Saturday, April 5, 2014

Ina Inayatul Jannah
PBI-B/4 (Represso)

The Hole of Revealing the Truth
Introduction
Still on the focus of article Howard Zinn, something important that I should write about crucial issue of Columbus. Until now that issue sit on the first position and became trending topic in Academic Writing. There is something strange as the hole that I have to find the truth and reveal the taboo in order to I have the clear understanding about it. I have to fill and make it perfect.
Summary
            In Zinn’s article said that he got so many letters from people around the country when his book ‘A People’s History of United States’ came out. Almost all of his letters express about their shocking when they were read about the wickedness of Columbus, for the first they were learned about the heroism of Columbus, Columbus the great discoverer, Columbus the pious Bible reader. Zinn wrote on his book revealed the truth about Columbus’s crime. Between Columbus crime and his heroism was equal, and it was wrong if just the heroism which revealed.
            The crime or wickedness of Columbus was written by Zinn: Trying to put together an army of resistance, the Arawaks faced Spaniards who had armor, muskets, swords, horses. When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead. If I as an American I would have some feeling it was shocked because this statement have not publish in the USA, but I am Indonesian and I am not too pay more attention to this cases. While I am here tell more about Columbus history to make my lesson about speaking truth can develop because this case is crucial.
Critique
            Every human being has the strengths and weaknesses. We should have awareness about it. Ust. Hariri (2008) said that if we like someone usually we look at him from the right side and we will think that all of his activities are true, likewise if we do not like someone usually we look at him from the dark side and we will think that all of something that he done was wrong, also we will have a negative thinking of him whether it was kindness, this statement will be a reason why Zinn wrote about wickedness of Columbus.
Another reason I taken from jakartabeat.com said that with his article Zinn would told about the truth of moral value, in Zinn’s perspective history about Columbus that Morisson was written it was contravene the moral value because he explain more about the heroism of Columbus while he just a little bit told about Columbus crime. It means that the crime of Columbus as if replaced by his heroism and it was not true because if it is the crime forever the crime and could not covered up.
Then I take the point of view from religious side, I focus on the question ‘why did not Zinn said that the first discoverer of America is Muslim?’ Zinn’s focuses it is only in the ideology of politic but I taken the other focus in the religion view. As a Muslim I should take this way and as my lecturer said that ‘You are not only English Teacher but you are is Muslim English Teacher’ so I have to understand about the history of Islam also in discovered of America in order to I can retell and write it on my paper and the next I should be a supervisor or conquer the world with book, or Zinn said with the statement ‘Speaking Truth to Power with Books’. From my innovating on the data of America, I see that the first discover of America is Khashshash bin Said bin Aswad and it is one of the fact that Muslim naval is strong and excellent. Khashshash bin said bin Aswad was arrived in America on 889 M, he was Muslim navigator from Qordoba Spanish, at that time Spanish is the center of Islam Civilization under the leadership of Bani Umayah II it showed that the Muslim Navigation was strong and it was not impossible when Muslim Navigator sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, also supported by the spirit of spread the Islam around the world. From the fact we can said that Muslim is the one to be entitled the first discoverer of America because Vespucci had arrived to America on 1499-1500 M, and then Columbus had arrived there on 1492 M, while Khashshash bin Said bin Aswad had arrived on 899 M. it means that Khashshash bin Said bin Aswad had arrived in America 600 years before them.
Another something which neglected by Zinn on his article is about references.  As jakartabeat.com said that one of his disappointment was about the footnote and references of Zinn’s book, there was something strong and important which he did not written that references, he just written in the end of chapter that he taken the references from his experiences of teaching. Even though seemingly Zinn was the student of old school (about 1960) which not tell about references when he was writing, because the book from Henry Treece which publish at that time also is same with Zinn’s book there was no references written.
Conclusion
For the conclusion is about something neglected on Zinn’s article as I said by the hole it is my view that Zinn did not have the purpose to reveal the fact or the true discover of America.  Zinn did not have the purpose to reveal the truth, so my friend’s articles of the second critical review which entitled by ‘The Reveal Truth’ is less appropriate because the truth is not reveal yet if there is no written about the first discover of America. Zinn’s book “A People’s History of United States” is not tell about the Muslim as the first discover of America it contents is about the crime of Columbus and a refutation statement about heroism of Columbus. The message from this article is about moral value which said that the wickedness could not covered by the heroism.
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References
Alwasilah, A. Chaedar. 2012. Pokoknya Rekayasa Literasi. Bandung. PT Kiblat Buku Utama
http://www.ivanaris.com/search?q=columbus downloaded on 27th of February, 2014
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Gramsci downloaded on 27th of February, 2014
www.jakartabeat.com downloaded on 3rd  of March, 2014

                                                                                      

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