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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... prisons there is debate on how many prisons we should have . But the idea of abolishing prisons is too outrageous even to be discussed . We hear argument about how much the elderly should have to pay for health care , but the idea that ...
... prison to a Catholic priest in a Connecticut jail , making whatever connections I find useful . There is in orthodox thinking a great dependence on experts . Because modern technological society has produced a breed of experts who ...
... of crimes committed by underlings in his behalf ) , a number of his people ( former CIA agents , White House aides , and even the attorney - general ) were sent to prison . MACHIAVELLIAN REALISM AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY 15.
... prison . But Nixon himself , although he was forced to resign his office , escaped criminal prosecution , arrang- ing to be pardoned when his vice - president , Gerald Ford , became presi- dent . Nixon retired in prosperity and , in a ...
... prison sentence of 130 years . But while the jury deliberated the judge learned , through the Watergate scandal , that Nixon's " plumbers " had tried to break into Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office to find damaging material and he ...
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 |