--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I suggest that if you know history, then…" description: "\"I suggest that if you know history, then you might not be so easily fooled by the government when it tells you you must go to war for this or that reas..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/howard-zinn-576_armor_i-suggest-that-if-you-know-history-then_816833.jpg" --- # I suggest that if you know history, then you might not be… ![“I suggest that if you know history, then you might not be so easily fooled by the government when it tells you you must go to war for this or that reason -that history is a protective armor against being misled.” quote by Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/howard-zinn-576_armor_i-suggest-that-if-you-know-history-then_816833.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/howard-zinn-576_armor_i-suggest-that-if-you-know-history-then_816833.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/howard-zinn-576_armor_i-suggest-that-if-you-know-history-then_816833.jpg) > “I suggest that if you know history, then you might not be so easily fooled by the government when it tells you you must go to war for this or that reason -that history is a protective armor against being misled.” [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding past events equips people to critically evaluate government claims about war, reducing susceptibility to manipulation. **In simple terms:** History helps spot lies about war. Key Takeaway Study history to question war narratives. Themes critical thinking political awareness history war media literacy Mood skeptical informed cautious Type advice educational When to use this quote - education - political debate - media consumption - policy analysis Key Concepts propaganda skepticism civic duty Questions to Reflect On - How does your knowledge of past conflicts shape your view of current wars? - What sources can you trust to verify government statements? A Different Perspective History alone cannot change entrenched power structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceit/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [We need to decide that we will not go to war, whatever reason is conjured up by the politicians or the media, because war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-need-to-decide-that-we-will-not-go-to-war-whatever-reason-is/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“there is a man blocking our way. Sitting astride a tractor with a big scooping bucket on the front, he yells at us for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/there-is-a-man-blocking-our-way-sitting-astride-a-tractor-with-a-big/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [The media is not at all homogeneous in the way it tells us about war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/the-media-is-not-at-all-homogeneous-in-the-way-it-tells-us-about-war/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [Diverse audiences can be just as misled as homogenous audiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/diverse-audiences-can-be-just-as-misled-as-homogenous-audiences/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [When I say history is a matter of life and death, I mean this: If you really don't know history, you are a victim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/when-i-say-history-is-a-matter-of-life-and-death-i-mean-this-if-you/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [History is important. If you don't know history it is as if you were born yesterday. And if you were born yesterday, anybody up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/history-is-important-if-you-don-t-know-history-it-is-as-if-you-were/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [If you don't know history, it is as if you were born yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/if-you-don-t-know-history-it-is-as-if-you-were-born-yesterday/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [If we pursue our habit of eating animals, and if our neighbour follows a similar path, will we need to go to war against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-we-pursue-our-habit-of-eating-animals-and-if-our-neighbour-follows/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Judging people without knowing their story is like starting a war for no reason, only because you want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden-me/judging-people-without-knowing-their-story-is-like-starting-a-war-for/) Isaiah Harden (Me > [I have to experience all the ghastly, bottomless depths for life for myself; it's for that reason that I went to war, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-dix/i-have-to-experience-all-the-ghastly-bottomless-depths-for-life-for/) [Otto Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-dix/) > [To get home you had to end the war. To end the war was the reason you fought it. The only reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fussell/to-get-home-you-had-to-end-the-war-to-end-the-war-was-the-reason-you/) [Paul Fussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fussell/) > [“It was a war of reason against barbarism, supposedly, with the issues at stake on such a high plane that most of our feverish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/it-was-a-war-of-reason-against-barbarism-supposedly-with-the-issues/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [But critics of the war have no reason to regret their views.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cohen/but-critics-of-the-war-have-no-reason-to-regret-their-views/) [Stephen Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cohen/) > [I just want people to see what I deem as a war for no reason, but only for greed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cray/i-just-want-people-to-see-what-i-deem-as-a-war-for-no-reason-but-only/) [Robert Cray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cray/) > [War, if reason prevails, is waged to obtain a better peace than that which existed prior to the hostilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-kiraly/war-if-reason-prevails-is-waged-to-obtain-a-better-peace-than-that/) Bela Kiraly ## 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/) [Explore all 461 Howard Zinn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## More Armor quotes > [We will make sure our troops have all that is necessary to complete their missions. That's why I went to the Congress last September…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-will-make-sure-our-troops-have-all-that-is-necessary-to-complete/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“Tonight, I'll strip off all this armor and let it be as it was before..