Note from Ed on the passing of Howard Zinn
01.28.10
January 27, 2010
One phrase that Howard Zinn made irrelevant is that "only the good die young.,," Howard Zinn passed away today at age 87, and he was great.
Though he had a full life, one that the rest of us can only aspire to, the news is still heartbreaking. For we have lost a truly bright light, and a wisdom seemingly unparalleled.
Fortunately he has left us with a body of work so extraordinary that it will be drawn upon for centuries to come...
He was a true and constant source of inspiration for myself and countless others.. For me, he was the true embodiment of hope... And a living reminder to keep that hope alive.
I'm so grateful for his friendship..
I will miss him for the rest of my days.
Ed
Boston Globe Story
©2011 Pearl Jam. Monkeywrench ℠. All rights reserved.
Comments
Great note Ed. I know it must be tough for you. Zinn was a great man.
I feel very sorry about loss of Zinn.
But,
Some people die: land takes them in, and you never hear about them.
But some people do not: The ideas, they have... the knowledge, they have... the way that they lighten... still stands.
Passing away of body of Howard Zinn does not mean that he disapeared. He lives with the ones that still watches/listenes his seminers, reads his books!
My condolences to ed and the rest of the human race.
It's so sad. I don't know if there are many others like him. I loved his patience when he was asked a question. And his self control (even if he was getting yelled at.) He never seemed offended or angry. He would simply respond eloquently. He was something. A great loss.
I had just started reading " You Can't be Neutral...." again, for maybe the tenth time. What a truly inspiring, yet tragic view of what our country has become. I planned on finishing the book tonight. I was also thinking I need to acquire all of Zinn's work.
Mr. Zinn was a great man. Far greater than most people will ever know.
RIP.
Mr. Zinn will surely be missed.
He will undoubtedly live on in each of us who have read his literature and listened to his words.
For those of you have not had the opportunity to view his work, I suggest you make the effort as you will surely be rewarded (and pay it forward by introducing it to friend)
Sad day. I immediately thought of Eddie when I heard the news. Much sympathy.
V
what a sweet note..Zinn's work will continue to be passed down from great mind to great mind, like you said.. century after century. The writer of this note is a great example of that. We will always have his wisdom, though his light will be sorely missed, will still reflect on all of us for years to come. My deepest condolences to his friends and family.
What to say when the world loses such a special light? We can hold tight to the memory and the wisdom left behind. In this way the light shall never be extinguished...to all touched by this loss...you are in my thoughts...
Just yesterday I told myself I should read "A People's History of The United States" and today I took it off the shelf. I had not yet read that he died until just now. Perhaps someone subconsciously spoke to me...Thank you Ed for a wonderful note about a wonderful man.
Crushing loss....here in Massachusetts the losses have been heavy if you're a progressive...i.e.special election, now Zinn.
Zinn's book changed my life! I was a history minor in college and had never viwed history like that, and I shall be forever grateful to him.
His works are very inspiring and his light makes us stars!
His memory and inspiration shall never die!
Christopher
Humanity will not be the same. I'm sorry for your profound loss Ed, peace be with you and the rest of us. We've lost a great mind, spirit, and soul.
I became a Howard Zinn fan because of Pearl Jam. But, Dr Zinn inspired and changed my life. I'm just so grateful that I had the opportunity to meet him. Thank you Ed for introducing me for HZ. Thank you HZ for your impact on my life.
the best we can do is emulate him...
All i can say is that he will be remebered.
Well done Mr. Zinn.
Howard Zinn was a great American and a great human being. He fought the good fight for all of us.
rest in peace Mr. Zinn
pd. beatiful words my old friend!
visit Chile soon man!! we are waiting insanely for PJ
So sad, the passing of Dr. Zinn. My sincerest condolences to Ed, I know he means a lot to you.
He always left us thinking and wondering, looking inside ourselves, and outward at the world, wondering, is this the right thing? Am I doing what I truly believe to be the best, not just for myself, but for everyone around me?
Thankfully he has left us much more to contemplate within his written works.
