HOW DEMOCRATIC IS AMERICA? BY HOWARD ZINN

I. ESSAY SETTING Written in Vietnam War. Civil Rights movement. Protests, riots, assassinations. What’s wrong with American society?

Shortly before his death in 2010 at age 87. Zinn during World War II. Howard Zinn

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY Write two paragraphs answering this question: Who was Howard Zinn? to: Subj: Zinn, your name, per. #

II. STANDARD DEFINITION OF DEMOCRACY FOUR questions are commonly asked to determine if a country is a democracy:

II. STANDARD DEFINITION OF DEMOCRACY (CONT.) #1 Q: Who makes decisions? A: Elected officials in a representative system. (a.k.a., a Republic or an Indirect Democracy)

II. STANDARD DEFINITION OF DEMOCRACY (CONT.) #2 Q: Who can vote? A: All adult citizens. (a.k.a., Universal Suffrage)

II. STANDARD DEFINITION OF DEMOCRACY (CONT.) #3 Q: Are individual rights guaranteed? A: Yes. A Bill of Rights is backed up by government action.

II. STANDARD DEFINITION OF DEMOCRACY (CONT.) #4 Q: Is there open competition for office? A: Yes. There are no arbitrary restrictions on who can run.

II. STANDARD DEFINITION OF DEMOCRACY (CONT.) Zinn rejects using this standard definition for TWO reasons: 1) It doesn’t reveal nearly enough about the country in question.

II. STANDARD DEFINITION OF DEMOCRACY (CONT.) 2) It oversimplifies democracy which is a very complex topic. YES NO

III. METHODS OF COMPARISON To find out how democratic a country is, one might compare it to 3 things: 1) Other countries. BETTER THAN BAD GOOD

III. METHODS OF COMPARISON (CONT.) 2) Our own history. COMPLACENCY = DEATH

III. METHODS OF COMPARISON (CONT.) 3) Perfection; the ideal democracy. FLAWS

IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms 1) Representation is undemocratic as decisions are made by ELITES and not by the masses.

IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms 2) The public does not have adequate access to information that is vital to good decision- making.

IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms 3) The DRAFT unfairly discriminates against the young, the poor, the uneducated and those who happen to be male!

IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms 4) Equality before the law does not exist as the legal system tends to favor the rich, the white and the conformist.

IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms 5) Resources are not fairly distributed as the poor do not have access to adequate food, clothing, shelter, health care and education.

IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms 6) The wealthy have access to a good education, while the poor often do not.

IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms 7) Everyone has the freedom of expression, but only the wealthy and well connected get HEARD.

IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms 8) Freedom for individuality is often restricted.

IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms 9) The drive for corporate profit often results in unnecessary suffering and death.

IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms 10) While protest is necessary, it is often suppressed by the government.