Sometimes I find the thoughts of Zinn's detractors to be at least as interesting as those of his admirers. Bernard Chapin's negative review was no exception. Chapin holds a world view that our militarists are constantly pushing in an attempt to rationalize their aggression; that is, "foul acts like murder, slavery, and wanton destruction are ubiquitous to humanity, and were committed by people all over the world since the beginning of time" (to quote Chapin's review of Pat Buchanan's "State of Emergency"). There is usually an element of truth to effective propaganda and, no doubt, the Nazis, Genghis Khan, Stalin, child abusers, rapists and others have resorted to similar rationalizations for their own "foul acts." Zinn, on the other hand,resists the perception management efforts that make war easy. Instead, he's been a tireless advocate for the causes of peace and justice. He's been at the war protests, stood in the picket lines, lectured/written tirelessly, and he's supported groups like "Emergency" that sends doctors into war zones to try to stitch together the bodies torn apart by the "wanton destruction" of Western so-called Civilization.Zinn himself has directly participated in that destruction. As a World War II bombadeer, he was part of a raid that pioneered the use of napalm. It was an act for which many would have sought some psychologically comforting justification. Zinn instead chose to be honest about the inexcusable barbarity of burning civilians alive, and dedicated himself to resisting the efforts of our warlords. One of his many insights that undercut the narratives of our military establishment is this bit of good news that appears towards the end of the film, Zinn is quoted as saying, "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 . . . And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. 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's this reminder, that wanton kindness is just as much a part of our nature as anything else, that is the most subversive message of Zinn's work. It also is the teaching of the Dalai Lama, our mothers, and other people very much worth listening to.