R.I.P. Dr. Zinn. Yours was a life well-lived; surely your wisdom is welcome wherever you are now.
Jo
As Howard would say,"Don't mourn,organize." If Howard taught us anything,it was Presidents,Kings,Senators and Generals don't make history.The People DO! History is made from the bottom up not from the top down.Howard,your spirit lives in my heart and millions of ours.May you & Ros meet in the Promised Land,Shalom.
rest in peace mr zinn... a voice truly of the people
My condolences to Ed and everyone else whom he touched. He was a truly great and brilliant man. Rest in peace, Howard. You will be truly missed.
We've lost another great leader for out times. I hang my head in sadness, yet vow to continue his quest for truth and harmony.
Vonnegut...Zinn...We're losing our best imaginative critical minds. But, we still have Ed!
Like I have been living life under a rock, It wasn't till recently I became familiar with Howard and his work. To just say he was an inspiration would be redundant. Howard and his work made me Proud to be an american. He forced me to look at the good and the bad, with a light of hope to help guide us into the future. Conductor Brian from Philly/jersey
R.I.P. Howard Zinn
He is not dead, infinite consciousness cannot die. He has merely left the vessel he was using to navigate this frequency. He is in every social change that has happened in his lifetime, and every change that will happen. His light shown so brightly, that it will keep shining for many more generations. He not only fought for what he believed in, more importantly he inspired, and will continue to do so.
His spirit still lives on and in the people he has inspired.
My dear friend from California told me this evening about Howards' passing while in the midst of me sharing with him the loss of my beautiful grandmother last Friday. I was quite sad to here this. Not truly knowing Ed & his personal relationship with Howard Zinn, I'm sure Howard meant the world to him. You know, life can get instantly, so fucking real, especially when death comes along. It's cruely harsh & it will truly break the living down to reality... All we can do now is keep those memories alive in our minds & in our hearts. Share their stories, our memories of them & pictures with our children & with our family & friends. Keeping them alive anyway we possibly can. Even though as of right now, it's seems so impossible to just get through each the day. I am so devistated about loosing her & I can only imagine how Ed is feeling as well. I am so sorry for your loss my friend, please be strong & live life to the fullest. He would want that for you, as I know my Nanny would want that for me. Mahalo...ev
"When the earth shall claim your limbs,then you will truly dance"-Kahlil Gabran,"The Prophet".My father was Iranian and died in the Iran/Iraq war thus being born in 1977 never met him,so from people like Howard Zinn it gave me great comfort knowing that he saw things for how they really were/are and his words will echo for many more people for many more years,and my son who is four this year will grow knowing Howard walked and talked it just like his "uncle Eddie".See you at hyde park Ed,where the gods will be there to watch you take your place with the greats.
As a middle school history teacher (before raising my precious daughter) Zinn's "People's History of the United States" and "Voices..." were staples in my classroom for analysis and deeper reflection. While I could go on about our narrow-minded education system, the simple truth is that the core curriculum is determined by a very conservative group of "professionals" who essentially choose the worthy textbooks for the rest of the country. The edit, sanitize, generalize, and glorify inappropriately. Our children leave this school system without a true understanding of the challenges faced by real people and how the ugliness even then is disturbingly too relevant today (I taught during Bush II era so I had immense amounts of garbage to work with). Zinn's work provided my students with access to true history-that which is not black and white but cloudy and open for interpretation. I know that my students left my classroom much more likely to question their world rather than mindlessly absorb "information" from Fox News and the like. While only 29 years young, Zinn's work has taught me more truth than others twice my age who lived through those years.
By the way, as I was browsing through apple tv last night that there is a wonderful documentary on his life, an autobiographical perspective.
Deeply sorry for the loss of Howard Zinn.
That was a really nice and informative comment, LK272100. We need more teachers like you.
Howard Zinn lived to a ripe old age (87), and bad human being that he was, I wouldn’t begrudge him an extra few years; he’s done about as much damage as he could. At least he didn’t have to sit through Obama’s State of the Union speech.
We lost another one. R.I.P. Howard. Your ideas will live through those who have come in contact with your wok.
