Friday, July 01, 2005
We Can't Afford to be Neutral on a Moving Train
Here's a documentary film I recently discovered at Rotten Tomatoes by historian/teacher/social activist Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral On A Moving Train. A message that urgently needs to be hammered into singapore's majority politically-placid citizens' heads. Because 'to be neutral and passive is to collaborate with whatever is going on'. Zinn offers an "alternative" story to American history.
"The chief problem in historical honesty isn't outright lying. It is ommission or de-emphasizing of important data."
The stories of the country are examined from the standpoint of immigrants, minorities and working people (celebrities don't count I hope) and asserts the value of nonviolent civil disobedience which he calls a necessity and the need for people's movents to effect social change.
Democracy he defines as "not just a counting-up of votes" but a "counting-up of actions." Those are fighting words.
Truly inspirational words for a country truly plagued by political ignorance and supression of speech.
Synopsis by Stephen Holden
"The chief problem in historical honesty isn't outright lying. It is ommission or de-emphasizing of important data."
The stories of the country are examined from the standpoint of immigrants, minorities and working people (celebrities don't count I hope) and asserts the value of nonviolent civil disobedience which he calls a necessity and the need for people's movents to effect social change.
Democracy he defines as "not just a counting-up of votes" but a "counting-up of actions." Those are fighting words.
Truly inspirational words for a country truly plagued by political ignorance and supression of speech.
Synopsis by Stephen Holden
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Good call. that's the name of his biography too. Interesting fact: he used to be Matt Damon's neighbour. Matt Damon later narrated the audio version of his most famous book, A People's Historyb of the United States. he's worth reading, especially if you like freedom and still know what the word means.
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