Tag: Boston

For the People

Howard Zinn is one of my heroes. History professor and political activist, he is the author of the groundbreaking A People’s History of the United States, published in 1980. For me, it was a welcome antidote to old textbooks that interpreted events through the eyes of those with power, money, and status. It is truly a “people’s history.” Zinn’s brilliant retelling includes the hidden histories and viewpoints of so many of those left out of traditional history books: Native Americans, African Americans, immigrants, women, civil rights and antiwar activists, striking workers. It has profoundly affected countless individuals over the decades (and was even mentioned in the film Good Will Hunting).

Now there is a new Zinn biography by Dave Zirin: The People’s Historian, The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn. Howard died in 2010 at the age of 87, still actively speaking and teaching, often touring with Zirin who assisted him as on-stage interviewer. I didn’t realize how much I missed Howard Zinn until I read this biography. His presence leaps from the page and engages you, just as he did as a teacher, speaker, and writer throughout his life. The magic of Howard Zinn was in the living legacy of his thinking and activism, which has inspired generation after generation of students in the classroom as well as those who read his books or heard him speak in person.

I heard Howard “live” several times in Boston and Western Massachusetts. His teaching background at Spelman College and Boston University, as well as his civil rights and antiwar activism, made him an outstanding anecdotal speaker. His comments were both incisive and informative, telling history from his own life as well as the lives of so many excluded from the accepted American narrative. He was not dogmatic. It was basic human sharing, which included positive, hopeful descriptions of those who stood up for their rights. I came away from his talks moved and encouraged about the possibilities for change and true freedom in this country. As did so many others. My partner Anne decided to use A People’s History to engage and inspire her students in a 1980s program for former high school dropouts (it worked!).

Howard Zinn is present within the hearts and minds of all those whose lives he touched in and out of the classroom. His dedication to person-to-person, non-hierarchical involvement in community and in all parts of life inspired the same in others. His words and understated sense of humor made the so-called impossible seem not only possible but the only “sensible” path. Read Dave Zirin’s biography to learn about (or be reminded of) the courageous, compassionate life of Howard Zinn. His voice, consistently “for the people,” is one we need to hear again and again, especially at this time in human history.
——————
• Another excellent book by Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train. There is also a documentary about him by the same title (narrated by Matt Damon). Ask for his books in libraries and bookstores if you don’t see them so that they continue to be available.

Peace, Love, and Extreme Fear

Photograph © 2013 Peggy Kornegger
Photograph © 2013 Peggy Kornegger
Is it possible to remain peaceful when you are faced with extremely frightening events? Can you feel fear and peace simultaneously? And hold love in your heart through it all? More and more, we are living the answers to questions like these. In Massachusetts, where I live, during the 2013 Boston Marathon, residents found themselves in the midst of a terrorist drama that dragged on for five days. As fate would have it, I was away from home, on retreat with Panache Desai in Florida, during that exact time period. Within the group of 46 people from all over the world, there were several of us from Massachusetts.

We first heard the news about the explosions at the Boston Marathon when the daughter of one couple phoned her parents in tears. Remembering with a terrible sinking feeling that my partner was at the marathon, I left the session to phone her. Finally, I got through and cried with relief upon hearing her voice. In the days that followed, those of us from Massachusetts kept in touch with loved ones back home, supported by the deep caring of others in the group, many of whom knew firsthand about living with political unrest and violence in their own countries. Panache himself grew up in London, where bombings were an ongoing part of life.

During the course of the week, together we held a space of peace, love, and compassion for those in Boston as well as for those elsewhere in the world who face terrorism, violence, and gut-wrenching fear. True, we were one step removed from the events in Boston, but because many of us had family and friends there, the fear was very real for all of us. Each day brought some new painful piece to assimilate. On Friday, when I learned that pursuit of the two suspected bombers was taking place less than a mile from my home, I once again felt adrenaline course through my system. On the phone, my partner told me that the entire city was under lockdown, and she could hear helicopters flying low over the house, searching the area. It was surreal—and frightening. Yet, even in the midst of it, she and I found we were able to remain relatively calm and centered. “Breathe,” she said to me. “I’m here. I’m okay in this moment.”

And that’s how we got through the week, one breath, one moment, at a time. Feeling everything and letting it flow through our bodies. All of us in Panache’s group were experiencing our various individual fears and pain within the larger spaciousness we had opened ourselves to—allowing instead of resisting what had occurred in the past and what was unfolding in the present. I’ve found such a deep wisdom in that process. For me, it means being open to every part of life—embracing it all, every exquisite or excruciating minute. Within that embrace is a peace that helps me to live my life with less suffering and tension, even in the middle of frightening or upsetting circumstances.

Back home in Boston, I was especially moved by the stories of those who stepped forward to help others during the explosions and by the community spirit that flowed within and toward Boston from individuals and groups across the country and around the world. A One Fund was established to help those most affected by what occurred. One, oneness—it was empathy and heart-felt love that people were feeling. May that love continue to expand, and may we peacefully heal the separation that gives rise to violence.

“The greatest gift that you can offer our planet is the gift of your peace.”—Panache Desai