Posted on 01/22/2009 9:57:40 AM PST by Jbny
One hates to dampen the feelings of national euphoria that have taken hold over the past few days, but there’s one moment from the week’s festivities that still sticks in my craw: the worshipful attention heaped upon Pete Seeger, icon of American folk music and lapsed Stalinist.
Seeger was a prominent campaigner in the struggle for African-American civil rights, and his legacy there ought be applauded. But racial equality was not the only cause to which Seeger committed himself. International communism, and in particular its Stalinist variant, was an equal, if not more, significant cause in Seeger’s public life. He was “Stalin’s songbird,” as David Boaz describes, writing about how Seeger zigged and zagged, with the rest of American communists in the 1930’s and 1940’s, in blind obedience to orders from Moscow. Seeger’s vaunted opposition to American “militarism” has persuaded him to oppose U.S. military intervention wherever and whenever it has occurred, including, for instance, the mission to displace the Taliban.
(Excerpt) Read more at commentarymagazine.com ...
No such thing. Throughout all of history it is simply one group using government to dominate and dictate their rules over another part of society.
He was one of those chic, Chevy Chase communists, folk singing for the fashionable lefty lawyers and their pals.
Who can forget Mike Seeger delivering newspapers on his unicycle?
From the time of the Hitler-Stalin pact to Germany's offensive against the USSR, leftists in the US were decidedly neutral at the very least, and downright “anti-imperialist” anti-England at worst.
One of the quickly deleted items in Seeger’s catalog was an album of anti-interventionist songs in 1940 that would have made great party music for the Bund.
If I can find the cite I will post it.
I heard he was not pleased with Paul Shanklin’s spoof of
one of his best known songs as “Barack the Magic Negro”
‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ was written by Peter Yarrow not Pete Seeger.
Seeger represented the Bolshevik Banjo set. Peter, Paul and mary were certainly commies as well.
As I recall Seeger recanted his communist past and admitted he was wrong. Even so, I think he should be shot as a traitor.
.....draft dodger in WW II and quibbler at the HUAC hearings.....what can you say about a Harvard man singing songs about “hard times” and “the workers struggle”....PHONEY !!
As I was walkin' - I saw a sign there
And that sign said - Private Property
But on the other side .... it didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!
This is an explicit endorsement of Communism. On DailyKos a diarist called the song "America's true national anthem".
Yep. Seeger turned against Hilter and the Nazis, not because they invaded just about every country in Europe, gased and burned millions of Jews and other ethnic/religious minorities, and formed an alliance with the country that attacked the United States, but because Hilter broke his alliance with Stalin, and given the choice between the head commie and the head facist, Seeger chose the commie.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_For_John_Doe
Although the article is really biased (they reluctantly followed the party line and enthusicatically endorsed the president afterwords). Actually maybe that best shows what a Stalinist dupe Seeger is.
Seeger has never publically and unequivically recanted his communist past. His feelings for Stalin have chilled a bit, but not his love of communism.
Thanks!
Yes. thanks.
Didn’t Pete die a few years ago?
Seeger became a lapsed Stalinist because Nikita Kruschev said it was O.K. to acknowledge that Uncle Joe was a paranoid, murderous fascist who likely killed more people than Hitler. However, he was never a lapsed communist, IIRC.
As a long-time folk music fan, it can be a struggle to find music that isn’t far left. Some of that music is still classic, even if he sentiments are classically red, or if lucky, only pink.
It’s a questionable territory when dealing with that era. Communism was much more accepted in the U.S. before 1945 or so. Communist candidates for President recieved a much higher percentage of the vote back then than they do now.
Songs For John Doe, the first album by the Almanac Singers, released in May 1941. All antiwar/antidraft songs. For lyrics see http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/3448/doe.html
You may be thinking of Woody Guthrie, Arlo’s father. I get them confused sometimes, as they were pals, looked a little alike, and shared musical styles and political beliefs.
ah I stand corrected!
Woody Guthrie died in 1960s.
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