Democratic America in the Eyes of Howard Zinn
In the first essay written by Howard Zinn he tries to answer the
question of “How Democratic Is America?”. He seems to know what he is
talking a great deal about government but it seems like anybody can just talk
about how our government works and to say that that is the definition of
democracy. The only thing he did differently was using an increase in
vocabulary and try to talk about the same thing over and over again. Where
Zinn could have said that democracy not only requires formal system of
government equality to all Americans. But Americans are not the only ones
who deserve this kind of treatment. Everybody from all walks of life
deserves equality. Instead of summing all that in two lines he goes on and
on about the same subject. For instance, Zinn’s ten criteria that need to
followed that is what Americans follow in order to have democracy. All he
needed to say there was that everybody needs freedom, liberty, and equal
opportunity to succeed no matter what your background.
Zinn goes on to describe democracy. First he says that democracy
should be based on the same way America fought for their own government
during the American Revolution. Next he goes on to describe democracy
by saying what it has become today in the way of its development. It is not
the same as it once was fifty years or more. Another thing, Zinn says
democracy is something they do not have in other countries. Their
government will never equal ours because theirs has so many defaults and
we do not have as many. Zinn goes on and on to define what he thinks
democracy is but he still gets nowhere in trying to prove what he is trying to
say. Zinn does not understand his...
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...all of these people and more. They need to be democratic to
be as equal as possible to of the people that decions will effect. Granted this
may never happen because we do not live in a Utopian society like what
Zinn is looking for but our best move would be an attempt to reach the most
equality possible like what Hook attempts to say by giving relative facts and
statements and contradicting Zinn. In effect our government is trying to be
the most democratic it can be even though there may be a few glitches in the
system, they will be worked out. The government will never be able to
please everyone by the decision it makes but it can not allow that. Imagine
what a wreck this world would be in now if the government allow everyone to do as they pleased. Without some people suffering and some people
gaining this country would never function as a whole.
After reading this passage from Howard Zinn, I can agree with his beliefs to a certain extent. When he starts off saying that we shouldn’t give up but keep playing to create possibilities of changing the world, I could relate as I am a person who doesn’t like to give up on any task but to keep trying until I know I there’s nothing more I can do. Howard’s statement about this was, “I am totally confident not that the world will get better, but that we should not give up the game before all the cards have been played. The metaphor is deliberate: life is a gamble. Not to play is to foreclose any chance of winning. To play, to act, is to create at least a possibility of changing the world.” (Zinn pg. 784). Another note to add is how much I enjoy Howard saying “life is a gamble”, because it is. We all make decisions every day that determine certain outcomes that we would like to benefit from, whether good or bad. If we don’t feel beneficial from these decisions, we sure do learn from them and that puts us in a better situation than to just give up. After, Howard goes on to talk about how Hollywood doesn’t show society certain stories or perspectives on events that occurred in our U.S. history. One example of an historic
Democracy may be the best foundation on which to build a society, but to glorify it
...e to the nature of Democracy it lacks righteousness but it could never be considered corrupted. A Democratic regime based on egalitarian rights allows for qualified citizens to share in the government under the sovereignty of the law. In this type of regime the majority class rules, allowing for all citizens to have a true say in the pertinent matters in regards to their regime or city.
America is a nation that is often glorified in textbooks as a nation of freedom, yet history shows a different, more radical viewpoint. In Howard Zinn’s A People's History of the United States, we take a look at American history through a different lens, one that is not focused on over glorifying our history, but giving us history through the eyes of the people. “This is a nation of inconsistencies”, as so eloquently put by Mary Elizabeth Lease highlights a nation of people who exploited and sought to keep down those who they saw as inferior, reminding us of more than just one view on a nation’s history, especially from people and a gender who have not had an easy ride.
actions, and work for the best interest of society as a whole. If their were no
Zinnser believes that too often people speak in a manner that is complicated. He states “our national tendency is to inflate and therefore sound important.” Most of the things said are just a bunch of jargon that sounds good. People say things that even they barely understand themselves. They believe that if something is done simply then it is not as good. With bigger words and longer sentences one would assume this sounds better, when in reality a simpler sentence would be more preferred by most. Bigger is not always necessarily better.
