Annissa Byrd
9/14/2011

A Change Within the Citizens

“And that kind of focus, which is also repeated in the media again and again, drives home to the American people the idea that we are a passive, that the making of history is not up to us, that it is up to the people in Washington ”(Zinn, 84).

This quote at the end of Zinn’s paper illustrates his key points. I had trouble finding what he wanted to say until I read this sentence. It encouraged me to read the whole paper over again so I could really relate to the ideas he was getting across. Zinn’s point that the history we study today is not the true reflection of the events, lead me to think of the history I have studied. It made me think our history was not solely dependent on a list of acts approved by a hierarchical power or a politicians actions. Our history is the movement of the people. The way the people dealt with the struggles or joyous moments that our country has created.

The history students are being taught today persuades them to think of government as a super hero and that the government will solve the problem. BUT the problem now is that government is helping the corporation not the people. Government bailouts and substitutes for corporations the people who are hurting are no longer able to trust our government. These actions have hindered the belief in liberty, justice and pursuit of happiness for all Americans because the senators’ presidents and Supreme Court justices are looking out for themselves.

Americans can no longer rely on the politicians to make the change they want to see. It has to be brought out through our new social media and the new found ways of connecting with others. Our educational system has to be challenged by the students. The students cannot be ok with the ideas of the teacher being forced into their minds. Instead, we should learn for the teachers and continue to ask for more information not asking what is going to be on the test but to understand the topic. We can no longer stand for multiple choice questions; instead we need to know the actions happened. I want to encourage everyone to ask the question Why?. It is something that we asked so often when we were kids and have taken it out of our vocabulary as we grow. It is no longer acceptable to ask because it is questioning the authority. But that is what a democracy is. We need our country to now be more active in our democracy because we are becoming passive and will allow the politics and media to tell us what is a monumental moment for our country. We need to be part of our and Democracy.