Incomplete History: Howard Zinn
Written by Ida Fauziyah
“History is always written by the winners”.
-Dan Brown-
“A history is not only written by
the people who win but also history can be written by the people who lose.”
-Howard Zinn-
INTRODUCTION
This paper offers a critical perspective on Howard Zinn’s article entitled “Speaking Truth to Power with
Books”. It is like Samuel Elliot Morison’s book that was criticized by Howard
Zinn. It is actually what I do to Howard Zinn’s book especially his article.
Howard Zinn (August 24,
1922 – January 27, 2010) was a historian who changed
history. He was an American Historian, lecturer, author, playwright, and social activist. Zinn
wrote more than twenty books, including his best-selling and influental A
People’s History of the United States. That book was phenomenal and makes him
became best known historian.
In
A people’s history, Zinn has different lens to look Columbus. Zinn still looked
Columbus in negative side. He not really believe in Columbus. He thought
Columbus was not a hero at all. He persuade American’s society to rethinking
about Columbus. He also persuade them to change the history. Columbus did not
discover America at all. So, there is no good reason to keep pretending that he
did. So, here I also want to persuade you to rethinking about Zinn’s thinking.
SUMMARY
One of article in
Zinn’s book was “Speaking the Truth to Power with Books” told
about facts. Zinn in that article identify several basic points about Christoper Columbus that
people had not already known. He identify
Christoper Columbus was a killer, a person who give pains, a kidnap, and
mutilator. He ever sent his book to America’s society but they refused the
book. They have known that Christhoper Columbus was a hero, someone who found
the America Island. Even he got a letter from a teacher of California that he
got the teacher in trouble because of a
student brought his book to her home. The mother of the student read the book.
Then, she said to the student that she had to went to school for telling that
the teacher was a Communist
Zinn
thougth that Columbus was influenced all of people in America. Zinn told that Columbus and those explorers
who followed him to the New World did so far essentially one overriding reason:
financial gain. “Behind the English invasion of North America, behind their
massaore of Indians, their deception, their brutality, was that special
powerful drive born in civilizations based on private profit.” . That’s case
where just to learn facts about Columbus may lead to revolution is one’s thinking.
MAIN BODY (CRITIQUE)
Here,
I would like to criticize Zinn’s perspectives
in presenting truth especiallly in history on his book. According to my point
of view, there are two
points on Columbus that are neglected in Zinn’s article. First,
Zinn missed in presented the fact. He did not describe that people who found
the New World or America was a muslim.
According to the reset studies conducted by
some Western researchers, or the study of written sources from Muslims,
Muslim scientists, discovered new data that the
American continent was discovered
by Muslim explorers
603 years before
Columbus set foot on the American
continent.
The literature explains that Muslim explorers had
come to America before
Columbus, among others, the
historian and geographer Abul Hassan Ali Ibn al-Hussain al-Masudi (871-957M). In his book Adh-Dhahabwa Muruj Maad
al-Jawhar (The
Meadows of Gold and
Quarries of Jewels
/ Overlay Gold
and gem mines),
al-Masudi wrote
that Khaskhas Sa'ied
Ibn Ibn Aswad,
a Muslim explorers
from Cordova, Spain,
successfully reached the American continent in the 889M.
In addition, I
believe that Zinn was a Jews. So, he did not tell anything that made Islam grew
up or famous especially in his country, America. Even though, he was part of
jews who live in America. He still considered that his religion was better than
Islam.
Second,
Zinn is
also not write down some references of the book which he took.
There were
so many hard facts
that he should gave
a note where he
got it. Zinn just said at
the end of his
book that he told all based on the experience
of teaching and of
the books which he lists at the end of the
page.
References in the manufacture of paper,
paper or books
we need to write down references. Bibliography is a list of reference
books or a number
reference of which became the main ingredient in writing, both scientific and
non-scientific writings. Walija said that the references or bibliography
is a list of books
or other reference
sources underlying or be taken into consideration in the writing of the paper.
Many
historical facts are deliberately hidden from public knowledge. Perhaps because
of the evils committed by the authorities in the past or it could be to hide
the evil conspiraces for political interests and certain economic groups. Or
perhaps because there are events that are not well documented.
To
emphasize, the history that we know nowdays prove that there are not many
people who speak truth to power and do so with
as much grace, intellegence and compassion. Many of them tell or write
history just for the sake of their own interest. It is like Samuel Elliot Morison and Howard
Zinn who described Christhoper Columbus in the different point of views.
Morison described that Columbus was the man who found the New World and made changed
of United Stated. However, Zinn has different lens to describe Columbus was a killer, a person who gave pains, a kidnap, and mutilator.
As like I assumed before that they created history for their own interests.
From
this case, actually we also can give critique for Zinn. If Zinn wrote history
from his point of view, so what is the difference with Morison? I think that
they are same in taking ideologis choice in wite history. Zinn actually is
nothing than a boxer from different ring. If Morison wrote history from
winners’ point of view, Zinn was on losers’ point of view.
CONCLUSION
There are two basic points
that can be concluded from Zinn’s article. There are we will not take a text
for granted. Even we should rethinking about someone’s perspective in a text and
historian created history for their own interests.
As Zinn
said “We need new ways of thinking. We need to rethink our position in the
world”. We as human
being who create history. We should make history to still alive, because
history will always alive if we do something.
Many
historical facts are deliberately hidden from public knowledge. Perhaps because
of the evils committed by the authorities in the past or it could be to hide the
evil conspiraces for political interests and certain economic groups. Or
perhaps because there are events that are not well documented. So, lets change the history.
References
Howard
Zinn. Anthropology off the Shelf: Speaking Truth to Power with Books. December 2005.
m.huffpost.com/us/entry/1807482/
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