WEBBTIDE 2001-2002 @ SHORELINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Volume 37 No.13 Apr. 12 - Apr. 25, 2002 [ ARCHIVE ] [ FEEDBACK ] [ HELP ]
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Political activist Howard Zinn brings democracy alive at SCC

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      Famed activist, author and historian, Howard Zinn spoke at the College April 10 in the gymnasium as a part of the Colbert Lecture Series. Zinn, a prominent spokesman for the Socialist Party, gave an hour and a half speech to a sold out crowd.
      In 1980 Zinn authored the controversial book "The People's History of America" which chronicled American history through the views of the politically powerless.
      During his speech, entitled "Bringing Democracy Alive," he made several references to his past experiences as a college professor as well as his experiences serving in the military during World War II.
      The speech began with references to several successful attempts at activism throughout Seattle's history, including: The Seattle General strike of 1919, the Seattle Seven and the WTO demonstrations of 1999.
      The first half of his speech focused on social injustices from American history and the successful results of protests and demonstrations against them. He used several examples ranging from how the ending of the American Revolution allowed for the pillaging of Native American lands to the building of an American empire through the use of immigrant labor practices.
      "I became a historian not because I wanted to become a scholar, I wanted to go into the past and learn something that would be useful in the present. That to me is what history is for," he said.
      The second half of his speech centered around the current war efforts in Afghanistan. "Patriotism does not mean supporting the government. Patriotism means supporting your country," he said.
      Zinn also addressed what he felt is the cause of terrorism and said that the government should focus on the reasons behind terrorism instead of dropping bombs on Afghanistan.
      "Terrorism is not something that you can locate in a particular place. Terrorism comes out of very deep grievances that are held by millions of people throughout the world. If we continue to attack terrorism with bombs and more violence we will only increase the amount of terrorism and anger in the world," he declared.
      Zinn continued his speech by giving reasons he believes the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were targeted specifically. "American economic power is all over the world and is causing great distress in countries throughout."
      He also addressed the American media coverage of the war on terrorism, calling the news media "cowardly", for not discussing American foreign policy.
      He stated that the news coverage would "rather promote bombings than discuss the reasons behind terrorism."
      Zinn urged the audience to maintain a high level of involvement in both social and political matters. "Only when people take things into their own hands does democracy come alive."

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by Travis Hay

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Political activist Howard Zinn brings democracy alive at SCC
.	Famed activist, author and historian, Howard Zinn spoke at the College April 10 in the gymnasium as a part of the Colbert Lecture Series. Zinn, a prominent spokesman for the Socialist Party, gave an hour and a half speech to a sold out crowd. In 1980 Zinn authored the controversial book "The People's History of America" which chronicled American history through the views of the politically powerless. During his speech, entitled "Bringing Democracy Alive," he made several references to his past experiences as a college professor as well as his experiences serving in the military during World War II. The speech began with references to several successful attempts at activism throughout Seattle's history, including: The Seattle General strike of 1919, the Seattle Seven and the WTO demonstrations of 1999. The first half of his speech focused on social injustices from American history and the successful results of protests and demonstrations against them. He used several examples ranging from how the ending of the American Revolution allowed for the pillaging of Native American lands to the building of an American empire through the use of immigrant labor practices. "I became a historian not because I wanted to become a scholar, I wanted to go into the past and learn something that would be useful in the present. That to me is what history is for," he said. The second half of his speech centered around the current war efforts in Afghanistan. "Patriotism does not mean supporting the government. Patriotism means supporting your country," he said. Zinn also addressed what he felt is the cause of terrorism and said that the government should focus on the reasons behind terrorism instead of dropping bombs on Afghanistan. "Terrorism is not something that you can locate in a particular place. Terrorism comes out of very deep grievances that are held by millions of people throughout the world. If we continue to attack terrorism with bombs and more violence we will only increase the amount of terrorism and anger in the world," he declared. Zinn continued his speech by giving reasons he believes the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were targeted specifically. "American economic power is all over the world and is causing great distress in countries throughout." He also addressed the American media coverage of the war on terrorism, calling the news media "cowardly", for not discussing American foreign policy. He stated that the news coverage would "rather promote bombings than discuss the reasons behind terrorism." Zinn urged the audience to maintain a high level of involvement in both social and political matters. "Only when people take things into their own hands does democracy come alive."	.
by Travis Hay