Zinn

Zinn concludes his article by questioning the effects of teaching history from the standpoint of the conquers and leaders of Western Civilization. He states the imperfection of myths is not an excuse for human progress in the annihilation of entire races. Why is it that we define human progress as a time of catastrophe and not peace?
Zinn argues that emphasizing the heroism of Columbus has come to our belief as a justification for what was done (the genocide of the Indians). He argues that we have been taught to bury the facts that cause the controversy. A person sees history from the standpoint of others which relate to their own personal struggle.
In order to save the innocent minds of our youth we teach them distorted myths of historical events. We cannot subject them to the truth of mass genocide during the era of Christopher Columbus. Yet I believe that we stretch the truth too much during these early stages. The youth learn to celebrate Columbus for his achievements which are ok for their developing minds. However I agree with the author in saying that we should not praise his achievements as adults.
I agree with the author in saying that we should not lie about the past nor omit the facts which lead to an unacceptable conclusion. The author however describes himself as being skeptical of government and their attempts to transform cultural beliefs, makes me in turn skeptical of his opinions on the subject.