Howard Zinn: Hopeful in bad times

Words to hold close to the heart.

Curious Carl

 

"There is a tendency to think that what we see in the present moment we will
continue to see. We forget how often in this century we have been astonished
by extraordinary changes in people's thoughts, by unexpected eruptions of
rebellion against tyrannies by the quick collapse of systems of power that
seemed invincible...



To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on
the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of
compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.



What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our
lives. If we only see the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something.
If we remember those times and places--and there are so many--where people
have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least
the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different
direction."



-- Howard Zinn



Activist, historian, writer

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