Leid Stories - In Memory of All Who Have Fallen, Commit to End All Wars - 05/26/14

Today, Memorial Day, as the nation pauses to remember and honor the men and women  who died while serving in the armed forces, let us also reflect on the expansive scales of tragedy that over time have destroyed the lives and futures of hundreds of millions of people all over the world, says the late historian Howard Zinn.

Shortly after publication of his book “Just War” in 2006, Zinn in an address to peace activists in Los Angeles tackled long-held (actually, manipulated by the government and the media) national attitudes about of the inevitability of and justification for war, and the often ahistorical understanding of the total consequences of military action.

War, Zinn argues, almost always is the result of an unwillingness to employ many other options and, he says, usually involves the poor and working class bearing the brunt of the burdens and sacrifices in service of the interests of the rich and powerful.