Posted on 05/20/2008 12:53:37 PM PDT by jwalburg
Recently, I reviewed a new American history anthology. I was amused to find included in the book a generous selection of 1960s protest songs. Apparently, lyrics by Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Country Joe MacDonald are making their way into the academic canon, and at least some professors seem to think these are “must-read” documents for our students.
Well, maybe so. But if one really wants song lyrics that reflect the 1960s, I'd point my students instead to some of the songs from math professor and musical satirist Tom Lehrer. In terms of insight into America, Lehrer's “National Brotherhood Week" beats Dylan's “The Times They are A-Changin'' hands down, while Lehrer's “Send the Marines" teaches a lot more about American military intervention than MacDonald's “I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixing-to-Die Rag" (fish cheer or no).
And then there's the wonderful opening verse of Lehrer's Folk Song Army, “We are the folk song army. Every one of us cares. We all hate poverty war and injustice - unlike the rest of you squares.”
Lehrer captures perfectly both the idealism and the na•vetŽ that typified so many of the young protesters of the 1960s. We were the generation of love, peace, and justice - things (obviously) our parents didn't appreciate or understand. We were going to fix all their mistakes and bring in a new age of harmony, understanding, sympathy and trust, and all by singing about it!
Unfortunately, while correcting our parents' mistakes, we were making plenty of our own. Idealism untempered by experience isn't a great recipe for wise choices, and the “don't trust anybody over 30” attitude of so many 1960s young people meant a deliberate abandonment of lessons we could have learned from the “great generation” that preceded us.
No - we thought we were the great generation. We protested this, we protested that, and we ended up developing a smug feeling of moral superiority to all those who didn't join in with our efforts to save the world.
Ironically, in terms of their personal lives, baby boomers aren't all that admirable, choosing lifestyles that, in most societies would be condemned as selfish and immoral. Particularly when it comes to marriage and family, boomers tend to be utterly selfish: who cares about the kids if I can find a new partner more exciting at the moment than my current spouse?
How does one justify such an attitude? Well, it's easy: We just remember the lessons of the 1960s. Protest the right cause and you're a “good person” no matter what kind of lifestyle you lead. Even the moral midgets of the 1960s could think themselves mighty good people if they protested that awful war in Vietnam. Later, you could earn your “good person seal of approval” by fighting the evil tobacco companies or campaigning against global warming.
The problem is that, for those who tie their self worth to specific political and social causes, it's very, very difficult to consider opposing points of view. If you think you're a good human being because you fight against global warming, then you don't even want to listen to evidence that suggests that global warming isn't man-made, that it isn't necessarily harmful or that (worst case scenario) it isn't even real. If your support for “a woman's right to choose” is part of what gives you a positive self concept, then you certainly don't want to hear about things like post-abortive stress syndrome. And if opposing the war in Iraq is part of what's earning you your good-person-seal-of approval, you'll never, ever consider the possibility that you might be playing the part of an Axis Sally or a Tokyo Rose.
And if - tolerant person that you are - you find yourself seething at columns like this one, well, you're a perfect example of one of Lehrer's most amusing lines, “There are people in this world who do not love their fellow man, and I hate people like that.”
They did sing it. But Tom Lehr wrote it.
The book's a hoot. It has some funny Searle drawings (the man's a genius - get his book on Scotch whisky if you can find it) and a lot of the music.
The book's a hoot. It has some funny Searle drawings (the man's a genius - get his book on Scotch whisky if you can find it) and a lot of the music.
Eve. That’s right. Eve of Destruction. It’s been a while.
I wondered what that was about. :)
That’s great.
Says it all.
This is my favorite part. It captures the essence of my old lefty left-coast college professors and their attitudes. It's so Ward Churchill, before his time.
I have also been a fan of Tom Lehrer since I discovered him around age 12. Thanks for the flash video of Elements: maybe now I can finally memorize it. When I do, I can die happy.
I used to perform his “Smut” at parties, talent shows, and bar Mitzvahs.
Why, o why, did he not create more? I have always felt that the world missed so much when he stopped writing and singing his songs.
Are you talking about Eve of Destruction?
G-d bless you!! Now I am enjoying “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park.”
Yep, you were! I still like the song.
good one.
This music is great! I never heard most of it...where WAS I?
I’ve always been hooked on Dr. Hook...lyrics usually by Shel Silverstein. Rasty and raw and great!
btt
The only thing missing from this video production is John Kerry valiantly navigating his swift boat.
That one grows on you.
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