Zinn should be required reading.

Please pass on my thanks to Howard Zinn for his mind and the creations that spring from it ("America's Blinders," April issue). His article has given voice to the oft-wordless, yet vehement frame of mind through which many of us regard our politics, society, and humanity. I appreciate his dedication and passion, and commend him on an article well done.

Beth Sweet

Madison, Wisconsin

"America's Blinders" should be required reading in every classroom in this country. I, too, spent most of my life "brainwashed." However, I had an awakening later in life, thanks to international travel and open-minded media such as PBS. Of course, for my more tolerant, enlightened views I'm now criticized by many of my family and friends. I'd just like to leave the world as a better place. How wrong can that be?

Diane Snyder-Miskol

Black Canyon City, Arizona 

Zinn identifies two reasons--a lack of historical perspective, and a belief that our country is "the center of the universe"--as to why so many of us are so easily taken in by the deceptions of the Bush Administration. While the points he makes are excellent, I believe there is an even more fundamental cause underlying them. We are motivated primarily by emotions rather than reason.

For many Americans, the idea that our leaders are dishonest, manipulative, and greedy is just too threatening to accept.

How can we, as progressives, overcome this reaction?

I think it is essential that we act in ways that lower, rather than raise, the emotional temperature. I certainly understand the anger of anti-war people; I feel it myself. But we need to resist the temptation to ridicule, berate, and dehumanize our opponents. While that may be (emotionally) satisfying, it only serves to further threaten people and makes it harder for them to hear our arguments.

Richard G. Shelp Jr.

Sag Harbor, New York 

Howard Zinn concludes that if we are honest about our nation's history, that alone will protect us from the next barrage of lies our leaders will use to inflict U.S. power on another part of the world. I agree that our leaders have always used deception to utilize this country's power for less than altruistic goals. The suggestion that this is exclusively an American tradition ignores the broad view of world history.

Is our "endowment of Providence" any less "God given" than the Roman Empire's? Is our right to "exert the full impact of our influence" any less deserved than the British Empire's? Has there ever been a dominant culture in history that did not achieve its role as protector of virtue and righteousness through deception and duplicity?

I think the problem is not with our leaders, but lies squarely on the shoulders of those who are easily duped.

It's easier to allow ourselves to be distracted by the Final Four than to get involved.

It's easier to believe Iraq was a threat than to ask questions about our leaders' motivations.

It's easier to believe a lie than to believe we've been deceived.

It's easy to wear blinders.

Mike Wiese

St. Charles, Illinois