Howard Zinn was a life-long activist for peace after serving in the US military. He knew that most of the so-called wars the US was fighting--from Vietnam to Iraq--were not for any values most Americans held. US leaders were willing to have our people killed and kill for terrible reasons: money, oil, presidential prestige ("I'm tough enough") and much much more. He fought his entire life for the values of peace, truth, and democracy--both on the national scene and also within the working place of the university.