Talking Bag

HENRY A. GIROUX

Trump’s War on Dangerous Memory and Critical Thought

(Tikkun.org)

"People living in the United States have entered into one of the most dangerous periods of the 21st century. President Donald Trump is not only a twisted caricature of every variation of economic, political, educational, and social fundamentalism, he is the apogee of an increasingly intolerant and authoritarian culture committed to destroying free speech, civil rights, women’s reproductive freedoms, and all vestiges of economic justice and democracy."

In the above essay Giroux mentions the ongoing crusade to ban books by Howard Zinn. Attempts to rewrite history and relocate brilliant voices of dissent to the memory hole is as Orwellian as it gets. I recently read Zinn's book, Declarations of Independence. Its narrative is straight forward and I recommend it if you want to understand more about our history without the taint of establishment BS.

Quoting Wikipedia on Howard Zinn:

"Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922 – January 27, 2010) was an American historian, playwright, and social activist. He was a political science professor at Boston University.

Zinn wrote more than twenty books, including his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United States. In 2007, he published a version of it for younger readers, A Young People′s History of the United States.

Zinn described himself as "something of an anarchist, something of a socialist. Maybe a democratic socialist." He wrote extensively about the civil rights and anti-war movements, and labor history of the United States. His memoir, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train, was also the title of a 2004 documentary about Zinn's life and work."

Arkansas Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Ban Howard Zinn From Classrooms

Legislation from Rep. Kim Hendren would keep legendary historian's works from all public and charter schools

(CommonDreams.org)