at all , a citizen's obligation to the state , and the ...
... political thinking began . Its enticing surface was the idea of “ realism . ” Its ruthless center was the idea that with a worthwhile end one could justify any means . Its spokesman was Niccolò Machiavelli . In the year 1498 Machiavelli ...
... Political ideas are centered on the issue of ends ( What kind of society do we want ? ) and means ( How will we get it ? ) . In that one sentence about unarmed prophets Machiavelli settled for modern governments the question of ends ...
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 |