Many of us remember Howard Zinn from his days of being a critic of the Vietnam War.

I found his thoughts here to be highly inspirational and fitting to post as we celebrate our nation’s Independence and try to make sense out of recent developments in our country.

“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 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. Suppose we remember those times and places – and there are so many – where people have behaved magnificently. In that case, 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