--- title: "7 Enormous Quotes By Howard Zinn" description: "7 Enormous quotes by Howard Zinn. Plus more from Howard Zinn and more Enormous sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/howard-zinn-576_attention_we-were-not-born-critical-of-existing-so_126370.jpg" --- > [We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-were-not-born-critical-of-existing-society-there-was-a-moment-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/howard-zinn-576_attention_we-were-not-born-critical-of-existing-so_126370.jpg) > [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f7/howard-zinn-576_behinds_behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-e_128360.jpg) > [We all have an enormous responsibility to bring to the attention of others information they do not have, which has the potential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-all-have-an-enormous-responsibility-to-bring-to-the-attention-of/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/howard-zinn-576_attention_we-all-have-an-enormous-responsibility-t_356576.jpg) > [I did not feel proud of our country, seeing that we were bombing peasant villages, that we were not just hitting military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-did-not-feel-proud-of-our-country-seeing-that-we-were-bombing/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f26/howard-zinn-576_air_i-did-not-feel-proud-of-our-country-seei_400139.jpg) > [People of the United States have to really consider whether they want to be an empire. Sweden is not worried about terrorism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/people-of-the-united-states-have-to-really-consider-whether-they-want/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/howard-zinn-576_ambition_people-of-the-united-states-have-to-real_634036.jpg) > [What is called “apathy” is, I believe, a feeling of helplessness on the part of the ordinary citizen, a feeling of impotence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/what-is-called-apathy-is-i-believe-a-feeling-of-helplessness-on-the/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/howard-zinn-576_apathetic_what-is-called-apathy-is-i-believe-a-fee_889434.jpg) > [I believe the American people have the capacity to create a new movement, which would change the direction of our nation from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-believe-the-american-people-have-the-capacity-to-create-a-new/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/howard-zinn-576_america_i-believe-the-american-people-have-the-c_2866711.jpg) ## Other authors on Enormous ## More by Howard Zinn > [“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught-himself-mathematics-and/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-no-flag-large-enough-to-cover-the-shame-of-killing-innocent/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“a good education is a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, because each enrich the other. The accumulation of knowledge, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-good-education-is-a-synthesis-of-book-learning-and-involvement-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-mountain-of-history-books-under-which-we-all-stand-leans-so/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/let-s-face-a-historical-truth-we-have-never-had-a-free-market-we-have/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-can-understand-pessimism-but-i-don-t-believe-in-it-it-s-not-simply/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. It is a corrective to the sluggishness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/protest-beyond-the-law-is-not-a-departure-from-democracy-it-is/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/now-i-have-been-studying-very-closely-what-happens-every-day-in-the/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Sexual purity was to be the special virtue of a woman. It was assumed that men, as a matter of biological nature, would sin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/sexual-purity-was-to-be-the-special-virtue-of-a-woman-it-was-assumed/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/middle-class-americans-might-be-invited-to-join-a-new-elite-by/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/if-those-in-charge-of-our-society-politicians-corporate-executives/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-were-not-born-critical-of-existing-society-there-was-a-moment-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“George Washington had turned down the requests of blacks, seeking freedom, to fight in the Revolutionary army. So when the British military commander in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/george-washington-had-turned-down-the-requests-of-blacks-seeking/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enormous/howard-zinn/#itemlist", "name": "7 Enormous Quotes By Howard Zinn", "numberOfItems": 7, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when certain facts appeared before us, startled us, and then caused us to question beliefs that were strongly fixed in our consciousness-embedded there by years of family prejudices, orthodox schooling, imbibing of newspapers, radio, and television. 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