Uncovering the Rottenness

Uncovering the Rottenness

“Impossible, there are two objects in a single space. Choose what you want to include into your heart: good or evil?”

(Mario Teguh)

“He changed the consciousness of a generation”

(Noam Chomsky)

"You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train"

(Howard Zinn)

Introduction

Howard Zinn has rocked the world and changed people perception, it show in his book “A People's History of the United States”. Howard Zinn is the bravest anthropologist and historian who has wrote the article about “Speaking Truth to Power with Book”. From this article, he wanted to change every human’s mind and thinking to be a critical person.

The greatness of Howard Zinn is honest in exposing his alignments. Zinn definitely not as naive they were talking about objectivity in the narrative. He siding, and warns the reader from the outset of his position. The first chapter of the book is very confessional and on page 11 of 729 pages the People's History he writes:

" If history is to be creative, to anticipate a 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."

It makes Zinn does not pretend innocent in the story, he bias and realized that the reader needs to know.

Summary

I will summarize Zinn’s article, there are several points that Howard Zinn wrote on Christopher Columbus in his article, those are First, this is a fact the power of book when I was analyzing a discourse of Howard Zinn, entitled "Speaking Truth to Power with Books". Where the book has its own strengths, strengths question can lead to good or bad effect. In such discourse can I pull the red thread that is The strength of the book are book can change the World, book can change a person's life and can change the ideology.

Second, book on the controversy created by Howard Zinn, entitled "A people's History of the United States" about the real facts of Christopher Columbus, whether you know what the real reason Columbus went sailing, Columbus raping the daughter of one of the Spanish nobleman who was aged 13 years. Courts cannot decide he should be put to death, and eventually Queen Isabella sent him on a mission looking for a new continent (when it was the main goal is to find India) and with expectations, Columbus cannot go back. Columbus regarded as the archetype of good and evil in Spain and North America. He also became a cultural symbol. Columbus Journal: When finally Columbus first landed in America Blue Continent, he still thinks this is Indian land. At that time the natives greeted Columbus with joy. However, contrary what Columbus wrote in his journal? "They bring us the parrots, balls of cotton and spears and many other things as a gift. They willingly traded everything they owned ... They do not bear arms, when I showed the sword. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane ... They would easily become slaves we conquered ... With only fifty men, we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want. "Columbus also wrote, "I believe that they would easily become Christians artificial, because it seemed like they had no religion."In his diary, Columbus admitted that when he arrived in the East Indies (when it was still believed he had found India, not America), he tortured the natives, hanging, whip, just after the important information: where there is gold? Furthermore, Helen Ellerbe, in "The Dark Side of Christian History" (pp. 86-88) describes the fury Columbus. In addition to torture, he also frequently raped indigenous women and whipping them for sheer pleasure. Colonies that brought Columbus to the next cruise (1496) claimed responsibility for the death of 34 million Native Americans.

Glorification of Columbus is clear evidence of wrong perception history. People who actually considered a great criminals as a hero, American Society of Columbus is considered the inventor of the American continent, they even celebrate Columbus Day and set it as a national holiday.

Main Body (Critique)

I will critique Zinn’s article, there are three points on Columbus and other that are neglected in Zinn’s article, those are First, Zinn does not mention qualifying books, because every book is different views. Like political books, motivational books and so on. Do all books have the same power? Certainly not right? The book does have a very strong power, a power that can be good or bad. Because not all books can change a person's life to be good, and therefore the literacy we can know where the books are able to change the world into the advanced category, and is able to change the world with bad mindset also. Then the book would not be separated from literacy and history. Each book has a different ideology. According to Howard Zinn (2005:15), "There's no such thing as a whole story; every story is incomplete". That there is no history told in full, any history certainly incomplete. This indicates that our task is to find (discover) the other side of history that has not been revealed through the practice of literacy. Zinn also said, "My idea was the orthodox viewpoint has already been done a thousand times". Zinn also confessed that the actual viewpoint of his ideology affect his writing, his ideas, and his notion. Therefore as readers we must be clever to know the type of each of what we read.

Second, Zinn did not explain who the first discover of the continent of America.  I believe that Howard Zinn did not enlarge in his great book about Columbus itself truly. So, this is the weakness of Zinn, why he did not want to say correctly who had discovered this continent. Many articles that told about the fact of Columbus as the great liar, which did not want to admit that his self is not the first discover.  I found some more sources that Zinn was not the only who expressed this truth, but also at the seminar which was held in 2006 by the Royal Geographical Society in London. There is a submarine expert and historian named Gavin Menzies with his presentation and then received great attention. Appear confident, Menzies explained his theory of the famous cruise Mahsyur of sailors from Chin, Admiral Zheng He (we know him Ceng Ho).

With evidence discovered from the historical record, then He concluded that accomplished sailor and navigator of the Ming Dynasty it was an early inventor of the American continent, and instead of Columbus. Even thought, Zheng He 'beat' Columbus with a span of about 70 years. Zinn was first put forward the truth about Columbus, but the weakness of Zinn is He does not mention who the actual inventor of the Americas. However Gavin Menzies explained clearly that the inventor of the American continent is Ceng Ho with the evidence.

Third, Zinn’s article did not write any references in his article when talking about Columbus and others. For this reason, reference is the strength of any readings, without it the reader still perceive that the writer is like playing or pretending in his writing. The reference is one of the most essential things that will convince the reader when knows the writer’s writing.

Last, departing from the disagreement Both of Zinn and Morison is the great historian for the history of Christopher Columbus, both of them did not tell in the equal writing, Zinn always stated the negative side of Columbus, and Morison always stated the positive side of Columbus, because that then Zinn wrote different versions of history; history from the point of view the people lose, that is the loser. He tells the story of the discovery of America from the perspective of the Indians Arawaks. This view is also reinforced by one of the subordinates Columbus, Bartolome De Las Casas, feeling very guilty of brutal atrocities against the native of Columbus, he quit working for Columbus and became a Catholic priest. He described how the Spaniards under the command of Columbus cut the legs of children who ran from them, to test the sharpness of their blades. De Las Casas wrote "My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature that now I tremble as I write." The most of them agree with Howard Zinn and on average they dislike Samuel Eliot Morison because of his lying and hiding the history of the heroic is Columbus, who is always glorified by Morison.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are two basic points that can be concluded from Zinn’s article:  Firstly, alignments Zinn is a matter of ideology in the writing of history. He is someone who is anti-violence and reject whatever reason used to support the war. It seems that, since hatred Zinn's why he tried to uncover the dark past nightmares tub, the loser of the angle, so that one day we wake up from the so-called "injustice" and "oppression" it.