Many decades ago, I picked up this book by Howard Zinn. What I read and internalized forever changed my view of the US and the world, past, present, and future. It blew my mind and opened the door for more in-depth reading on my own and as university student. The process of deprogramming and jettisoning the baggage of my K-12 schooling began in earnest.

What Mekaiel Shirazi posted on LinkedIn really resonated with me.

…this is precisely why Howard Zinn continues to matter.

What I find most powerful in Zinn is not simply his criticism of war or political power, but his insistence that conscience must never be surrendered to authority.

History repeatedly shows that some of humanity’s greatest crimes were made possible by ordinary people convincing themselves that obedience was virtue, that orders relieved them of responsibility, or that loyalty to a cause mattered more than the human beings standing before them.

That is why his words remain uncomfortable ~ and necessary.

We should question every ideology, every government, every institution, and every movement when human suffering is being justified in its name. No flag, religion, nationality, political party, or historical narrative should place itself beyond moral scrutiny.

And perhaps Zinn’s deepest lesson is this: We are responsible not only for what we do, but also for what we choose to accept when our conscience tells us something is wrong.

I loved that about him too.

PS. A Peoples History of the United States is a must read !!!