Rosemarie Jackowski: From Galileo to Churchill (Ward Churchill, that is)
[Rosemarie Jackowski is an advocacy journalist living in Vermont. She is currently waiting for the State Supreme Court to render its decision on the Appeal of her conviction. She was arrested for participating in a peaceful protest of the war. She can be reached at: dissent@sover.net.]
This is not the first time in history that mob rule has taken the place of intelligent reflection. The earth is flat; the sun revolves around the earth; 9/11 occurred because they hate us for our freedoms. Those who disagree will be charged with Heresy! A modern day Inquisition might be in our future.
History tells us that we are due for a Trial. It has been more than 300 years since the Salem Witch Trials and more than 80 years since the Scopes Trial.
Ward Churchill is under attack. Will he receive justice through a judicial process? No one knows. Has he ever made an error in any of his writings? I would assume so. A few years ago I planned to sponsor (as part of my activism) a contest. The purpose of the contest would be to get as many people as possible to read Howard Zinn's A Peoples History of the United States. A monetary prize would be awarded to anyone who found a significant error of fact in the book. I had a brief conversation with Zinn about my idea one day when he was speaking at a college near Albany, NY. I asked him what he thought about the contest. I will never forget his answer. He said, "Of course there might be a mistake in the book." The point is this: even the most highly respected authors and historians might not achieve absolute infallibility. Ancient history is hazy. Any author should be judged by the whole of his work. It would be helpful to also judge the Press by the same standard. The accuracy of all history textbooks that are currently in use in our schools should also be re-evaluated.
Will Churchill's detractors take a good look at the vast body of his writings or will the critics continue to hone in on one emotionally charged word or phrase? There are now questions about Churchill's explanation of how Native Americans became infected with smallpox. Every word, sentence, and punctuation mark that Churchill has ever used is up for scrutiny. That might be a good thing. Any fair examination of the works of Churchill will necessitate an equally grueling examination of the history of USA actions and policies from 1492 to the present day.
A thorough examination of the arguments that Churchill puts forward could enlighten many. So far, it seems that the main thrust of his writings is far more accurate than the sanitized view of history which is normally taught in most schools. Many in the US are still unaware of the government policy as expressed by Madeline Albright. While being interviewed by Leslie Stahl, Albright stated that the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children was worth it. Churchill is not alone in condemning a policy that results in the deaths of so many.
The most heated criticism of Churchill is the result of his statement which basically said that 9/11 was Blowback. Those who embrace Churchill's work believe that he has been unfairly attacked on this issue. The view that government policies have consequences did not originate with WC. When the word "Blowback" was first used, Churchill had not yet published any writings. It was 1954. He was 7 years old.
"Blowback" is a term introduced by the CIA because it was generally accepted that US foreign policy would eventually result in blowback. At that time the CIA was concerned about the effects of USA involvement in the overthrow of Mossadeq in Iran.
In 2000, before the tragedy of 9/11, Chalmers Johnson published his book tilted Blowback. Blowback won an American Book Award in 2001. Most who follow US foreign policy knew that the American people would pay a price. The only surprise about 9/11 was the where and when. The "why" was well known and documented years before but ignored by the media. Churchill's explanation of the "why" has offended and shocked only those who were not paying attention.
David Lane, Churchill's attorney, might use the Galileo concept if there is a Trial. It seems very appropriate. All eyes will be on the Inquisition in Denver.
Read entire article at dissidentvoice.org
This is not the first time in history that mob rule has taken the place of intelligent reflection. The earth is flat; the sun revolves around the earth; 9/11 occurred because they hate us for our freedoms. Those who disagree will be charged with Heresy! A modern day Inquisition might be in our future.
History tells us that we are due for a Trial. It has been more than 300 years since the Salem Witch Trials and more than 80 years since the Scopes Trial.
Ward Churchill is under attack. Will he receive justice through a judicial process? No one knows. Has he ever made an error in any of his writings? I would assume so. A few years ago I planned to sponsor (as part of my activism) a contest. The purpose of the contest would be to get as many people as possible to read Howard Zinn's A Peoples History of the United States. A monetary prize would be awarded to anyone who found a significant error of fact in the book. I had a brief conversation with Zinn about my idea one day when he was speaking at a college near Albany, NY. I asked him what he thought about the contest. I will never forget his answer. He said, "Of course there might be a mistake in the book." The point is this: even the most highly respected authors and historians might not achieve absolute infallibility. Ancient history is hazy. Any author should be judged by the whole of his work. It would be helpful to also judge the Press by the same standard. The accuracy of all history textbooks that are currently in use in our schools should also be re-evaluated.
Will Churchill's detractors take a good look at the vast body of his writings or will the critics continue to hone in on one emotionally charged word or phrase? There are now questions about Churchill's explanation of how Native Americans became infected with smallpox. Every word, sentence, and punctuation mark that Churchill has ever used is up for scrutiny. That might be a good thing. Any fair examination of the works of Churchill will necessitate an equally grueling examination of the history of USA actions and policies from 1492 to the present day.
A thorough examination of the arguments that Churchill puts forward could enlighten many. So far, it seems that the main thrust of his writings is far more accurate than the sanitized view of history which is normally taught in most schools. Many in the US are still unaware of the government policy as expressed by Madeline Albright. While being interviewed by Leslie Stahl, Albright stated that the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children was worth it. Churchill is not alone in condemning a policy that results in the deaths of so many.
The most heated criticism of Churchill is the result of his statement which basically said that 9/11 was Blowback. Those who embrace Churchill's work believe that he has been unfairly attacked on this issue. The view that government policies have consequences did not originate with WC. When the word "Blowback" was first used, Churchill had not yet published any writings. It was 1954. He was 7 years old.
"Blowback" is a term introduced by the CIA because it was generally accepted that US foreign policy would eventually result in blowback. At that time the CIA was concerned about the effects of USA involvement in the overthrow of Mossadeq in Iran.
In 2000, before the tragedy of 9/11, Chalmers Johnson published his book tilted Blowback. Blowback won an American Book Award in 2001. Most who follow US foreign policy knew that the American people would pay a price. The only surprise about 9/11 was the where and when. The "why" was well known and documented years before but ignored by the media. Churchill's explanation of the "why" has offended and shocked only those who were not paying attention.
David Lane, Churchill's attorney, might use the Galileo concept if there is a Trial. It seems very appropriate. All eyes will be on the Inquisition in Denver.