HOWARD ZINN THE MOTHER OF ALL
HOWARD ZINN—THE MOTHER OF ALL
AMERICA-HATING USEFUL IDIOTS
by
Ken Eliasberg
Perhaps more ubiquitous than even Noam Chomsky is Howard Zinn, professor emeritus (of American history, or at least his version of American history) from Boston University. Author, as previously noted, of A People’s History of the United States. In this Stalinist version of our history, Zinn catalogs every misdeed of America; indeed, from reading this travesty of our history one finds it difficult to escape the conclusion that America is itself a misdeed. To say that this historical piece of garbage is an historical distortion is to put the case in its most generous light. The financial equivalent of Zinn’s rendering would be to have your accountant prepare a statement of your net worth, using only your liabilities (i.e. omitting any reference to your assets). Unfortunately, Zinn’s version of our history is the one that now prevails in our educational system (at both the public school and college levels). I say more ubiquitous because he is to be found wherever a crticism is being made of America. For example, he wrote the foreword to Cindy Sheehan’s recent publication; he also wrote the foreword to John Tirman’s tome on 100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World (in which he was also praised for his efforts in the cause of anti-Americanism); and was mentioned on the back of one of David Griffin’s demented screeds about George Bush’s having produced 9/11 (specifically, The New Pearl Harbor—Disturbing questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11). As previously noted, wherever the so-called “intellectual” forces in opposition to America gather you will find Zinn or some indication of his approval of the effort.
How to explain or interpret Zinn? Here are some reactions of those who have made an effort to do so. Michael Lewis, in his review of Bill Bennett’s latest stab at American History, America, The Last Best Hope [which indeed it is] in the December issue of Commentary magazine made the following observation:
“For Zinn, the United States was not so much a democratic republic,
governed by an imperfect though vigorous political process, as a
criminal conspiracy, conceived in greed and genocide, and maintained
by exploitation, oppression, and systematic mendacity (including that
perpetrated by traditional American historians).”
Daniel Flynn, in Intellectual Morons—how ideology makes smart people fall for stupid ideas, Crown Forum Publisher, 2004 puts Zinn in the following light:
“If you’ve read Marx, there’s no reason to read Howard Zinn. The
activist professor relies on Marx’s single-bullet theory of history
(