Zinn accuses Bush of violating free speech rights

Calling on the public to counter political injustices, Boston University political science professor emeritus Howard Zinn spoke to a packed Tsai Performance Center last night about his views on the current state of affairs in the United States, focusing on how history exhibits the negativity of past presidents.

Attendees packed the Center for "Bringing Democracy Alive," while those turned away watched Zinn's lecture via television in the School of Law Auditorium. Zinn is the author of numerous books, including The Personal History of the United States.

Zinn spoke on the state of the U.S. under President Bush's administration, drawing on the nation's history for context. He said democracy is at risk in the United States, and suggested one way to preserve it.

"We might start the campaign to bring the impeachment of George Bush," Zinn said.

Later in his lecture, Zinn said the punishment for Bush should be "no jail time, [but] maybe community service."

He criticized Bush for policies he said violate constitutionally protected free speech and the system of checks and balances while blaming the media for not exposing his faults.

"They're supposed to inform the public what's going on," but the mainstream media does not, he said.

The author outlined how history shows the faults of previous presidents and how time can make citizens more skeptical of the current administration's actions.

"Knowledge of history would make people more skeptical about going to war," Zinn said.

He included examples of past presidents, including James Polk and Andrew Jackson, calling history a 'prologue to the present.'

"Usually he gives a different approach to [the] history of politics," College of Arts and Sciences freshman Ryan Salzman said.

Zinn said presidents' use of religion is not new, noting that President William McKinley said he was divinely ordained to take the Philippines. He also stressed the need to apologize for past actions.

"Why can't we have imperialists anonymous?" he asked.

The rest of the lecture was spent reviewing other examples of how actions by past presidents mirror those taken by Bush.

"It went beyond what the lecture topic was supposed to be about," School of Management sophomore Rose Cabrito said.

Zinn ended his lecture urging for more public political participation and action against injustices, including a story of his experiences participating in the Civil Rights March in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery.

"We must think about the abolition of war itself," he said. "The people in power only hold their power by our obedience."

After the lecture, Zinn answered seven audience questions, with topics ranging from current events in Puerto Rico to Saudi Arabia.

The audience generally agreed with Zinn's points, giving him three standing ovations throughout the night, including one at his introduction.

"I thought it was a good wake-up call," College of Communication junior Katie Majeski said. "The whole school should've been here."