red onion

I heard Howard Zinn on NPR recently, debating a fascist educator. I say fascist, because the educator, whose name I can't remember, seemed to believe that one of the primary purposes of education is to glorify our country in the eyes of our children. He accused Zinn of "trashing" our country's history. Zinn defended the right of any citizen to a critical examination of our country's history. He seemed to favor teaching children the power of critical reasoning. Zinn is the author of The Declaration of Independence: Cross-Examining American Ideology. I'm just getting into the book, so I can't claim to know all there is to know about Zinn's thoughts, except to say that he favors critical analysis of American decision making, particularly in the realm of foreign policy. He says this about our foundation as a nation:

The American Declaration of Independence, however, clearly
understood that difference of interest between government
and citizen. It says that the purpose of government is to secure
certain rights for its citizens--life, liberty, equality, and the
pursuit of happiness. But government may not fullfill these
purposes, and so "whenever any form of government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the
right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute
new government".

I am not suggesting the use of violence to overthrow our government. But what I am suggesting is that we all find ways to behave in a most non-violent, seditious manner, to challenge the current powers that be. There is no more time to be complacent. We must find a way to convince our brothers and sisters in this, our country, that they are wrong. It is seditious to value life. It is seditious to value the animals. It is seditious to value flowers. It is seditious to value clean air, clean water, pesticide-free food.
It is seditious to value creativity above profit. It is seditious to value the lives of our brothers and sisters in other countries. It is seditious to want to eliminate homelessness. It is seditious to place the priority of our children's needs above all else. It is seditious to place the safety of our children above all else. It is seditious...