We are so lucky to have been alive at the same time as Howard Zinn.
One phrase that Howard Zinn made irrelevant is that "only the good die young.,," Howard Zinn passed away today at age 87, and he was great.
Though he had a full life, one that the rest of us can only aspire to, the news is still heartbreaking. For we have lost a truly bright light, and a wisdom seemingly unparalleled.
Fortunately he has left us with a body of work so extraordinary that it will be drawn upon for centuries to come...
He was a true and constant source of inspiration for myself and countless others.. For me, he was the true embodiment of hope... And a living reminder to keep that hope alive.
I'm so grateful for his friendship..
I will miss him for the rest of my days.
Ed
Boston Globe Story
We are so lucky to have been alive at the same time as Howard Zinn. God Speed.
Well put Eddie...
Howard Zinn hated America. Read the People's History if you really want to feel bad about being from the USA.
This is definitely sad news. Whenever we lose someone that can contribute to society in a positive and more importantly, informative and influential way, it is a true loss to humanity. Not knowing the man personally, I am grateful that someone with his views and perspective was able to share with the world through his books. So, he will always live on to us that are students of his work, but he, the man, will be missed by friends and family and those that knew him best. Live on in peace, and spread the message in these hard times. Thanks for making this news on the website and allowing us as fans to read your (Ed's) thoughts and feelings on the subject. Peace. And hope. And tour.
And to the post above mine, it's not that he hated America, but these are things we need to look at and face and not be in denial about as a country. I'm all for patriotism, but I would rather see the world as one than the betterment of just this country. We have become too arrogant and gained that sense of entitlement we may not deserve, and are responsible for several atrocities throughout history. Learn it with an open mind. And some days I do feel bad about being an American. We need to look at ourselves and stop only thinking of ourselves. This world is one, just because it's seperated by pieces of land, doesn't make one better than the rest.
Zinn is an ingrate who spat in the face of a nation that took in his ancestors and allowed him the liberty to cruise through life in an easy job, making loads of money off of Marxist drivel, and allowing him the opportunity to rub elbows with our own worthless aristocracy (otherwise known as “celebrities”.)The world shall not suffer from his loss.
Damn, DJC.
I'm all for differing opinions and views...but the way you've been talking, it's polluting the environment here. You are also disrespecting people here who respected Mr. Zinn by talking trash about him.
It's really too bad 'cause the next time you share something that is really valuable for a discussion, I won't bother reading and learning from you.
Have a good day.
eddie,
you are such a beautiful human being, no wonder he touched you so... same beautiful spirit! he is still with you talk to him, and he will hear, you just have to listen harder for him now.
be sound.
This post reminds me of a defining concert experience of mine in August 2008. Luckily, Ed happened to be playing at The Opera House in Boston when i was on holiday there with my family. We had booked the holiday months before any tour announcements so it seemed like a fateful night for me and my Dad. As Boston has an intellectual reputation, I had decided to read 'You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train' by renowned author Howard Zinn. Howard was in attendance that night. His presence inspired a standing ovation. Leaving The Opera House, i felt a fresh optimism which seems still more pertinent now.
Thanks Howard and Ed!
sj. brodie That is awesome! experiences like that are priceless, very cool!
R.I.P. Howard Zinn.
"You can't be neutral on a moving train"
Nice words, Ed. Sorry for the loss of your friend.
To sort of paraphrase the character John Locke from the TV show Lost:
We did not lose Howard Zinn, we only lost his body.
Not a fan.
hmm...just wanna say,unfortunately never really knew who zinn was until i came on here and read the note...since i have been researching and reading his book, "on a moving train..." and, "a people's history..." and just wanna say thanks to eddie for introducing me into a fantastic bit of history...so "Thanks Eddie"....just another way i have learned through you...
Wasn't very familiar with Zinn but wish I would have been. Rest in peace.
Democracy Now put together a nice tribute, you can watch it here:
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/28/howard_zinn_1922_2010_a_tribute
It is also a good starting point for those of you interested learning more about Howard Zinn.