Howard Zinn Quotes

There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.

You can’t be neutral on a moving train.

We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.

To criticize the government is the highest act of patriotism.

You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.

Historically, the most terrible things – war, genocide, and slavery – have resulted not from disobedience, but from obedience.

If those in charge of our society – politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television – can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves.

Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.

You have to go beyond the textbooks to seek out the hidden histories of collective and individual resistance.

Empathy is the starting point for creating a community and taking action.

Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience.

Understand that a whole generation has grown up with the idea that they have an enemy, not a government.

If those in charge of our society – politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television – can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power.

Howard Zinn Quotes part 2

Injustice has always existed…but when we refuse to accept it, evil dies.

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.

There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.

We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.

To criticize the government is the highest act of patriotism.

The memory of oppressed people is one thing that cannot be taken away, and for such people, with such memories, revolt is always an inch below the surface.

Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience.

Historically, the most terrible things – war, genocide, and slavery – have resulted not from disobedience, but from obedience.

From the bottom up, we can overturn the power structure that keeps us all down.

Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.

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 our country needs most is a movement of people working together to dismantle the structures of power and privilege that perpetuate injustice.

We need to think outside the confines of the narrow narratives we have been fed and seek out the truth for ourselves.

The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.

Every generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it.

Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race.

We need to stop thinking just about ourselves and start thinking about the greater good of all humanity.

We must not resign ourselves to accepting injustice as inevitable. Change is always possible.

To truly understand the present, we must study and learn from the mistakes and triumphs of the past.

The power to change the world lies in the hands of the people, not in the hands of those in positions of authority.

Our history is a series of struggles for justice, and we must continue that fight for future generations.

The greatest threat to democracy is not an external enemy, but the apathy and indifference of its own citizens.

In times of crisis, it is the duty of the people to hold their leaders accountable.

The only way to achieve lasting peace is through justice and equality for all.

Knowledge is power, and the truth will always prevail over lies and deception.

The struggle for justice is not a one-time event, but a continuous effort.

We must listen to and amplify the voices of the marginalized and oppressed.

Change begins with each one of us taking responsibility for our own actions and standing up for what we believe in.

The power of the people is greater than the power of those in positions of authority.

We must never forget the atrocities of the past, so that we may never repeat them in the future.

Change may be slow, but it is inevitable when enough people are willing to fight for it.

The future is not a predetermined outcome, but a result of the choices we make today.