Just watched a great docu about Howard Zinn

[justiceischeap]

It's called "Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral"

He had a terrific quote near the end, he said something along the lines of it doesn't matter who's in the White House, who's in the Congress. What matters is what the people are doing and what the people are saying. If enough people band together to have their voices heard, they can affect change.

[phusion]

1. I quoted that on my blog a while ago...

http://www.fooriders.org/sagunn/archives/2004/10/the_optimism_of.html

Great movie!

edit:

This is the section they quote from the movie (the other is excerpted from his book, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train):

Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic moment (beware of such moments!) but as an endless succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society. We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. Even when we don't "win," there is fun and fulfillment in the fact that we have been involved, with other good people, in something worthwhile. We need hope.

An optimist isn't necessarily a blithe, slightly sappy whistler in the dark of our time. To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places--and there are so many--where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.

[justiceischeap]

2. Have you read A People's History?

I've heard of it and seen it recommended, just haven't gotten around to reading it.

[phusion]

3. I've read the first few chapters

and stopped reading it for different reasons. What I read was very engaging and certainly told me things about American history that I never heard in school...I think it's worth a read if you have the time.

[justiceischeap]

5. Thanks for the suggestion--I think I'll have to find the time

If his writings are as inspiring as his speeches, it should be a good read.

[FreedomAngel82]

4. I've seen it on the Sundance Channel

but haven't watched it yet. I'll have to do that the next time I see it on.

[justiceischeap]

6. That's where I just watched it.

It's worthy of the watch.