This blog entry is way overdue.
On January 27, 2010 we lost someone very special. That day, historian and activist Howard Zinn passed away.
If you are really interested in "great Americans," here is one you should read more about. Zinn was a brilliant, courageous and gentle soul who affected many lives in a very positive way and left a legacy that will be with us always.
It would be simply too much to try and tell this man's story here. Below I have listed some URLs if you wish to learn more about him -- and I dare say you should. But here are a few "highlights":
-- Zinn came from humble beginnings in Brooklyn, the son of Jewish immigrants;
-- He worked in the shipyards before becoming a bombardier in WWII, an experience that would shape his later political views;
-- He earned his B.A. at NYU and his M.A. and PhD at Columbia University;
-- From 1956 to 1963 he taught at Spellman College in Atlanta, a black women's college. Here he was both an inspiration to his students and a civil rights activist. One of his students, the famed novelist Alice Walker, called him "the best teacher I ever had";
-- In 1980, Zinn published his best-known book: "A People's History of the United States." A brave departure from the standard American history book, "A People's History" looks at the struggles of the country's true heroes and denounces the invaders and demagogues, tyrants and rulers. With an original print run of just 5,000 copies, the book has sold more than 2 million copies, including condensations such as "The 20th Century" and "A Young People's History of the United States." (His one-time neighbor, actor Matt Damon, mentions the book in the Academy Award-winning movie "Good Will Hunting.")
-- Zinn published several other important books, including his autobiography, "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train."
-- Zinn's activism included brave stands against racism, the Vietnam War, and labor injustices. He was always willing to back up his words with his deeds.
It is a sad commentary on our culture that a great man like Howard Zinn isn't a household name. But this is also a tribute to the perceived threat he was to the elites who run the U.S. Folks like Zinn are too dangerous to give Oprah-like exposure to. Sad also that "A People's History" is not a standard textbook in every American high school.
And it is very sad that we have lost Howard Zinn.
But he would not have it that way. The always-smiling Zinn would not want us to be sad at his passing. But that would be out of humility. In fact, we should celebrate this great man's life and give thanks that he lived for 87 years, setting us an example with they way he used his life on Earth.
So take the time to read some Zinn. And smile. His was a wonderful life.
VALE J.D. SALINGER
Ironically, on the same day that Howard Zinn died, author J.D. Salinger also left us.
Since the 1960s Salinger was a recluse, publishing nothing (though still writing for himself) and refusing interviews.
He is best remembered for his masterpiece "A Catcher in the Rye," widely regarded as one of the 20th century's great novels. Published in 1951, the book is narrated by 16-year-old Holden Caulfied, who has just been expelled from prep school.
The voice of the book was groundbreaking and grabs the reader right from its powerful opening:
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."
It is unfortunate that Salinger decided to withdraw. One imagines that he might have been a great teacher or lecturer. But he chose not to go that way and we must respect that.
May he rest in peace.
Take care,
Adrian Zupp
Links for Howard Zinn:
Obituary article in The Washington Post
The Howard Zinn website
"A People's History of the United States" full version online
Go here and scroll down to "Editorial Reviews" for two synopses of "A People's History"
Sunday, May 23, 2010
VALE HOWARD ZINN
Monday, March 22, 2010
THE IDIOT CULTURE
Back in the ’90s, while I was still living in
Bernstein, you might recall, was one half of the Woodward and Bernstein journalism team that broke the whole Watergate thing in The Washington Post in the 1970s – the political event that is perpetually trotted out as a luminous paragon of the American checks and balances system.
Bernstein’s article made a big impression on me – despite the fact that it didn’t go nearly far enough in its analysis or criticism. (Bernstein, now 66, still talks on the subject at various venues.)
The thrust of the piece, as the title suggests, was that the Western World is hooked on garbage entertainment. Throwaway icons and shallow creativity. TV shows that woo the voyeur in us. Paparazzi snapshots of “stars” who just don’t matter. Mind-numbing pseudo news that weighs us down rather than lifting us up.
The whole “idiot culture” thing could be a thesis or a book, not merely an article. Actually it has been: Take for example Neil Postman’s deeply analytical book “Amusing Ourselves To Death.” Postman and his ilk – including lauded socio-political commentator Professor Noam Chomsky – posit, correctly, that public discourse – the things we talk about and think about – have moved from the somewhat meaningful to the painfully absurd in the past half century or so.
The net result is that we have become junk-info addicts who are almost completely distracted from the important issues that affect us, those we love, and our fellow human beings around the globe. More to the point, to a large degree we are no longer even aware of what is important. We have been fed sugar-coated rat poison and dragged out beyond the margins of true culture to whither and die, spiritually and mentally.
The simple point is this: If we don’t focus our thoughts and energies on learning about the real and profound problems our planet is facing, and on taking actions to remedy them, then we’re closing the door on hope. Like anything worthwhile in life or history, saving the world (literally) will only be achieved through true understanding followed by concerted effort.
There are some vital things we need to do if we are to survive. We need to change the way the world is governed; we need to see that poverty is put to the sword; we need to end the suicidal environmental degradation of our planet; we need to assign anything with the word “nuclear” attached to it to the archives. And much more.
That’s a lot of thinking and a lot of work. We really need to dig for the truth and see that that truth is served. And we are not going to find truth on reality shows or in tabloid magazines; in the pitiful tirades of TV’s political talk show ego turds or the endless mire of nonsense that clutters much of the Internet. And no, we can’t even turn to traditional news sources or the likes of Carl Bernstein. We have to go to more pure information sources. More courageous ones. And we must find similarly concerned citizens. But first we must want to apply ourselves and not seek addiction-escapism by sinking into the couch and praying to the tube.
While Bernstein was right to rail against our toxic non-culture almost two decades ago, he has certainly been a beneficiary of it. His work on Watergate and subsequent lecturing on “serious journalism” have given him (and Woodward) a kind of demigod status. In a sense, they have accrued credibility in large part because of the contrast between themselves and the lower reaches of the idiot culture. But that contrast creates a false credibility: They are merely at the "high end" of that culture.
The fact is, they – and The Washington Post – are still part of the timid/privatized media industry and are hardly daring in what they do. Nixon was just a twisted creep who made for a good story. He was relatively easy to axe. But where are these pillars of pious journalism when it comes to things such as COINTELPRO, Gitmo, U.S. imperialism, the exploitation of Third World economies, the rape of the world ecosystem, the real and present danger posed by nuclear weapons and energy, the severe lack of democracy in America, or profoundly dissecting their own industry? It’s easy to make a bit of noise about Jerry Springer and Paris Hilton. Taking on Rupert Murdoch or transnational corporations in any serious way is another matter. And that takes a courage far greater.
Do we live in an idiot culture? Turn on your TV and flip through 20 or 30 channels and you tell me. Are we idiots? No, we are not. But the people with their hands on the levers want us to act like idiots. Passive consumers of their faux information and unnecessary products. So far, we've been pretty much playing into their hands.
But we can stop any time we decide we're ready to.
***********
Thanks for reading and check back soon. In the meantime, check out www.democracynow.org for some brave and honest journalism. Yes, you can handle the truth.
Adrian Zupp
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
P.S. A few words
The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are the 2005 winners:
1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realise it was your money to start with.
4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
10. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
11. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease.
12. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
13. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
14. Glibido: All talk and no action.
15. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
16. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
17. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot becast out.
18. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.
P.S. A few words
The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are the 2005 winners:
1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realise it was your money to start with.
4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
10. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
11. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease.
12. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
13. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
14. Glibido: All talk and no action.
15. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
16. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
17. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot becast out.
18. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.