Howard Zinn; The One and Only Mutilator of American History

Howard Zinn; The One and Only Mutilator of American History

(author: Friska Maulani Dewi)

 

Howard Zinn is a crazy American historian who changed conciousness of many people in this world.  If you had read his book entitled A People’s History of The United States you will know why I call him a crazy historian.  He is the one and only who amazingly reveals the history of his own country with 180 degrees totally different with another historian.

It’s all about his thoughts and his phenomenal book entitled A People’s History of The United States.  When someone asking you “Who is Christopher Columbus?” you may say “He is a brave hero voyaged courageously through the dark ocean to discover a ‘new world’ which known as United States”.  Right, that was the thing that everyone in this world know about Christopher Columbus, but how if someone tells you that Christopher Columbus is the murderer, multilator, racism, kidnapper and so on?  You may think that man is really crazy and you will not believe what he says.  That was happened with Howard Zinn.  He got many ‘complain’ because he brave to reveal all about the hidden facts of a hero who known as discovery of the United States.

What makes Howard Zinn different with another historian?  It because he tells the story of American history from perspective of-and in the words of- slaves, women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, working poor, and immigrant laborers.  It means that Howard Zinn tells to the world about American history from the point of view of ‘the losers’ or ‘the victim groups’.

Howard Zinn tried to break a judgment which tell us that after all this time, the winners who write history, that’s why almost the history always end by happy ending.  Nevertheless, if the history written by the losers, happy ending will never ever happen.  Howard Zinn is different with another historian who often deliberately simplify reality, just show important thing (climax), and ignored the little things which not so important, because in Zinn’s opinion that any historian must be honest without concerned with personal interest, political, economic and the others.  He honestly wrote the history of United States according to the facts (although that was the shrouded facts) and clearly expose his side on his amazing book from the beginning.  You can see in pages 11 of 729 in A People’s History of The United States, he wrote: “If history is to be creative, to anticipate possible future without denying the past, it should, I believe, emphasize new possibilities by disclosing those hidden episodes of the past when, even if in brief flashes, people showed their ability to resist, to join together occasionally to win. I am supposing, or perhaps only hoping, that our future may be found in the past’s fugitive moments of compassion rather than in its solid centuries of warfare. That, being as blunt as I can, is my approach to the history of the United States. The reader may as well know that before going on.”

“There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people”, maybe that was already in Howard Zinn’s thought and be a reference when he wrote his phenomenal book.  In the first chapter of his book, Howard Zinn describes the real figure of Christopher Columbus is a hypocrite, rap, kidnapper, tormentor and a man who does not hesitate to kill with shamefully even mutilation the indigenous people in the ‘new world’ that he found.  Zinn also explained that Christopher Columbus and his followers have ‘a unique hobby’ to cut the indigenous people’s hands and let them bleed to death.  They also love beheaded children and gave it as the dog food.  That was rudeness of Christopher Columbus which is palpable in the described by Howard Zinn in his phenomenal book.

A People’s History of The United States becomes the most popular work of history that ever written and becomes one of the best-selling history books of all time.  First published in 1980, which just sold four hundred copies, now it has gone through five editions and multiple printings, sold more than a million copies, and made the author in the ranks of the elite tradition of critical – progressive American liberals.  This book also becomes one of the most influential texts in college classrooms today – not only in history classes, but also in such fields as economics, political science, literature, and women’s studies.

[Howard Zinn] changed the consciousness of a generation – Noam Chomsky.  I totally agree with that statement.  Well, who will not change their consciousness when they read A People’s History of The United States? Okay, maybe there are a few people who will not change their consciousness, especially fans of Christopher Columbus.  Nevertheless, it will not happen with many people in this world who does not really know about Christopher Columbus before they read that book.  The proof you can see clearly that many people in this world changed their consciousness after they read Howard Zinn’s masterpiece.  Whether, maybe you could be the one that consciousness changed after read A People’s History of The United States, just like me.

If you have heard about the strength of the books which can changed people’s consciousness, that is totally true. It’s not about how many books that you have ever read, or how expensive and thick is book that you have read, but the most important thing is how much that book influential you and your life. It because of the books can introduce the new ideas which is never ever thought of by the readers before.  This is a ‘warning’ to the writers, because as the writer, you should instill in your mindset is “If you want to write, then you must write truthfully and accordance with the real fact”.  Just like what Howard Zinn did in his masterpiece, A People’s History of The United States.  He was really crazy to tell the world that Christopher Columbus - the hero which they known as discovery of the United States - is a rap, kidnapper, murderer and mutilator.  He was really brave-and crazy- tells the truth (although that was the shrouded facts).  What I want to say is, if he reveals to the world that Christopher Columbus was a villain mutilator of the Native Americans, I say that Howard Zinn is a crazy mutilator of American History.

“I wanted to be a part of history and not just a recorder and teacher of history.

 So that kind of attitude towards history, history itself as a political act, has always informed my writing and my teaching.” – Howard Zinn