Howard Zinn was the ideal candidate to write “A People’s History of the United States”. A brilliant but plainspoken populist, Zinn came from working class roots and has been the same kind of populist intellectual as the late Nobel Prize author John Steinbeck.

In the fascinating documentary “Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train” narrated by Matt Damon, the eastern populist’s life is chronicled with the focus on his efforts to achieve peace. He was part of a journey to North Vietnam during the peak of fighting and returned with important information that could have aided the peace effort to end the Vietnam War. Zinn and his colleagues sought a meeting with President Lyndon B. Johnson in the White House. Had his effort not been spurned the opportunity would have been present to explore a peace settlement and save many lives to be lost in future skirmishes.

An important distinction can be drawn between Zinn and his current critics who proposed waging war in Iraq. Whereas Zinn’s critics consist of individuals who successfully used influence to avoid military duty in Vietnam, Zinn fought with distinction in World War Two as a fighter pilot. One of the most heart-wrenching segments of this documentary arises when he speaks with sadness about having lost one of his best friends during that conflict.

The most important quote arising from a documentary filled with such gems arises when Zinn confronts the subject of war. He states, “If going to war is so popular then why is it that it’s necessary to have a draft?”

Another important battle in which Zinn fought tenaciously was the civil rights movement. Refusing to back down he was dismissed from one university when he continued to support sit in demonstrations. When the cause is worth fighting for Zinn is there in spite of the consequences. His students rallied to his defense when the strident John Silber became president of Boston University and sought to have the popular instructor removed because of his populist and anti-war views. Once again Zinn never backed down and retained his position.

Zinn has currently joined the battle pertaining to outsourcing. He speaks out articulately, making a case for the American worker in the face of continuing efforts on the part of major corporations seeking to enhance their profit margins by relocating to Third World countries.

Howard Zinn has put the Bushies in a bind. How they would love to deliver the same kind of smear in his direction that characterized so many attacks against individuals dedicated toward peace and seeking to make war obsolete. With his distinguished World War Two record such a prospective strategy has been rendered non-feasible.

In contrast, Bush master strategist Karl Rove, whose first political idol was Richard Nixon, excoriated anti-Vietnam War protesters, questioning their loyalty. Did Rove ever volunteer for military duty in the Vietnam War being run the late sixties and early seventies phase by his idol Nixon? Somehow Rove never got around to correlating his actions with his words.

Rove fell into the same pattern embraced by the list of absentee commanders of war who were bullish on both the Vietnam and current Iraq conflicts. The computer war commando ranks are studded with famous names such as Dick “Multiple Deferment” Cheney, Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz, as well as George W. “National Guard Favoritism” Bush himself.

We also have the verbal warriors of the airwaves. They include Rush “Dismissed for Anal Cyst” Limbaugh, William “Bullish on Vietnam While Studying at Harvard” Kristol, Bill “Mister Morality of the Gaming Tables” Bennett and Bill “Warrior of the Air Wave Trenches” O’Reilly.

Some sit on the sidelines and advocate war. Others promote it from comfortable sidelines positions. Howard Zinn has seen and experienced war’s tragedy as a participant. He has seen death firsthand and continues valiantly and vigorously pursuing the path of peace.