Howard Zinn -changing Obama's mindset

Commy

http://www.progressive.org/zinn0509.html

Howard Zinn wrote:

...Obama was and is a politician. So we must not be swept away into an unthinking and unquestioning acceptance of what Obama does.

Some people might say, “Well, what do you expect?”

And the answer is that we expect a lot.

People say, “What, are you a dreamer?”

And the answer is, yes, we’re dreamers. We want it all. We want a peaceful world. We want an egalitarian world. We don’t want war. We don’t want capitalism. We want a decent society.

We better hold on to that dream—because if we don’t, we’ll sink closer and closer to this reality that we have, and that we don’t want.

Be wary when you hear about the glories of the market system. The market system is what we’ve had. Let the market decide, they say. The government mustn’t give people free health care; let the market decide.

Which is what the market has been doing—and that’s why we have forty-eight million people without health care. The market has decided that. Leave things to the market, and there are two million people homeless. Leave things to the market, and there are millions and millions of people who can’t pay their rent. Leave things to the market, and there are thirty-five million people who go hungry.

You can’t leave it to the market. If you’re facing an economic crisis like we’re facing now, you can’t do what was done in the past. You can’t pour money into the upper levels of the country—and into the banks and corporations—and hope that it somehow trickles down.

Commy

What’s required is a total turn­around. We want a country that uses its resources, its wealth, and its power to help people, not to hurt them. That’s what we need. -hz

ajedigecko

Commy wrote:

What’s required is a total turn­around. We want a country that uses its resources, its wealth, and its power to help people, not to hurt them. That’s what we need. -hz

we understand zinn's comment here.

unfortunately, there are many people who are unmotivated and want to use the resources without contributing, want to use the wealth without contributing, want to be in power without empowering, and want to hurt others.

the "entitlement generation"......not sure when it started, but for whatever reason, it exsists.

maybe it has to do with everything being "cheap" and readily attainable. i remember when i was a kid, the thought of having a vcr was beyond reason. they were 1000 bucks.

Commy

it was used here in a broader context, more in reference to foreign policy.


you should check out the article. its a great read.

skyeriverwinter

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Commy

skyeriverwinter wrote:

great article...thank you...

i agree. abookamongstthemany sent it to me.

g under p

Howard Zinn spoke about this mindset of war on DN. One mindset that truly needs to changed.

Peace

Sludge Factory

The only thing I don't agree with him on is when he says what we have now is the market deciding these things. We don't, really. It's just all so manipulated by those in power that no one really knows what the market is anymore.