The Courage of Movements, Individual Choices, & Thinking For Yourself.

Howard Zinn is a famous historian who Donald Trump once said was spreading Marxist or leftist views in American education with his book: A People’s History of the United States. Trump wants to blame education for civil disobedience or for civil unrest. If my education, experience, and upbringing have taught me anything, it is that you can’t learn history from just one perspective or let alone from one single textbook and from a single author. Zinn said it himself, he wants his students to think for themselves, especially questioning his work, which I respect. Every day I see history being distorted or manipulated in some way by both the left and right, and I often wonder, who will be the one to correct the false narratives or false information being made at this very moment. 

 Zinn wasn’t only a historian; he was also a playwright and participated in social movements like those started by students at universities or big ones like the Civil Rights. He is famous for saying,

“you can’t be neutral on a moving train.”

That is to say, we are on a historical trajectory, or that the world is already moving in a certain direction, and for this reason, Zinn believes ‘neutrality’ does not exist, because to be neutral is to be complicit or collaborating with the ills and wrongdoings of the world, such as wars.

I particularly understand his point of view. But I must add that I do start out in a neutral position before making a decision. In other words, an objective stance towards a subjective standpoint or direction. I will choose to side with wherever my thought process and logical conclusion lead me, in addition to what it feels like the right thing to do. I first let my logical toolkit and then my moral compass guide me in my decision-making. 

I think back to the profound statement to which I find myself agreeing with by Martin Gurri, a former CIA who was asked, “What is objectivity?” 

He said, “I don’t think objectivity means much. My definition of analysis is the capacity to look at an event or an idea from as many perspectives as you can possibly fit inside a single subjective human brain. Perspective is massively important.”

I believe social movements have their place in society, and it is mostly necessary as a last resort when the government or the system is not working. There’s a movement for anyone, and there’s no need to force it upon anyone because it will gradually develop itself when the time is right. Social change can be made collectively, with no leaders, but with the collective voices of individual people in unison. I, myself, do not want to be on the sidelines when history is being made when an open invitational theatrical drama is playing out like in the dance of Shiva. 

“The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it’s conformity.” –​​Earl Nightingale.