Rebellion is only an occasional reaction to suffering in human history; we have infinitely more instances of submission to authority than we have examples of revolt. What we should be most concerned about is not some natural tendency toward violent uprising, but rather the inclination of people faced with an overwhelming environment of injustice to submit to it. Historically, the most terrible things?war, genocide, and slavery?have resulted not from disobedience, but from obedience.
Rebellion is only an occasional reaction to suffering in human history; we have infinitely more insta…
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn was born in 1922 and died 2010. He was a historian and a playwright. He taught at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, then at Boston University. He was active in the civil rights movement, and in the movement against the Vietnam war. He has written many books, his best known being A People`s History of the United States. His many books include You Can`t Be Neutral on a Moving Train (a memoir), The Zinn Reader, The Future of History (interviews with David Barsamian) and Marx in Soho (a play), among many others.