Mickey Z is a dissenting American radical who deeply admires diverse forms of passionate dissent. He is mainstream enough to cite legislation passed as a result of radical protest as a vindication of that protest, but his general vision of government is that of a passive agent, awaiting the next protest demonstration to get a sense of direction.
The theme of this book is best stated in a quotation from Barbra Ehreneich. "Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots," she says.
This a book for the age of soundbites and hyperlinks. It provides an introduction to many diverse individuals and social movements, so that virtually everyone will learn something from it. And it deals with Bob Dylan's complaint about history: "I've never seen a history book that tells me how anybody feels," he said.
One of the few Presidents in this book to earn a mention--and perhaps the only President to be praised for an action taken--is Chester A. Arthur who--it turns out--at age 24 was a pioneering civil rights attorney representing Lizzie Jennings, the Rosa Parks of 1854, who sued and won after being denied admission to a New York City horse drawn carriage. Arthur's representation of Jennings is called a "classic 'who knew' situation. " It certainly justifies taking another look at Arthur.
Another surprising fact--for me, at least--was the deep passion and antagonisms resulting from Jack Johnson, an African-American, being named heavywieght champion of the world in 1908: an uproar that perhaps slowed down black admission to other professional sports.
And then, in a section on Daniel Ellsberg's release of the Pentagon Papers, there is this cogent political analysis from key Richard Nixon Presidential aide H.R. Haldeman on June 14, 1969:
To the ordinary guy, all this is a bunch of gobbledygook. But out of
all the gobbledygook comes a very clear thing: you can't trust the
government; you can't believe what they say; and you can't rely on
their judgement. And the implicit infallibility of Presidents, which
has been an accepted thing in America, is badly hurt by this, because
it shows that people do things the President wants to do even though
it is wrong, and the President can be wrong.
I also like Martin Luther King's telegram to farmworker's leader Cesar Chavez,after a United Farmworker organizing victory, which puts King's eloquence, profundity, and coalition building on display all at once:
The fight for equality must be fought on many fronts--in urban
slums, in the sweatshops of the factories and fields. Our separate
struggles are really one--a struggle for freedom, for dignity, and
for humanity. You and your valiant fellow workers have demonstrated
your commitment to righting grievous wrongs froced upon exploited
people. We are together with you in spirit and it determination
that our dreams for a better tomorrow will be realized.
In summary, this is a provocative and stimulating little book which should encourage interest in American history, provide new insights to many readers, and provide no shortage of inspirational material. Because of ideological biases, which give violent protests a stature they do not deserve, it is less than the sum of its parts. But many of the parts are very, very good. Politicians seeking to keep the attention of audiences, columnists seeking to say memorable things, and teachers seeking to counter student apathy all can find useful material here.
