This is the title of a book by Paul Buhle, illustrated by Mike Konopacki, based on the narration of Howard Zinn
(according to the “Forward” by Paul Buhle). The book is designed in the format of a comic book, and as a lecture
by Howard Zinn of a brief American history, from the Indian massacre at Wounded Knee
of 1890, through its publication in 2008. Howard Zinn’s comic character
begins the lecture with September 11 event, and the US government’s response in
line with “the old way of thinking”. The rest of the book describes “the old
way” from the time mentioned above forward, with some short cuts to
current events (whenever the correlation was plausible).
History has rarely been written for ordinary
people. It is a tool in the hands of the rich and powerful to use for the means
they are intending to at the time. It has always been the policy of
expansionist governments with big arms capability and small affability to
attack and attach smaller and weaker nations. The predator nation is usually in
a much better financial condition than the victimized nation. In order to keep
its financial superiority and to support its affluent and rich class, a constant
war is maintained. Such governments usually hide and misrepresent their
atrocities under the guise of national security. It is up to the historians and
media to disclose such secrecy and inform the public. Financial independence is
the key in news investigation. Up to a couple of centuries ago, when a large
majority of people were illiterate and could not read, books were written for
royalties and courtesans. Some government hired scribes to write about them in
a glorified way, not mentioning any shortcomings. As a result, historical
records have to be investigated with a grain of salt. The best tool to keep the
public ignorant is of course lack of knowledge, which is through lack of
education. In dictatorial regimes, since the autocrat does not have to answer
to anyone, giving people wrong information keeping the public illiterate would
prevent any public scrutiny. Today, chartered schools and high college tuitions
are some of the tools our government is using to create a class division and an
ignorant public. In the meantime, it is safe for the rich and powerful to buy
or takeover the media, in order to use the tools of propaganda in their favor.
The government power and the money of the rich are combined in corrupting the
system. When the aim of journalists is serving the rich, it becomes apparent
for conscientious people who have access to classified documents to act single
handedly and disclose atrocities of the empire. People like Julian Assange,
Bradley Manning, and Edward Snowden become the targets of the government
witch-hunt in return.
After the revelation of torture in Iraqi
jails, such as water-boarding, or force-feeding in Guantanamo Bay prison, the
question was raised by many people, whether a nation who is proud of its democracy would decline to
such a low level. They did not know that those same tortures, and
many others, were invented by the government many years before. Not only such
techniques were practiced, they were even taught to military dictators of other
nations in School of Americas. During the occupation of Philippine Islands: “American
troops used the water cure to interrogate Filipino prisoners, forcing water
down their throats until they nearly drowned. Torturers then ponded the
victims’ stomachs to make them talk," (P. 70). Water-boarding was also called
water cure, with the same result. With regards to force-feeding common in jails
(making news in California these days after the court order of force-feeding
striking prisoners in Pelican Bay Prison), the same practice was applied to
Alice Paul after her hunger strike to oppose her incarceration for leading
anti-war marches: “Despite her weakness and the pain of the force-feeding,
Paul refused to end her hunger strike," (P. 98).
The first historical event the book
describes “The Massacre At Wounded Knee” in the first chapter of the book titled “The Internal Empire”: “The massacre
at wounded knee marked the domination of the continent by white men, but only …
certain white men,” (P. 17). “Certain White Men” (the rich and corrupt) is the
title of the next section that describes three rich businessmen: J.P. Morgan,
John D. Rockefeller, and Jay Gould, and the events of “The Pullman Strike”. It follows by the government’s
so called open door policy: “Patriotism was a way of drowning class resentment.
After his election in 1896, president William McKinley made the connection
between money and flag: This year is going to be a year of patriotism and
devotion to country. I am glad to know that the people in every part of the
country mean to be devoted to on flag, the glorious stars and stripes; that the
people of this country mean to maintain the financial honor of the country as
sacredly as they maintain the honor of the flag,” (P. 30).
Second chapter briefs the war with Spain.
