Ideology: Changing a Well-known History

Ideology:  Changing a Well-known History

(by. Mahromul Fadlillah)

Introduction:

This paper offers a critical perspective on Howard Zinn’s article entitled “Speaking Truth to Power with Books”.  That book can change people perspective about someone.  The pass time is a history, the pass time only once and we could not to change it but the history can be changed and designed by people  who brave mentally and physicly.  One of a man in the world who has intention to change the conscicousness of America generation, he is Howard Zinn, a linguist person who brave to criticize and showed up a badness, a wickedness, maliciousness, despicableness of Christopher Columbus, a great people who known as a founding father of United States. 

Summary:

There are several basic points that Zinn wrote on his article:

Firstly, Howard Zinn explained the reason why become writer or teacher for helping a people or just to advance self profesionally or just to get a book published?

Secondly, Howard Zinn said that writing has indirect lines with people’s consciousness and poliicies.  He explained furthermore that if a book  changes somebody’s life by changing somebody’s consciousness and it is going to have an effect on the world sooner or later.

Third, Howard Zinn seems like persuades us to criticize the obligation rules.  He said that some point in our lives especially if we read widely, we stop and say “Why should we do this (obey the rule)?  Why should we go along wuth this and why don’t we think for our selves?”

Fourth, Howard Zinn admited that he is a radical and rebel man who does not revere anymore to the founding father and the constitution after he joined to the black scholar.

Fifth, Howard Zinn told briefly about his insight about Christopher Columbus.  Zinn resisted that Columbus is not a hero, a founding father of United States, and a pious Bible reader.  Zinn explained that Columbus is a murderer, a torturer, a kidnapper a mutilator of native people,  a hypocrite, a greedy man looking for gold, willing to kill people and mutilate people.

Sixth, Howard Zinn told his experience in World War II and he felt guilty of the murder of innocents but he did not understand what he had done.  He would have the students read it more to get to the reality of war.

Six points above, indirectly told us about Zinn’s chronology and reason why he acted against to Columbus.  Although Zinn does not introduce honestly about his self explicitly but we as a reader has a semogenesis ability.

Main Body (Critique):

There are some points that are neglected in Howard Zinn’s article:

First, Howard Zinn does not add moreover explanation as the strengthen reason why he does not revere anymore to the Founding Fathers and constitution.  What the worst and weaknesses of that constitution than base from black scholar? For this reason Howard Zinn just said that Adams, Jefferson, and Madison almost always they are admiring on their over volumes.  What the most or a one of examples?  Howard Zinn explained implicitly, there is no another protest or additional which completed with evidence.  If Howard Zinn want to speak about truth why he does not open up all clearly?

Second, eventhough Howard Zinn said that war is hell, war is terrible and he would said to his students about the reality of war, but why Howard Zinn persuaded us on his article about the radical act to think ourselves than obey the role?  Is not that persuasion can cause a problem for each people with their government.  Is not a small problem and conflict can cause a war?  For instance anarchy demonstration as an internal war.  Those are uncertain opinion between Zinn’s perspective and mission.

Third, Howard Zinn explained that Christopher Columbus is not a discoverer of America.  He reveal all badness of Columbus on his book entitled “A People’s History of the United States”

Zinn opened up all badness of Columbus on his book titled A People’s History of the United States.  Howard Zinn writes about Christopher Columbus in different way.  He revealed that Columbus was a murderer, mutilator, kidnaper, and the leader of Taino genocide.  Zinn converted the protagonist side of Columbus to antagonist perspective.  Zinn explains furthermore about his implicit reason why he wrote about Columbus badness, and so on.  He does not care if people like or dislike to his writing to his discourse.  He just want to show about speaking truth to power with books.