1. Zinn's purpose for writing A People's History of the United States is to write about American history from the viewpoint of the people, and not from the rich or the men that made the decisions, but from the people who lived through those decisions and whose lives were affected. His purpose is not to make the people who were in charge look bad, but to see what they did from all perspectives.
Orwell thinks this word is meaningless, and cannot be used together. But, President Obama did manipulate stronger in his speech to gain support from the people. George Orwell states“In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides.” (Orwell 239). He mentions the lack of opportunity from black men, and this is the reality and he gives examples and his personal experience, he also used the word democracy and words like blacks and whites, but it did strength the American to vote him because this is an important issue that should not be
Why did Howard Zinn choose to base his novel on the oppressed people throughout history as opposed to the “heroes”? Zinn makes an important distinction from the start about his values towards the perspective and experiences of the oppressed over the view of the oppressor. Zinn prefered to recap the history of the US that was formerly swept under the rug. Zinn writes to show the outlook that is not presented in majority of history books, but he considered that his point of view is not the only one worth perceiving. He resolves that, “I don't want to invent victories for people's movements...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”(Zinn 11). Zinn intends to display the angle o...
Before pondering the extent of democracy one must determine what the term “democracy” means. Democracy is a “means of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to citizens’ preferences.”i[i] The traditional democratic theory further explains the ideas behind democracy. The five aspects of this theory are that one man equals one vote, there is good voter-turnout, citizens can obtain knowledge through free speech and press, the general public controls government agenda, and an extension of all rights to all citizens.ii[ii] From this, one could say a true democracy would submit every bill to the public for a popular vote, like the traditional town meetings of old New England where all eligible voters met to have their say in governmental agenda.iii[iii] One could also say that democracy implies protection of rights and equal rights for all. Or, as Abraham Lincoln said, a democracy is “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”iv[iv] The people make the government, they have a say in the agenda, and the government governs by the people’s consent. This ...
that mean that it should be the concern of everyone on the planet to devise a
"United States can be seen as the first liberal democracy. The United States Constitution, adopted in 1788, provided for an elected government and protected civil rights and liberties. On the American frontier, democracy became a way of life, with widespread social, economic and political equality. The system gradually evolved, from Jeffersonian Democracy or the First Party System to Jacksonian Democracy or the Second Party System and later to the Third Party System. In Reconstruction after the Civil War (late 1860s) the newly freed slaves became citizens, and they were given the vote as well." (Web, 1)
In comparing the average citizen in a democratic nation, say the United States, to that of a non-democratic nation, for instance Egypt, it will be found that the citizen in the democratic nation is generally better off – free of persecution, free from fear of the authorities, and free to express his opinions on governmental matters. And while national conflicts occur everywhere, incidents like violent revolts have shown to be more prevalent in nations where citizens are not allowed to choose who governs them. It is slightly paradoxical that democracy, so inherently flawed in theory, can lead to such successful outcomes in practice. The question, then, becomes: “If democracy has so many weaknesses, why does it work?”
Democracy is “...the word that resonates in people’s minds and springs from their lips as they struggle for freedom and a better way of life...” (Schmitter and Karl, 1991:75). However, the word democracy has many different means depending on the country and context it is used in. “Every country has is own culture and comes by its political system through its own history” (Greenberg, 2007:101, cited in Li, 2008:4). Li, (2008) states that because of China’s political structure the usual road to democracy may be difficult for it to achieve. The western idea ...
... middle of paper ... ... He requires too much from the government, institutions and most importantly the citizens. To expect all the citizens in a democracy to lack ambition and greed is practically impossible, especially when modern society teaches individuals that ambition is a necessary component of success.