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In a world already moving in certain directions, where wealth and power are already distributed in certain ways, neutrality means accepting the way things are now. It is a world of clashing interests – war against peace, nationalism against internationalism, equality against greed, and democracy against elitism – and it seems to me both impossible and undesirable to be neutral in those conflicts.

— Howard Zinn Declarations of Independence: Cross-Examining American Ideology (1990)

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More quotes by Howard Zinn

The term "just war" contains an internal contradiction. War is inherently unjust, and the great challenge of our time is how to deal with evil, tyranny, and oppression without killing huge numbers of people.

Terrorism and War (2002)

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.

It is the great challenge of our time: How to achieve justice, with struggle, but without war.

It is His Majesty's heart's desire to see the swift termination of the war.

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.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Howard Zinn (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.