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/tonight-i-ll-strip-off-all-this-armor-and-let-it-be-as-it-was-before/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [In other words,when GOD is finish, he will be a REAL MAN, but a Man of armor.''](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-poet-of-agent-times/in-other-words-when-god-is-finish-he-will-be-a-real-man-but-a-man-of/) [The Poet Of Agent Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-poet-of-agent-times/) > [My grandmother had six kids - one died as an infant - and she was dirt-poor, and all her kids got an education. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-alibar/my-grandmother-had-six-kids-one-died-as-an-infant-and-she-was-dirt/) [Lucy Alibar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-alibar/) > [It's a question of dropping the armor and getting up and doing the work you want to do. And film at first is frightening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-dowd/it-s-a-question-of-dropping-the-armor-and-getting-up-and-doing-the/) [Ann Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-dowd/) > [She looked at me. "What? Is there something wrong with my idea?" "It's not very heroic," I said dismissively. "I was expecting something with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/she-looked-at-me-what-is-there-something-wrong-with-my-idea-it-s-not/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [In any story, the villain is the catalyst. The hero's not a person who will bend the rules or show the cracks in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/in-any-story-the-villain-is-the-catalyst-the-hero-s-not-a-person-who/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [“It’s our own individual pattern of defenses, rationalizations, paradigms—our ways of responding to anything that threatens our comfort. Unless we’re careful to remain open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-our-own-individual-pattern-of-defenses-rationalizations/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They can't touch us. We're the Vikings. We go into battle without armor for the flush and the blood of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/they-can-t-touch-us-we-re-the-vikings-we-go-into-battle-without-armor/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [He shone all over. Only Magnus, Simon thought resignedly, would have access to sequined battle armor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/he-shone-all-over-only-magnus-simon-thought-resignedly-would-have/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Wait a while; there will come to you mounts, carrying lions in shining armor, battalions followed by battalions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalid-ibn-al-walid/wait-a-while-there-will-come-to-you-mounts-carrying-lions-in-shining/) [Khalid ibn al-Walid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalid-ibn-al-walid/) > [“The weight of armor and shield will tire even the strongest man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/the-weight-of-armor-and-shield-will-tire-even-the-strongest-man/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Is there a wrong way to say "I don't know"? Yes. When we declare ignorance, it should be a) honest and b) in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/is-there-a-wrong-way-to-say-i-don-t-know-yes-when-we-declare/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [Successful people are able to rise above crises by relaxing no matter what the external situation. Their belief in themselves, the strength of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxwell-maltz/successful-people-are-able-to-rise-above-crises-by-relaxing-no-matter/) [Maxwell Maltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxwell-maltz/) > [I put on an act sometimes, and people think I’m insensitive. Really, it’s like a kind of armor because I’m too sensitive. If there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-brando/i-put-on-an-act-sometimes-and-people-think-i-m-insensitive-really-it/) [Marlon Brando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-brando/) Browse all 390 Armor quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I suggest that if you know history, then you might not be so easily fooled by the government when it tells you you must go to war for this or that reason -that history is a protective armor against being misled.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Zinn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-suggest-that-if-you-know-history-then-you-might-not-be-so-easily/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Armor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-suggest-that-if-you-know-history-then-you-might-not-be-so-easily/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/howard-zinn-576_armor_i-suggest-that-if-you-know-history-then_816833.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/howard-zinn-576_armor_i-suggest-that-if-you-know-history-then_816833.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/howard-zinn-576_armor_i-suggest-that-if-you-know-history-then_816833.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I suggest that if you know history, then you might not be so easily fooled by the government when it tells…” — Howard Zinn", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Howard Zinn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I suggest that if you know...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-suggest-that-if-you-know-history-then-you-might-not-be-so-easily/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-suggest-that-if-you-know-history-then-you-might-not-be-so-easily/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```