JAS MERAH

 

INTRODUCTION

 

This paper offers a critical perspective on Howard Zinn’s article entitled “Speaking Truth to Power with Books”, the controversy of the thought that used to happened in this life is used to be changed more and more.  When we believe to one thing it must be there are the other things that just make us going to be confused just because we do not know the truth.  The innovation and information is running fast and we cannot predict it, when does it will be stop.  And when does it change or just enough to developed or even it does not work well?  That is what is usually happen it writes to tell  about Howard Zinns controversy that blamed  the history of Columbus discovering America and accused that Columbus is a murderer, in his book with the tittle of “Speaking Truth To Power With  Book”.  And raised mass confused by his writing what is exactly happening in Columbus history?.

 

SUMMARY

 

The great writer which has an obviously reference by doing a research for many years in his writing says that the Columbus is not the Discover of America where in the other side the other people think that he was.  Zinn even wrote something about Columbus that he was a murderer, robber, and inhumanity acts he did the Indian people.  He was just thinking about his fame and riches.  And also said that Columbus is not the first present who found it, is that right? 

 

MAIN BODY (CRITIQUE)

 

 

Usually people do some research to know the truth by doing the right things and some other insane people do the alternative ways to know that by their insanity.  And that is why the controversy born, manner of thinking, views, life, that is all what they do, and this things are influenced to the other aspects spreads like water on the branching channel where the water fills the blank channel and keep filling the others.

 It raises a question, is that water interconnecting is the good and health water that channel too many branches?  It is going to be alright when the good water arrives to the family’s house and no worry for the parents because they know that is the good and health water that their children drinking, and how about if the dirty one they get.  I cannot guaranty that they would be free of stomachache, from the little thing goes bad, begin of stomachache spreads to the further disease and it does not close any possibility to the worst vitality effect when they are getting liver, anything could be happen, and that is what will happen if we do not take care for something likely harms us, as well as thought cast some idea, opinions, views and even the education systems process goes well, better we filter it up before we take it as a guidance, talking about education, the history must be involved in it, always on the raise because they think that history is the most important aspect to get the brilliant progress.  Especially in Indonesia where all the students always be associated by the great people before them, and it proved by our first president says “Jas Merah” means that our thought fixed to exalt the history that many people trust it and do not for the rest, and here is Howard Zinn the one who is not always believe for something about history.

 

That is why Zinn wrote ridiculously about Columbus, he even wrote that the foolish people celebrate the October which on it Columbus discovered America.  This is an unpredictable statement where Zinn blaspheme them who celebrate it too.  This is a fact that Zinn did a long research and he knows that it is a lot of responsibility and consequence, no wonder he dares to write those statement that shocking every one reads it, but however it must be proved strongly psycal provement or scientific provement, it is probably like he have to find the vise of Indian dead bodies or something like survival going to the Indians and have some interrogate with native society.  It must be proved because what he wrote is something that everyone will read and will take it seriously, of course this is not a joke.

This is a scientific level of writing where the readers will be not kidding by what are they reading, but look what exactly happen, there was not a evidence strong that proved what the readers expected for the truth, not a small scale of analyzing, because it is include the world education history, whatever happen we do not have to blame a history that we do not know exactly the truth is.

What Howard Zinn wrote is something that we do not know the truth, the reader just oriented on references that they do not know the real things happen, those rise many assumptions and argues that what is Howard wrote were wrong, it hears that Zinn is an theorical writer that never look to an obvious evidence, as Alwasilah says that the theory is fungcionable to build a model or a map that describing the world (Alwasilah, 2002: 120).  It shows how Zinn make his writing as simple as describing the wide world by making a small map in his theorical thoughts, no evidence for sure but in the other side we can see what the public paradigms perch to the history exalting  be trusted as the influence of  world progress.  Look up to what Mikko Lehtonen wrote  and i concluded it is all not just about the contexts, and why  people resulting from the decided text, in the history places and the times, but the effect of the kind of text has involved the subjectivity, identity power full or powerless of the readers.  Culture, symbol, technology, texts, contexts, readers that is all aimed to the meaning (Mikko Lehtonen, 2000:  The Cultural Analysis of Texts).  That statement shows that we (Indonesian) stand in the history line, not a theorical side that has no strong evidence, and absolutely we are as “Muslim” trust and learn much from history, and that is what people believe.  If we count it that public make something for their guidance and believe, of course means that as sums of bunch of people crowded there, and many history expert that stay too, we simply life and do something right and everybody else do the same, because they know the right things is what many believe, we should not being an innovation victims.

Like what I said we have to filter it up before we take it, Howard is not always right, he even was not born in a same time when Columbus was born, where did he found the reference which every one does not know about that, collect the information?  It must be clear and proved information, not from a discussion that they do not know where the result comes from, Zinn do not get it.  All what he wrote about Columbus madness is bird news not more than a hypothesis that may be one day would be changed.

 All what we needed is just an accurate evidence, it is not enough if he just give us the only in writing without the pictures like the artifacts, locations must be clear.  It looks like he was guessing and he was thinking that this is a fun game, what is he actually engineering those?   We never know about that, things that can show it just evidence strong that exactly does not generate many argue and even caused a conflict because of the miss understanding.  For the explanation from the before hands, Chaedar Alwasilah says:  Literacy is never neutral.

 

CONCLUSION

 

There are several basic points that can be concluded from Zinn’s article, I assumed that truly Columbus was not all what Zinn wrote, Zinn accused Columbus that he is a historical crime and engineering and he is not the, but in the other side many people celebrate the October.  Therefore we do not know exactly what is happening but for sure that we have to know there are three things that cannot be hided in this world:  First is  sun, second is moon, and the last is truth.

 

References

“Jas Merah” Olokan untuk Presiden Soekarno, (2014, March 26). Available from http://m.kompasiana.com/post/read/498228/2

MA Taslim, Abdullah. Pentingnya Belajar Dari Sejarah. (2014, March 26). Available from http://almanhaj.or.id/content/3833/slash/0/pentingnya-belajar-dari-sejarah/

Daulah Islam. Kebohongan Amerika tentang Christopher Columbus. (2014, March 26). Available from http://daulahislam.com/unique/sejarah-unique/kebohongan-amerika-tentang-christopher-columbus.html

Alwasilah, A.Chaedar. (2002). “Pokoknya Rekayasa Literasi”. Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia: kiblat