What is called “apathy” is, I believe, a feeling of helplessness on the part of the ordinary citizen, a feeling of impotence… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
If patriotism were defined, not as blind obedience to government, not as submissive worship to flags and anthems, but rather as love… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
Where progress has been made, wherever any kind of injustice has been overturned, it’s been because people acted as citizens, and not… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
Voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct action by concerned citizens. — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
When a social movement adopts the compromises of legislators, it has forgotten its role, which is to push and challenge the politicians,… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
If democracy were to be given any meaning, if it were to go beyond the limits of capitalism and nationalism, this would… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
Democracy depends on citizens being informed, and since our media, especially television (which is the most important source of news for most… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
What motivates me is the desire to bring up a whole new generation of active citizens who believe in peace and social… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people. — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
“a good education is a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, because each enrich the other. The accumulation of knowledge, while… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
The mountain of history books under which we all stand leans so heavily in the other direction-so tremblingly respectful of states and statesmen and… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
Let's face a historical truth: we have never had a "free market", we have always had government intervention in the economy, and indeed that… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don't BELIEVE in it. It's not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. Not overwhelming evidence,… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. It is a corrective to the sluggishness of… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
Now I have been studying very closely what happens every day in the courts in Boston, Massachusetts. You would be astounded--maybe you wouldn't, maybe… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
“Sexual purity was to be the special virtue of a woman. It was assumed that men, as a matter of biological nature, would sin,… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
“Middle-class Americans might be invited to join a new elite by attacks against the corruption of the established rich. The New Yorker Cadwallader Colden,… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will… — Howard Zinn Copy Share Image
