Howard Zinn

"Patriotism is not obedience to government. Patriotism is obedience to the principles for which government is supposed to stand."

- Howard Zinn

"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 we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction."

- Howard Zinn

"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 we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something."

- Howard Zinn

"War itself is the enemy of the human race."

- Howard Zinn

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

- Howard Zinn

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

- Howard Zinn