Smart Shopper

Unmitigated poop. Even the US Constitution is a document of oppression to these people.

Sadly filled with America and capitalism bashing. We must return to actually teaching true American History – as is made apparent by this “presentation”. You cannot appreciate the freedoms and abundance we have enjoyed in this country if you don’t understand how we came by them.

It’s so outrageously foul and spiteful that I’m embarrassed for the participants.
Rating: 1 / 5

  Callidus Asinus

Having watched Zinn’s documentary, “The People Speak,” my main problem is that while everything he says is technically true, he cherry picks facts and leaves out those which either add complexity to or radically change the moral standing of the historical figures he criticizes. While he is right in that it’s important to realize the warts that afflict our country so that it can be improved, his use of only those facts which seem the most damning and his neglect of those which mitigate his case only present the reader with a distorted image of our country. I realize that his intention is to present a critical outlook on American history, and that in itself is a legitimate thing to do. If he had presented a complete picture of each person and event and was still able to use them to support his world view, this would have been a valuable documentary to watch. However, his presentation of the facts tend to lead the viewer to make judgments that he or she wouldn’t have made if given a complete story of the events in question. For this reason I accuse Zinn of the lowest form of intellectual dishonesty.

The first example of this dishonesty in his documentary is when he told of how Columbus and his men treated the natives on that Caribbean island. Zinn gave all the gruesome details of the torture they suffered at the hands of Columbus and reported that the population dropped from 3 million to 200. He left out the part where about 95% of these fatalities were due to small pox which the Europeans brought unwittingly to America. While this doesn’t justify Columbus’ mistreatment of the natives, it goes to show that Columbus wasn’t exactly practicing a systematic genocide.

Another example of this is the part where Zinn listed a few of our founding fathers who were against the creation of the Bill of Rights. Again, he is correct, but he implied that these founding fathers were against the freedoms listed in that document. However, contrary to what he wants us to think, these men were against the Bill of Rights for fear that our rights would be limited to those listed and there would be loopholes which would allow the government to find new ways to oppress people. Anyone who is familiar with the Bill of Rights would know that this issue was resolved with the 9th amendment which protected those rights not listed.

The third example is about the Bonus Army. As Zinn reported, in 1932, about 43,000 World War I veterans marched on the U.S. Capitol. They were desperate, out of work and needed their money to see them through their hard times. Zinn reported the harsh conditions of their camps, had some musicians play songs written by the marchers and reported that on July 28, Attorney General Mitchell ordered the camp evacuated. Zinn explained that the Washington police acted violently (when they met resistance), killing four people and injuring about 1000. While the forcible evacuation was an inexcusable violation of the marchers’ First Amendment rights, he forgot to mention that the bonus was to be redeemable in 1945, not 1932. It’s not like the government was cheating them out of a previous agreement by denying them their bonuses. Rather, the government was merely abiding by it’s contract with the veterans. In fact, Congress did try to move the date earlier with the Patman Bonus Bill, but it was blocked in the Senate due to concerns over funding for Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. Eventually, in 1936 with public sentiment siding with the veterans, Congress did pass the bill and overrode President Roosevelt’s veto. While I am ashamed of the attack and disappointed in such a blatant violation of the veterans’ rights to “peaceably assemble,” it is important to note that eventually, Congress did hear “the people speak” and granted their bonuses early. This, I believe is what makes the United States a unique country. China wasn’t so kind to the student protesters at Tiananmen square, nor is the Iranian government so understanding of its dissidents.

My advice to those who follow Zinn is to take everything he says with complete skepticism. While his facts, as far as I can tell, are accurate, but he loves to leave out information which could get in the way of his agenda making America seem to be a land of imperialistic, oppressive and greedy capitalist pigs. Zinners need to change their ways and reevaluate the basis of their views of American history by revisiting their high school level textbooks. They will give you all the same information that Zinn gives you and include the sometimes mundane details that will radically change your perspective of the moral standing of our country. America is certainly not perfect, but when compared to the rest of the world and of human history, it will stand out as the highest exemplar of the liberal ideals of freedom and equality of opportunity that has yet existed. There will always be room for improvement in terms of realizing these ideals, but it would be unwise to suggest that this is cause for a fundamental paradigm shift in the way our country operates.
Rating: 1 / 5