Many people consider that Zinn is a Comunist.  Mary Grabar and Sam Winebrug wrote a book to show their against.  Book The Bad History of Howard Zinn and the Brainwashing of America by Mary states that Zinn denied membership in the Communist, Mary said that all Zinn’s effort aim to pass himself off as a hero to the downtrodden proletariat of America,  although Howard Zinn denied membership in the Communist Party when he was questioned by FBI agents in 1953 and 1954, he continued to work on behalf of the communists through his teaching and writing.  In both activities he played the role of subversive.  As a history professor, he targeted young and vulnerable populations.  As a scholar, he wrote revisionist histories that should appall anyone with a respect for the truth.  But Zinn cleverly distanced himself from the truth, proclaiming, in a fashion that has become common for academics, “Objectivity is impossible, and it is undesirable.”  Finally, Grabar believes that the New Leftists, like Zinn, have thereby revised their own histories.  An admittedly objective look at the evidence, though, would reveal that Zinn’s efforts had more to do with implementing a Marxist revolution than with any concern for “the people.”    Furthermore on a book titled Undue Certainty (Where Howard Zinn’s A People of History Falls Short) by Sam explained that not only Zinn certain about the history that’s happened.  He is certain about the history that did not.

However,  if Zinn done all of his effort; one of them is writing about a despicableness of founding father of America (Christopher Columbus) to bring America citizen and maybe people all over the world to comunist or marxism ideology.  Marxism or analysis of the communist theory approach to the class struggle (historical and present) and the economic well-being and then once one of the most influential movements in world politics.  As we know that America obedients Liberalism or liberal ideology which has the opposite with marxism or comunist ideology which is obeyed by Howard Zinn based on Mary Grabar’s explanation above.  Because the difference and the contrast ideology between people of United States and Howard Zinn, so many people thought that Zinn’s proof explanation about the badness of Columbus is only his brainwashing effort for citizen of America in order they can exchange a guide and an ideology.

If Howard Zinn revealed that Columbus is not a founding father of America, so who is the real of the America discoverer?  Why he explained only a contradiction about the discoverer, why he did not reveal also about the real discoverer?  History records that before Columbus discovered America, the nation of China in the name of Cheng Ho,  who early discoverer of America. The full evidence can be seen in the book 1421: The Years China Discovered The World.  Cheng Ho is a Moeslim and he has a different faith with Zinn.  Cheng Ho and Zinn have their own belief and ideology.  Why did not Zinn add a brief explanation about Cheng Ho before Columbus arrival? Seems, Zinn wrote only for spread his ideology, not to teach objectivity nor to destroy the silence.  That is the weakness of Howard Zinn, he taught his students about the objectivity but hisself hidden his own objectivity.

Which one we have to believe?  History told us various version, we do not know which one the right and the wrong.  Remember, that:

¡  Ideology is omnipresent in every single text (spoken, written, audio, visual or the combinations of all of them) (Fowler 1996)

¡  Text productions is never neutral! (Fairclough 1989; 1992; 1995; 2000; Lehtonen 2000)

¡  Literacy is NEVER neutral (Alwasilah 2001; 2012)

Our perspective is influenced by our point of view about something.  The truth is a hard thing to look for, the truth is relativity. Its value depends on the person perspective.  For example:  Let us see images of three -dimensional cube, what is the basis form that we see there?  Based on our sense of sight over the image, the cube consists of two square that is located on the front side and back, and it is also composed by four parallelogram on the top left- bottom and right side. However, in reality is a geometrical cube consisting of six equal rectangles ; up, down, left, right, front, back.  The example above gives a sense that to know the truth we can not judge it based on one side only, we can not be proved only by one sense alone.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, there are two basic points that can be concluded from Zinn’s article:  First, Zinn just keep and upheld his ideology not the pure and objective truth.  Second, Zinn does not opened up all the history he known.  We can learn about a great courage and a big spirit agent of changes from Howard Zinn but the objectivity must be showed to reveal the real truth to all people not only for a certain faction.  Be careful to upheld your ideology. Do not be loser to change your ideology and let the other win.  All of these about a ideology fighting, it can cause a change, a change of life, a change of the world.

REFERENCES

E-book A People’s History of the United States by. Howard Zinn

E-book “The Bad History of Howard Zinn and the Brainwashing of America” by. Mary Grabar

E-book “Undue Certainty (Where Howard Zinn’s A People of History Falls Short).” By. Sam Winebrug

http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxisme accessed on Tuesday at 19.10 WIB

http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komunisme accessed on Tuesday at 19.35 WIB