"In war, good guys always become bad guys." – Howard Zinn

I was reading my emails this morning when Christien, over at his computer, gasped, “Howard Zinn died.” I’ve been spending the past hour or so finding quotes of his online, reading tributes and obits, watching snippets of interviews and the preview of the documentary that was recently made of “Voices of a People’s History of the United States.” He is and shall remain one of my heroes. Howard Zinn was one of those rare and astonishing human beings whose innate morality was combined with critical intelligence and clear perception.

"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of leaders…and millions have been killed because of this obedience…Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves… (and) the grand thieves are running the country. That’s our problem.” – Howard Zinn

I came to know about him rather late in life—I didn’t read “A People’s History of the United States” until the fall of 2001. Perhaps it was the combination of reading it alongside the events of that fall, and the months that followed, that made its emotional impact so intense for me. I remember sitting on our porch in Sacramento reading the book, looking up to see the long sunset light hit the flags that dotted every lawn in the neighborhood. I cried in frustration, sadness: the bombing campaign in Afghanistan had started and I could feel it in the air. As if each impact, each shattering of stone and air and bone reverberated in the air of northern California. There was nowhere to hide from the horror—neither the horror of 9/11, nor the vengeful horror that swiftly followed.

"There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people." –Howard Zinn

A People’s History is a book that inverts the usual paradigm, where history is written by the victors, the ends justify the means, and the moral imperative is the property of a few with the power, wealth, and prerogative to manipulate and create a system which will act as a feedback loop to perpetuate and consolidate their own power and wealth. Zinn’s book reads American history from the point of view of the people, the ones suggested but not really represented by the phrase “We the people” – women, African Americans, Native Americans, workers—it is their voices that Zinn brought to life in his book, his achievements that he acknowledges.

"If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves." – Howard Zinn

For all his criticism of U.S. policies, Zinn was fiercely democratic and also fiercely hopeful. His death is a huge loss because he never stopped challenging the status quo, whether manifested as the endless power-greed of the wealthy ruling class or the tendency for all of us, “the people,” to want to forget, ignore, go to sleep, let someone else deal with it.

"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.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory." – Howard Zinn

When I read A People’s History I remember being amazed, outraged, indignant that it had not been on the reading lists of my high school classrooms, or college courses. It should be standard for every American citizen. (Of course some might say it’s not “objective”—but to that my only answer is that it is entirely laughable to think that ANY history book written by anyone (in particular the corporate-sponsored textbooks of today) is objective … its only that the bias of Zinn’s book is clearly owned and announced, and that it is not the one accepted or available in the mainstream. I know I will be buying a copy for my nieces and nephews when they are old enough to read it.

"I'm worried that students will take their obedient place in society and look to become successful cogs in the wheel - let the wheel spin them around as it wants without taking a look at what they're doing. I'm concerned that students not become passive acceptors of the official doctrine that's handed down to them from the White House, the media, textbooks, teachers and preachers" – Howard Zinn

Long live Howard Zinn.

"Historically, the most terrible things - war, genocide, and slavery - have resulted not from disobedience, but from obedience." – Howard Zinn

In the interegnum .... what?

There will be a fun and exciting and super interesting blog really soon. No really. I even know the title ... "Shoo-be-do-lang lang" -- ah yes, now you're really interested, right?

But in the meantime since I got such very nice feedback about posting pictures, I thought I would do another few pics with a little detail on what they are.

And so ...




1. Our first LONG walk we walked all around the Bay, past the lighthouse, then to the coast trail and got past Limeslade up to where we could see Langland Beach and the curve inward toward Caswell beach. But we didn't get that far. This shot is looking back on the coast trail east/south. I like the light, it was getting "late" but we took this walk in November, so the sun set at like noon or something ....


2. The second LONG walk we made it all the way to Langland Beach. In all it was probably about a 13 mile walk, round trip. Quite worn out by the end, but it is a beautiful walk. So the next few are all from that walk. This shot is on the beach at Langland. -- Can you see the surfer? Yes, indeed. There is quite a surf-culture here in Wales, who'da thought? It's cold a heck, but that doesn't stop them. The best/real surf beach is at Rhosili, which is about 35 miles away, at the end of the Gower --we might be going there tomorrow via bus/hike!



3. Next we have another Langland beach shot. That is the surfer's dog, hanging out near the waves.



4. Behind us, on the beach--these are Beach huts. There are rows of them. No electricity, heat, or anything but apparently families pass down their leases of these little huts for generations because its hard to get one. I guess we will see in the summer if they are filled with families with umbrellas, towels, and long-legged striped bathingsuits ...



5. And lastly an establishing shot ... from the trail looking West/slightly north you can see Langland Beach in the distance. Oh wait, that's Christien! Beyond the next bend in the coast is Caswell Bay. Somewhere out there we saw a seal!






Okay, only lets me load 5 at a time, so that is it for now. More soon!

Sort of a blog.

I know I've been absolutely awful lately about the blog! December was ... well, December was a lot of things and somehow I thought up about 4-5 blogs to write but just couldn't do it. And then as usual January has started off with a rush (is it the middle of January already, oh my gosh!). Hopefully time will now get back to normal speed so I can make this more of a weekly or at least tri-monthly thing, which is what I intended. It's a resolution even.

But as a way of cheating and getting in a blog before January flies away I am going to post a couple of photos from recent (ie the past 2 months) advetures ....

We've got:
1. the money shot of Mumbles Castle (4 miles down the bay from us).
2. me at the back door of Cardiff Castle (they charge like $30 per person to go inside! I wonder if this is reminiscent of the treatment kings gave to their peasants in the past?)
3. the main street of Cardiff's shopping district--unlike Swansea, many of Cardiff old buildings still exist, so it is a real change architecturally (Swansea was the second most bombed city in the UK during WWII thanks to its strategic value as a coal, copper, and steel port, at the end of the war it was essentially a pile of rubble.)
4. the lifeboat hut at the end of Mumbles pier looking across Swansea Bay toward Swansea and Port Talbot--I like the colors of the old painted rail and the red roof.
5. Mumbles lighthouse seen from the end of the boardwalk on the east side, with tide come in. (when its out you could almost make it to the lighthouse across the sand--Swansea Bay has the second largest tidal draw in the world apparently).








More soon all!