Howard Zinn Quotes About Sacrifice
-
I see this as the central issue of our time: how to find a substitute for war in human ingenuity, imagination, courage, sacrifice, patience... War is not inevitable, however persistent it is, however long a history it has in human affairs. It does not come out of some instinctive human need. It is manufactured by political leaders, who then must make a tremendous effort--by enticement, by propaganda, by coercion--to mobilize a normally reluctant population to go to war.
→ -
The struggle for justice should never be abandoned because of the apparent overwhelming power of those who seem invincible in their determination to hold on to it. That apparent power has, again and again, proved vulnerable to human qualities less measurable than bombs and dollars: moral fervor, determination, unity, organization, sacrifice, wit, ingenuity, courage, patience.
→ -
To be hopeful in bad times is based on the fact that human history is not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand Utopian future. 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.
→ -
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.
→
Related Authors
-
Matt Damon Actor -
Eric Foner Historian -
Emma Goldman Writer -
William Blum Author -
Tom Vanderbilt Journalist -
Amy Goodman Journalist -
Richard Hofstadter Historian -
Tom Shadyac Comedian -
Noam Chomsky Linguist -
James W. Loewen Sociologist -
Michael Parenti Political scientist -
Eqbal Ahmad Writer -
Mitch Daniels Former Governor of Indiana -
Jon Kabat-Zinn Professor -
Samuel Eliot Morison Historian -
Dinesh D'Souza Author -
Alice Walker Author -
Edward Said Professor -
Jared Diamond Scientist -
Naomi Klein Author