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The Silenced Majority: Stories of Uprisings, Occupations, Resistance, and Hope
In their new book, Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan provide a vivid record of the events, conflicts, and social movements shaping our society today. They give voice to ordinary people standing up to corporate and government power across the country and around the world. Their writing and daily work at the grassroots public TV/radio news hour Democracy Now! , carried on more than a thousand stations globally and at democracynow.org, casts in stark relief the stories of the silenced majority. These stories are set against the backdrop of the mainstream media’s abject failure, with its small circle of pundits who know so little about so much, attempting to explain the world to us and getting it so wrong.
342 pages, Paperback
First published September 11, 2012
59 people are currently reading
992 people want to read
About the author
Amy Goodman
45 books269 followersAmy Goodman is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist and author.
A 1984 graduate of Harvard University, Goodman is best known as the principal host of Pacifica Radio's Democracy Now! program, where she has been described by the Los Angeles Times as "radio's voice of the disenfranchised left". Coverage of the peace and human rights movements — and support of the independent media — are the hallmarks of her work.
As an investigative journalist, she has received acclaim for exposés of human rights violations in East Timor and Nigeria. Goodman is the first journalist to receive the Right Livelihood Award. Her brother is investigative journalist David Goodman.
A 1984 graduate of Harvard University, Goodman is best known as the principal host of Pacifica Radio's Democracy Now! program, where she has been described by the Los Angeles Times as "radio's voice of the disenfranchised left". Coverage of the peace and human rights movements — and support of the independent media — are the hallmarks of her work.
As an investigative journalist, she has received acclaim for exposés of human rights violations in East Timor and Nigeria. Goodman is the first journalist to receive the Right Livelihood Award. Her brother is investigative journalist David Goodman.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 25, 2013
Below are key excerpts from the book that I found particularly insightful:
1- "Ben Bagdikian - The media conglomerates are not the only industry whose owners have become monopolistic in the American economy. But media products are unique in one vital respect. They do not manufacture nuts and bolts: they manufacture a social and political world."
2- "Mohamed Nasheed - It's easy to beat a dictator, but it's not so easy to get rid of a dictatorship. The networks, the intricacies, the institutions and everything that the dictatorship has established remains, even after the elections."
3- "Taniguchi - Nuclear power and mankind cannot coexist. We survivors of the atomic bomb have said this all along. And yet, the use of nuclear power was camouflaged as "peaceful" and continued to progress. You never know when there's going to be natural disaster. You can never say that there will never be a nuclear accident."
4- "The election of Barack Obama, the son of an African, was a historic moment in the fight against racism. But unless U.S. cours are open to addressing wrongs, past and present, corporations will still feel free to go abroad and profit from racist and repressive policies."
5- "People who are against hate are not a fringe minority, not even a silent majority. They are silenced by the chattering classes, who are driving this debate throughout the media."
6- "Anaya Roy - In this context of inequality, one doesn't need radical instruments of redistribution. One only needs a few things, like decent public education or access to health care or some sort of reasonable approach that says enough of this massive spending on war."
7- "David Graeber - Debts between the very wealthy or between governments can always be renegotiated and always have been throughout world history...It's when you have debts owed by the poor to the rich that suddenly debts become a sacred obligation, more important than anything else. The idea of renegotiating them becomes unthinkable."
8- "Dwight D. Eisenhower - We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."
9- "Margaret Mead - Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
10- "Le Carre - Victims never forget, and the winners do. And they forget very quickly."
11- "Kennedy - The erosion of all these institutions, I think, of American democracy have forced people who care about our country, and who care about civic health, into this box of civil disobedience and local action."
12- "Luis Iriondo - We have to look to the past to understand the present, to create a better future."
1- "Ben Bagdikian - The media conglomerates are not the only industry whose owners have become monopolistic in the American economy. But media products are unique in one vital respect. They do not manufacture nuts and bolts: they manufacture a social and political world."
2- "Mohamed Nasheed - It's easy to beat a dictator, but it's not so easy to get rid of a dictatorship. The networks, the intricacies, the institutions and everything that the dictatorship has established remains, even after the elections."
