Interview by Joe Spurr, Globe Correspondent
Howard Zinn, historian, author, Boston University professor emeritus, and antiwar activist, recently received the Lannan Foundation Literary Award for Nonfiction and the Eugene V. Debs award for his writing and political activism. He has authored “A People’s History of the United States,” and his autobiography “You Can’t Be Neutral On A Moving Train,” and contributed to a new book, “Three Strikes: The Fighting Spirit of Labor’s Last Century,” as well as many others. Zinn, 79, grew up in Brooklyn. He was chair of the history department at Spelman College in Atlanta and taught at BU for about 25 years. He lives with his wife, Roslyn, in Cambridge.
Q. Do you consider yourself a pacifist?
A. I don’t use the term. I’m against war. Period. . . . I believe in action - and direct action. I simply say I’m antiwar. [Pacifism] is an ambiguous term. It can be absolute, and I don’t believe in absolutes.
Q. What specifically sparked your current attitude toward war?
A. I was a bombardier in the Air Force during World War II. I enlisted. I volunteered. I was enthusiastic. But very shortly after the war, I rethought the whole issue of whether it really solves anything. I came to the conclustion that it doesn’t. War doesn’t solve any problems. WWII was very complex, but my experience led me to question the value of war. As I began to read the history of war, it seemed to me that war could very rarely be justified.
Q. How can students sustain an antiwar movement when there isn’t actual war going on?
A. The talk of war is in the air. When you turn on the TV, they’re talking about how they will conduct the war. They talk about how they’re going to wage it. . . . We’re in a war position. The time for a movement is now - before the war is launched.
Q. Do students listen when you talk about this?
A. Students are open, and if they hear ideas that make sense, they will respond. I think, for instance, that if students who are today in support of military action were introduced to an opposing view, they would rethink their opinion. . . . I’m not saying I never come across opposition - I do - but in the main, my audiences have been very receptive.
Q. How radical does one have to get in order to be heard?
A. I think the president would only pay attention if there were large demonstrations throughout the country. That’s how it was during Vietnam. We should keep organizing protests, educating, keep informing each other, keep using the Internet, keep organizing teach-ins, sending letters to the editor, call-in shows.
Q. What advice would you give to parents of college-age students when talking about what occurred on Sept. 11th?
A. I would tell them that this is a horrible thing. There are people who are angry - fanatically angry - at the United States, and we need to find out about how to prevent that in the future. To simply use the military to kill . . . it won’t solve the problem. There will be inevitable civilian deaths. We need to think how to not only be a military superpower, but a moral superpower. To think in constructive ways. To emphasize that violence brings more violence.
Q. How would you teach about this in a college classroom?
A. I would open it up for discussion. I would say, “Look. Here’s what happened. Here’s what the administration is saying. Here’s what the antiwar people are saying.” I would have my ideas; I wouldn’t pretend to be neutral, and I would insist that people are tolerant of each other’s opinions. We need to let people exchange ideas and inform each other so that they can come to an informed conclusion.
Q. How should college students handle the threat of being drafted?
A. Of course, that’s an individual decision. The draft resistance is a very important form of antiwar resistance. Huge numbers of people, without publicizing, simply didn’t register during Vietnam. Many others didn’t show up. Sure, I think resistance to the draft is a legitimate way of expressing your opinion. I would never counsel a person [to avoid the draft]. I also wouldn’t say: you mustn’t. I would point to the history of draft resistance and let them decide.
Q. How would you make war real to war advocates?
A. It’s hard of course. Very hard. I would bring in Vietnam veterans. I would show them movies. I would show them “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Hearts and Minds,” “Unfinished Symphony,” which is about Vietnam Veterans against the war, and other powerful documentaries. I wouldn’t hesitate . . . to get as close to the horrors of war as possible - without of course being in one.
Q. Did you see any similar attitudes on college campuses during the Persian Gulf War? Or any differences?
A. There was resistance. There were teach-ins. There was a great demonstration in Washington in January of 1991. I think the emotion around this is more intense because of how close this tragedy hits. The Gulf War was sort of a remote thing. There was no draft.
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