US attached colonial lands claimed by Spain, with the pretense of
freeing natives from Spanish imperial power. After defeating Spain however, it
stayed and replaced Spain as the new colonial power. The first of such was in
Cuba. The book discusses African American soldiers recruited for this was, and
the common and everyday racism against them, in promotion and segregation of
those soldiers in comparison with the plight of other soldiers. Certain
companies profiting from the is discussed in this chapter as well. As in the
present day wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, where Lockheed Martin,
Boing, BAE Systems, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, EADS,
Finmeccanica, L-3 Communications, United Technologies, and many other companies
profit from the war, many armament and military supply companies profited from
the Spanish-American War of 1890s: “5,462 soldiers and officers died during the
war, but only 379 of these were battle casualties. The rest died of disease or
putrid food, including 500,000 pounds of rotten canned meat sold to the army by
Armour and Co. of Chicago,” (P. 50).
Chapter three deals with the invasion of
Philippines, as in Cuba, in the guise of helping Filipinos reaching their
independence: after kicking the imperialist out, America replaces it: “A tribe
of Moros had fortified themselves in the bowl of an extinct volcano, called
Mount (Bud) Dajo… Our troops climbed the heights by devious and difficult
trails… Of the 900 Moros, not one was left alive, apparently our little army
considered they were authorized to ‘kill or capture’ according to taste, and
that their taste had remained what it had been for eight years- the taste of
Christian Butchers,” (P. 72, 73).
The next chapter is titled “War is the health
of the state”. The division between the rich and poor in America had reached
its height at the time when a large group of former slaves were still poor
along with some immigrants of various races, and some tycoons were amassing
wealth in a new industrializing society. The book describes “The Ludlow
Massacre” where some striking laborers were brutally crushed and their tents
were burned. The story is told with words by Woody Guthrie. In such a class
society, war is waged in Europe, and those objecting to the war are put in
prison: “From the Philippine conquest, U.S. leaders learned that trouble and
social unrest at home can be cured by the prescription of foreign war.
Americans will unify against a foreign enemy," (P. 76).
Howard Zinn’s own story, what he
witnessed in person, occupies the rest of the book, beginning with chapter 5. He
starts his story by describing his immigrant family who were “poor but never
hungry”. When Howard Zinn gets a chance to help his father, a blue collar
worker, he realizes how hard his father works for little pay. Speaking of his
father he says: “All his life he worked hard for very little. I’ve always
resented statements of politicians, media, commentators, corporate executives
who talked of how, in America, if you worked hard you would become rich. The
meaning of that was, if you were poor, it was because you hadn’t worked hard
enough," (P.111).
The next chapter is about the Second World War, a war in which Howard
Zinn participates as a soldier in Army Air Corps. He received a firsthand
education, that it was an imperialist war, and that it had nothing to do with
Nazi anti-Semitism and expansionism. He learned about the “anti-lynching law”
that did not pass in the senate during the same period. He learned about a
Japanese encampment; and about "Dr. Drew" who was fired because he did not accept
to separate bloods of whites and blacks, and about mistreatment of black
soldiers: “In 1943, 25,000 Packard workers struck over the promotion of just
three black workers. One white worker said, ‘I’d rather see Hitler and Hirohito
win than work beside a nigger," (P. 123). The result of WWII was destruction of
European cities and division of Middle-East between the victors. The atomic age
and dropping atomic bomb was a show of force of a new empire.
Chapter 7 “The Cool War” addresses African
Americans’ takeover of music halls and dance halls. Jazz, blues, R&B marked
a new generation and a new wave of desegregation. While finding an equal paying
job and equal housing was not available, musicians created what appealed to
younger generation. However, the system started cracking down on African
American bands. Johnny Otis was a successful African American saxophone player:
“We hereby revoke Otis’s dance permit! Rock and roll creates an unwholesome
unhealthy situation," (P. 149).
"Children of empire" is the title of the
next chapter. This is the period when Howard Zinn is back from WWII missions
and he is teaching in Spelman College. His political activities start with
desegregation in the local public library. Of course his actions lead to
expelling him from his teaching position in the college. Freedom bus ride, and
MLK’s opposition to the war in Vietnam, and the peace mission to north Vietnam
are chronicled in this chapter: “For black soldiers, the war grew more bitter
after the April 4, 1968, assassination of Martin Luther King and the subsequent
urban uprisings back home," (P.172).
Chapter nine, "land of burning children", discusses
anti-war and civil right movements of 1960s and early 1970s, in addition to the
event called “the second battle of Wounded knee”. It includes a quote from a
peace activist, Daniel Berrigan, who entered a draft board in Maryland along
with 8 others, and burned draft records: “Our apologies, good friends, for the
fracture of good order, the burning of paper instead of children. We could not,
so help us God, do otherwise. For we are sick at heart, our hearts give us no
rest for thinking of the land of burning children," (P. 181).
“The Same Rotten Barrel” is the title of
chapter 10! It covers remaining years of the 1970s, with USS Mayaguez event and
the Pentagon Papers scandal of Daniel Ellsberg. It also mentions Samuel
Huntington’s reactionary book calling 1960s “excess of democracy” and
suggesting a religious war between the Judeo-Christian world and the Muslim
world. It also one-term covers presidency of Carter, and his loss to Ronald
Reagan: “Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election. Reagan’s presidency
guaranteed that U.S. foreign policy would remain hostage to imperialism," (P.
207).
Chapter eleven, "Resurgence of empire", is
the story of Augusto Sandino, the name the new revolutionary government,
Sandinista, adopted for themselves, while fighting against the Somoza regime.
It also discusses the counterrevolution
army that was created by Reagan in order to destroy the elected government of
Sandinista. Iran-Contra Scandal, as a major part of the story, is also
disclosed in this section: “From 1986 to 1989, congress investigated links
between drugs and foreign policy. In the senate, the Kerry Committee found: ‘it
is clear that individuals who provided support for the Contras were involved in
drug trafficking. The supply network of the Contras was used by drug
trafficking organizations,’" (P. 228).
Last chapter of the book discusses Iran’s
revolution and hostage crisis, following its roots in American coup of 1953 and
installation of the Shah and overthrow of the popular government of the
nationalist Mohammad Mossadeqh. It further discusses the “Permanent War: The
Bipartisan Consensus” which started after the September Eleven event, and
continued to the day of the publication of the book [and continues as of this
writing]: “United Nation…said the invasion of Iraq was an ‘illegal act’ that
contravened the U.N. charter. And in 2006 the U.N. committee against torture
concluded that Bush’s use of torture was a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
But what is an emperor without corruption and torture?" (P. 258).
The US has been in a continuous war even
before it was established as a country. As WWI and WWII were started to benefit
empires or companies (as I was reminded by a friend today that the government
is not a tool of the capitalist, but the capitalist itself), wars in Middle
East have ignited from the beginning of this century, and it will continue for
as long as the public is insensitive and naïve. It started in the weakest
country of the Middle East, Afghanistan, and the whole country was destroyed; resulting the enrichment of the imperialist. It continued with a direct attack on the Iraqi
regime, and the whole country was destroyed, resulting the enrichment of the imperialist. Next
was Libya, this time in guise of internal uprising, and the whole country was
destroyed, resulting the enrichment of the imperialist. The same attack on Syrian and Lebanese
people is underway, and Iran is next. Those dictators who have submitted to the
imperial decree, have been piling up US made military ammunitions, while their
natural resources are plundered. The sky is continuously and increasingly polluted to benefit corporations. The
earth is polluted with chemical and military poisons. Current system is pushing
human race towards annihilation. Stupefying religious doctrines are spread
among people, and when everything is destroyed, they call it the Armageddon
they had been waiting for! Is this the future the imperialist nations and their
puppet dictators are planning for us? It is, with the exception of the optimistic and engaging statement of Howard Zinn: “To
be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact
that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion,
sacrifice, courage, kindness. If we remember those times and places, and there
are so many where people have behaved magnificently. This gives us the energy
to act. Hope is the energy for change. The future is an infinite succession of
presents… And to line now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of
the worst of everything around us, is a marvelous victory," (P. 263).
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A People’s History of American Empire (Copyright 2008; Metropolitan Books)