3- "Taniguchi - Nuclear power and mankind cannot coexist. We survivors of the atomic bomb have said this all along. And yet, the use of nuclear power was camouflaged as "peaceful" and continued to progress. You never know when there's going to be natural disaster. You can never say that there will never be a nuclear accident."
4- "The election of Barack Obama, the son of an African, was a historic moment in the fight against racism. But unless U.S. cours are open to addressing wrongs, past and present, corporations will still feel free to go abroad and profit from racist and repressive policies."
5- "People who are against hate are not a fringe minority, not even a silent majority. They are silenced by the chattering classes, who are driving this debate throughout the media."
6- "Anaya Roy - In this context of inequality, one doesn't need radical instruments of redistribution. One only needs a few things, like decent public education or access to health care or some sort of reasonable approach that says enough of this massive spending on war."
7- "David Graeber - Debts between the very wealthy or between governments can always be renegotiated and always have been throughout world history...It's when you have debts owed by the poor to the rich that suddenly debts become a sacred obligation, more important than anything else. The idea of renegotiating them becomes unthinkable."
8- "Dwight D. Eisenhower - We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."
9- "Margaret Mead - Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
10- "Le Carre - Victims never forget, and the winners do. And they forget very quickly."
11- "Kennedy - The erosion of all these institutions, I think, of American democracy have forced people who care about our country, and who care about civic health, into this box of civil disobedience and local action."
12- "Luis Iriondo - We have to look to the past to understand the present, to create a better future."
June 18, 2013
Amy Goodman is a heroine of mine. I've been in awe of her investigative, truthful journalism for years and I'm an avid viewer of the Democracy Now! show. The Silenced Majority is a collection of her columns and short articles spanning the last five or so years split into sections such as 'Obama's Wars', 'Money in Politics', 'Climate Change', 'Wikileaks and the Crackdown on Dissent', 'Capital Punishment' and 'Stop The Violence' to name a few.
This book is a good one to dip in and out of if you want to find out more about a specific current affair, or to use as a reference guide/starting point, as each column is only around two pages long. The 'Luminaries' section is also great for finding out about activists/campaigners who you may not have come across before or hadn't yet heard of.
My only slight criticism is that I wish the columns had been put into some kind of chronological order because some of the articles have a tendency to overlap and repeat themselves in the sections.
This book is a good one to dip in and out of if you want to find out more about a specific current affair, or to use as a reference guide/starting point, as each column is only around two pages long. The 'Luminaries' section is also great for finding out about activists/campaigners who you may not have come across before or hadn't yet heard of.
My only slight criticism is that I wish the columns had been put into some kind of chronological order because some of the articles have a tendency to overlap and repeat themselves in the sections.
December 27, 2012
I am a huge fan of democracy now! and I have been following their show consistently for about 4 years now. I thought that knew everything there was to know about recent event, but I was definitely wrong! Amy Goodman's courage is truly captivating, she explores into ALL (and I mean all) aspects of American life and politics and brings out the true story. The book was incredible and really made me think about the world we live in. I would recommend it to anyone who has the courage to find out about what is going on behind the scenes.
Pros: +excellent ability to link politicians and people in power to their previous roles in government or industry. This makes it easy to understand their motivations
+ well organized for a quick read
+ incredibly clear writing technique. I can just hear her saying every word in my head LOL.
+ Every piece is written like a new paper article so even when I didnt have the background on it it was all there. This allows anyone and I mean anyone to pick it up.
+ I love how she is always so hopeful!!! no matter how bad things look she always presents a glimpse of hope.
Cons: -I think she could have done a better job organizing the articles. Although they are classified according to topic, the articles don't follow chronological order. I must admit this is a huge undertaking and require some more thought. A quick idea that pops into my head is presenting timeline in each chapter where different stories are marked off. This would make it much easier to follow the order of events.
Pros: +excellent ability to link politicians and people in power to their previous roles in government or industry. This makes it easy to understand their motivations
+ well organized for a quick read
+ incredibly clear writing technique. I can just hear her saying every word in my head LOL.
+ Every piece is written like a new paper article so even when I didnt have the background on it it was all there. This allows anyone and I mean anyone to pick it up.
+ I love how she is always so hopeful!!! no matter how bad things look she always presents a glimpse of hope.
Cons: -I think she could have done a better job organizing the articles. Although they are classified according to topic, the articles don't follow chronological order. I must admit this is a huge undertaking and require some more thought. A quick idea that pops into my head is presenting timeline in each chapter where different stories are marked off. This would make it much easier to follow the order of events.
April 10, 2014
The Silenced Majority. What a book. Amy Goodman being a veteran journalist sure knows how to bring news to her readers.
This book chronicles Goodman's writings from 2009 until 2012 on a variety of topics such as Occupy Wall Street, Veterans' suicide, the Afghan War, WikiLeaks, Gun control, police brutality, the Obama presidency and much more. In a way, it's a perfect recap of the major topics that have graced the news over the past couple years and really puts things in perspective. Especially when we consider how little things have changed. We still have giant corporations whose powers go unchallenged, and politicians who place their own interests above everyone else's.
What strikes me about this book is not just Goodman's tendency to relentlessly stick up for the little guy, but also the clear and elegant way in which she writes. A great majority of the pieces here are two pages long, and call me crazy, but it's very nice to be able to get your news in such a concise way. It's like learning about a topic in small digestible packages. It just makes a book that deals with such heavy topics actually fun to read. How often can you say that?
4.5 stars
This book chronicles Goodman's writings from 2009 until 2012 on a variety of topics such as Occupy Wall Street, Veterans' suicide, the Afghan War, WikiLeaks, Gun control, police brutality, the Obama presidency and much more. In a way, it's a perfect recap of the major topics that have graced the news over the past couple years and really puts things in perspective. Especially when we consider how little things have changed. We still have giant corporations whose powers go unchallenged, and politicians who place their own interests above everyone else's.
What strikes me about this book is not just Goodman's tendency to relentlessly stick up for the little guy, but also the clear and elegant way in which she writes. A great majority of the pieces here are two pages long, and call me crazy, but it's very nice to be able to get your news in such a concise way. It's like learning about a topic in small digestible packages. It just makes a book that deals with such heavy topics actually fun to read. How often can you say that?
4.5 stars
December 2, 2012
as always, amy goodman does not disappoint. the essays are short and it's easy to read one right after the other, as well and read it in stolen moments throughout the day. i wish more people would read amy goodman's books and listen to democracy now.
January 2, 2013
too disjointed, good message but didn't go in depth
January 16, 2013
This book, like the radio program, is just the tip of the iceberg. It addresses many of the taboo topics swept under the rug: Afghanistan war, climate change, racism and more. My favorite chapter was "Luminaries", stories of hope and inspiration from brave people. "We need a strong, independent media, a media that serves the interest of the silenced majority." - Goodman and Moynihan
February 2, 2013
I didn't expect this to be a collection of columns--I thought it was going to be a more "traditional" book format--but it was very good. I went through it writing down many books, artists, activists, and historical events to look up.
Dang, though. I knew a bit about most of what she wrote about, but there's so much messed-up stuff going on...
Dang, though. I knew a bit about most of what she wrote about, but there's so much messed-up stuff going on...
January 13, 2013
I did not read all of every piece as I had read many of them when they were originally published but it is good overview of 2009-2012.
November 25, 2015
Excellent, a booK filled with truth
August 12, 2018
This book is basically all (or most) of the op-ed articles written by Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan roughly between 2009 and 2012 separated into categories outlined in the contents section. Some of the articles are educational and thought-provoking, others are not. There is a clear left-wing bias in them which in some cases told all the story while in other cases some facts were conveniently omitted. I learned a lot from this book - another example of how a book doesn't need to be perfect to enrich a reader's education.
November 24, 2016
Essential Goodman.
November 1, 2022
"From Tuskegee to Guatemala via Nuremberg" is the title of one of the chapters in this book, and one that conveys a theme running through it. The climate crisis afflicting the globe's populations but paid little more than lip service by political and economic elites; US meddling and interventions in some of the world's poorest countries; Apartheid crimes of global corporations; the racism crisis in the heart of the Empire, and many more subjects illustrate the plight - and occasional wins - of the organised working class.
Want to read
June 7, 2012from BEA12
August 3, 2016
Great stories from the master story teller of the under privileged. A must read compendium for fans of Amy Goodman & Democracy Now!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews