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04 Apr 07 - 08:54 AM (#2016061) Subject: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: NormanD Apologies if this has already been posted: "Pete Seeger has been an ambassador for Peace and Social Justice over the course of his 87 year lifetime. As a prominent musician his songs, messages and performance style have worked to engage other people, particularly the youth, in causes to end the Vietnam war, ban nuclear weapons, work for international solidarity, and ecological responsibility. It is time that a cultural worker receives the recognition that this work has great influence and global reach, that it is not only a medium of entertainment but of education, compassion and fraternity." For more information, or to sign the petition: click here |
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04 Apr 07 - 10:03 AM (#2016111) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: GUEST,Ian cookieless I'm not entirely sure about the value of prizes in general, myself, except that in troubled times a prize like this can give publicity and prominence - and perhaps even some degree of safety - to an individual fighting for a cause. Certainly the Noble Peace Prize has had this intended use in the past. As for recognition for good influence on and support for others, support for peace and positive change in the world, this is long overdue in Pete Seeger's case, as anyone who knows the history of this fine human being will know. I hope he gets it. |
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04 Apr 07 - 10:14 AM (#2016117) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: katlaughing I tried to sign it twice, but it kept telling me I had the secret, mixed-up code letters at the bottom to ensure whatever wrong. My eyesight is fine and my brains till works, so I don't know what the problem was. I hope he wins, regardless. |
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04 Apr 07 - 10:33 AM (#2016136) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: John Hardly Maybe you should have stopped at signing it once. |
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04 Apr 07 - 12:16 PM (#2016232) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: GUEST,Patrick Costello I don't have anything against Pete - but putting him in the same ranks as Martin Luther King and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi strikes me as pretty stupid. -Patrick |
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04 Apr 07 - 12:22 PM (#2016239) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: katlaughing It wouldn't take it the first time, John. Good grief! |
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04 Apr 07 - 12:28 PM (#2016244) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Stringsinger If they can give it to Kissinger, what is it worth? Frank Hamilton |
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04 Apr 07 - 12:32 PM (#2016251) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: katlaughing About ten million last year. |
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04 Apr 07 - 12:33 PM (#2016252) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Wolfgang BTW, Gandhi is the most prominent non-winner of the Nobel prize for peace. In a year in which Paris Hilton is mentioned for this prize support for Seeger doesn't look like a particularly bad idea. Wolfgang |
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04 Apr 07 - 12:36 PM (#2016254) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace Paris Hilton? For what? Flashin' her tits? |
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04 Apr 07 - 12:43 PM (#2016265) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Wesley S Perhaps they thought it was the Nobel "piece" prize. |
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04 Apr 07 - 01:25 PM (#2016307) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: open mike over 4 thousand signatures now. |
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04 Apr 07 - 02:46 PM (#2016395) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: katlaughing Third try was a charm.:-) |
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05 Apr 07 - 01:30 AM (#2016958) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: rich-joy I had three goes, Kat - and then gave up - even wrote an email to the petition mob about the difficulty, but haven't heard anything back!!! ... certainly hope Pete gets a Gong, though!!! Cheers! R-J |
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05 Apr 07 - 01:42 AM (#2016961) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: George Papavgeris I s'pose it's just USers that can sign? |
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05 Apr 07 - 07:53 AM (#2017104) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: NormanD "I s'pose it's just USers that can sign?" No, I signed from the UK. The Peace Prize is an international recognition. |
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05 Apr 07 - 05:21 PM (#2017678) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: George Papavgeris I know, Norman, but the petition says its objective is "To persuade American Friends Service Committee....", that's why I wondered. But if it accepts your signature, I'll give it a go too. |
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05 Apr 07 - 06:59 PM (#2017756) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Cool Beans I've been to many a Pete Seeger concert. His heart and mind are in the right place, except when he's been duped (cf. Tawana Brawley) but the Nobel Peace Prize? The thing they give to people who've been under house arrest because they spoke truth to power? To people who've brokered cease-fire agreements? To doctors who treat people in the world's hellholes? This Pete for Peace effort reminds me of Tom Lehrer's great line: "In the fight against poverty, war and injusice--Ready, Aim, Sing!" |
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05 Apr 07 - 07:01 PM (#2017760) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: guitar about time |
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05 Apr 07 - 07:06 PM (#2017768) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Stringsinger It would be nice to see Pete make the money. He would probably give it all away to a worthy cause. Frank |
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05 Apr 07 - 09:19 PM (#2017906) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace "I Have Sung in Hobo Jungles, and I Have Sung for the Rockefellers": Pete Seeger Refuses to "Sing" for HUAC During the Cold War era, the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) interrogated more than 3,000 government officials, labor union leaders, teachers, journalists, entertainers, and others. They wanted to purge Communists, former Communists, and "fellow travelers" who refused to renounce their past and inform on associates from positions of influence within American society. Among the Committee's targets were performers at events held in support of suspect organizations. Pete Seeger acquired a love of American folk music while traveling through the South in the 1930s with his father, a musicologist and classical composer, and as an employee in the Library of Congress' Archive of American Folk Song. As a folksinger motivated by concerns for social justice, cross-cultural communication, and international peace, Seeger performed songs from diverse sources to many kinds of audiences, and in 1948 campaigned for Progressive Party candidate Henry Wallace as part of the folk music organization People's Songs. In the following testimony before HUAC, Seeger refused to invoke the Fifth Amendment, protecting citizens from self-incrimination. Instead he insisted that the Committee had no right to question him regarding his political beliefs or associations. This strategy resulted in prison terms for contempt of Congress for the Hollywood Ten in 1947. Seeger himself was sentenced to a year in prison for contempt, but the verdict was reversed in 1962. Nevertheless, Seeger remained on a network television blacklist until the late 1960s. The interrogation and Mr Seeger's answers are here. Let's see who among us will behave the same when we are called. |
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06 Apr 07 - 12:51 AM (#2018039) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Mike Miller I bow to no man in my regard for Pete Seeger as a folksinger and as a commited idealogue. Pete has identified with those he saw as victims and, for his sincerity, he deserves recognition. He has not, however, had a significant affect on world peace. This is not because he didn't want to, but because he, usually, sang "to the choir" and because, as much as we would like to think that folksingers are important, they ain't. Except for his commendable efforts on behalf of the Hudson River, Pete has had very little affect on the world outside of music. When well meaning Mudcatters tout Pete for the Nobel, they are seeing him as their representative. If he is important, so are we. Pete may, well, be eligable for a Nobel Prize in the arts. That would be, both, pleasent and appropriate. |
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06 Apr 07 - 01:47 AM (#2018052) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace "When well meaning Mudcatters tout Pete for the Nobel, they are seeing him as their representative. If he is important, so are we." I disagree, Mike. I would suggest that be amended to read "If he is important, so is the cause of peace." |
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06 Apr 07 - 09:32 AM (#2018201) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Mike Miller The cause of peace is so important that we should recognise the difference between sincere commitment (Seeger) and accomplishment (Ralph Bunch). Whether we like it or not, those in positions of power are most able to shape policy and determine the peace. Pete has never been in a position that allowed him that power. Anwar Sadat was. So was MLK. So is Rep. Murtha and, so will be whoever gets us out of this silly occupation in Iraq. Pete Seeger is what he is, an important folksinger and leftist symbol. But, if one's politics are the determining factor for Nobel Peace prizes, I would, sooner, vote for Studs Terkel or Harry Golden. The Nobel Prize is not awarded for sincerety or intent. It is given to recognise accomplishment. Thus, a Kissinger, who kept us mired in Vietnam, gets a Nobel for getting us out.(I know that sounds illogical but, let's face it, Pete Seeger, whose hands were unsoiled by the "Big Muddy" could not have done that). Mike |
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20 Apr 07 - 08:59 PM (#2031612) Subject: BS: Pete Seeger for Nobel Peace Prize From: Eleanor Walden PETE SEEGER FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE GETS 5000 SIGNATURES IN GRASSROOTS PETITION DRIVE: www.petitionthem.com Pete Seeger is an ambassador for Peace and Social Justice and has been over the course of his 87year lifetime. As a prominent musician his songs and performance style have worked to engage other people, particularly the youth, in causes to end the Vietnam war, ban nuclear weapons, work for international solidarity, and ecological responsibility. It is time that cultural work receives the recognition that the arts have great influence and global reach, that it is not only a medium of entertainment but of education, compassion and fraternity. There is no more quintessential cultural worker than Pete Seeger. Culture, in essence, means to honor our forbears. In the words of the Eastern European writer Milan Kundera: “ the struggle for people’s power is the struggle for memory and against forgettingâ€쳌. We all stand on Pete Seeger's shoulders in a manner of speaking. We have an opportunity to acknowledge him a "father" of many cultural, social, and political movements, which have enriched us all and in which we all share, as much as we share our parental DNA. Pete’s unique sense of purpose, decency, and ability, and the support of, his wife Toshi, and his family gave him the opportunity to be all that he could be. Pete also had his mentors: among them Paul Robeson, who said: “The Artist must elect to fight for freedom or slavery. I have made my choice; I had no alternative.â€쳌 Cultural workers know the power of the arts; we also know how difficult it is to gain recognition for cultural creation. Pete Seeger has gained recognition without compromise! Carl Sandburg called Seeger "the living embodiment of America's traditions...." When Pete was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 they said, “Pete Seeger’s contribution to folk music, both in terms of its revival and survival, cannot be overstated.â€쳌 Pete was also honored by the Kennedy Center with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. In 2001 they again paid tribute to Pete Seeger with a cross generational presentation. The program featured friends and family including Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, grandson of Pete Seeger, and Sarah Lee Guthrie, granddaughter of Woody Guthrie. The songs, which Pete wrote or contributed to -- “We Shall Overcome,â€쳌 “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,â€쳌 and “The Big Muddy,â€쳌-- all anti-war anthems, have served as beacons for an entire generation. Pete knit the world together with songs from China, the Soviet Union, Israel, Cuba, South Africa and republican Spain. We learned about the history of this country from his singing of songs from the, revolutionary war, the Farmer-Labor party, anti-slavery movements, IWW, and CIO organizing days. It is the desire of the committee and the signers of the petition that we not be engaged in “forgetting,â€쳌 and in making the choice to “fight for freedomâ€쳌. This nomination puts those objectives in perspective. Pete will be 88 years old May 3rd so there is urgency to this endeavor. Contact: Eleanor Walden ewalden3@comcast.net 510-848-6397 |
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20 Apr 07 - 09:34 PM (#2031627) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace Refresh |
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20 Apr 07 - 09:49 PM (#2031636) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Bob the Postman I'm glad you refreshed this, Peace. I hadn't seen it the first time around. Some others won their peace prizes for channeling the flow. Mr. Seeger has rolled a boulder uphill, unceasingly. Let's tell him, "thanks". |
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20 Apr 07 - 09:52 PM (#2031639) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace Mrzzy was looking for it. There is another thread on it, Bob, just started within the hour. |
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20 Apr 07 - 10:03 PM (#2031645) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger for Nobel Peace Prize From: Eleanor Walden PETE SEEGER FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE GETS 5000 SIGNATURES IN GRASSROOTS PETITION DRIVE: www.petitionthem.com Pete Seeger is an ambassador for Peace and Social Justice and has been over the course of his 87year lifetime. As a prominent musician his songs and performance style have worked to engage other people, particularly the youth, in causes to end the Vietnam war, ban nuclear weapons, work for international solidarity, and ecological responsibility. It is time that cultural work receives the recognition that the arts have great influence and global reach, that it is not only a medium of entertainment but of education, compassion and fraternity. There is no more quintessential cultural worker than Pete Seeger. Culture, in essence, means to honor our forbears. In the words of the Eastern European writer Milan Kundera: " the struggle for people's power is the struggle for memory and against forgetting". We all stand on Pete Seeger's shoulders in a manner of speaking. We have an opportunity to acknowledge him a "father" of many cultural, social, and political movements, which have enriched us all and in which we all share, as much as we share our parental DNA. Pete's unique sense of purpose, decency, and ability, and the support of, his wife Toshi, and his family gave him the opportunity to be all that he could be. Pete also had his mentors: among them Paul Robeson, who said: "The Artist must elect to fight for freedom or slavery. I have made my choice; I had no alternative." Cultural workers know the power of the arts; we also know how difficult it is to gain recognition for cultural creation. Pete Seeger has gained recognition without compromise! Carl Sandburg called Seeger "the living embodiment of America's traditions...." When Pete was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 they said, "Pete Seeger's contribution to folk music, both in terms of its revival and survival, cannot be overstated." Pete was also honored by the Kennedy Center with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. In 2001 they again paid tribute to Pete Seeger with a cross generational presentation. The program featured friends and family including Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, grandson of Pete Seeger, and Sarah Lee Guthrie, granddaughter of Woody Guthrie. The songs, which Pete wrote or contributed to -- "We Shall Overcome," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," and "The Big Muddy,"-- all anti-war anthems, have served as beacons for an entire generation. Pete knit the world together with songs from China, the Soviet Union, Israel, Cuba, South Africa and republican Spain. We learned about the history of this country from his singing of songs from the, revolutionary war, the Farmer-Labor party, anti-slavery movements, IWW, and CIO organizing days. It is the desire of the committee and the signers of the petition that we not be engaged in "forgetting," and in making the choice to "fight for freedom". This nomination puts those objectives in perspective. Pete will be 88 years old May 3rd so there is urgency to this endeavor. Contact: Eleanor Walden ewalden3@comcast.net 510-848-6397 |
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20 Apr 07 - 10:49 PM (#2031669) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Don Firth What Bob the Postman said. Thanks, Peace! It took me two shots. The letters in the confirmation code are pretty distorted and a bit hard to read. Pete has been a steadfast, lifelong advocate of peace and social justice, and back in the McCarthy days, when he and the Weavers were well on the way to fame and fortune, he was willing to turn his back on all that rather than compromise his principles. And he became famous partially because of his unwillingness to compromise his beliefs. Early on, I had the good luck and the privilege to be part of an all-night, informal "sit around on the floor and pass the guitar back and forth" type songfest with Pete, and his enthusiasm for the music is highly contagious. The guy is genuine. He stood firm all his life when many others would have given up or given in. High time he got some official recognition and appreciation. Don Firth |
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20 Apr 07 - 10:53 PM (#2031671) Subject: RE: BS: Pete Seeger for Nobel Peace Prize From: Don Firth Yup. Signed it. Don Firth |
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20 Apr 07 - 10:55 PM (#2031675) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace Don, I signed it with you. |
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21 Apr 07 - 12:19 PM (#2032010) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Stringsinger Pete did offer to sing for the HUAC. "Wasn't That A Time". They didn't want to hear it. He took the First which was truly courageous. Frank Hamilton |
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21 Apr 07 - 09:47 PM (#2032332) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: GUEST,Nick Aren't there maey Divisions of the Noble Peace Prize? Like Physics, Chemistry, Economics etc? Literature.... |
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21 Apr 07 - 10:07 PM (#2032345) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace "The Nobel Prize Every year since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for peace. The Nobel Prize is an international award administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize. Each prize consists of a medal, personal diploma, and a cash award." |
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21 Apr 07 - 10:08 PM (#2032346) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: GUEST,Bob Coltman Enthusiastically seconded. A giant of our time and a musical statesman who, without going out of his way to do so, has shown with every syllable and every lick of his banjo what stunted criminals, appeasers and wretches his politician contemporaries are. He's burnt out his life in selfless devotion trying to make the world the place we all hoped it would be. And still hope, despite tyrants who shake their iron rod, as a 200-year-old song puts it. Bob |
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09 May 07 - 10:54 AM (#2047027) Subject: RE: Mystic Seaport Sea Music Festival 2007 From: GUEST This isn't going to sit well with you Euro-liberals out there, but, though Pete Seeger has done many good things, I don't see how an avowed, unrepentant communist-- and a Stalinist to boot-- can possibly be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. |
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09 May 07 - 03:36 PM (#2047231) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace No, you don't see how. |
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09 May 07 - 03:54 PM (#2047246) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: cshurtz As far as bashing Pete for being a Communist/Stalin supporter...I'm pretty sure if had he known the absolute truth about Stalin he would have quit the party sooner than he did. Those guys back then (the american communist) were just trying to help people in this country. They saw capitalism as the root problem (which it still is) and were inspired by the Russian Revolution. Sure, they might have had naive beliefs about the Soviet Union, but I'm sure alot of people also have naive beliefs about the USA. In my opinion, Pete is one of the great humanitarians of the past century ...right up there with MLK, or anyone else. |
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09 May 07 - 04:05 PM (#2047261) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: WFDU - Ron Olesko "...an avowed, unrepentant communist..." You obviously do not know a thing about Pete Seeger. |
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09 May 07 - 04:12 PM (#2047267) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: John Hardly My understanding -- and it's easy enough to research -- was that he did come to realize, in hindsight, his praise of Stalinist Russia as a mistake. And he apologized for it. What's always driven me a little crazy is that "communist" is still seen by some as an unfair, inaccurate description of the man, even though he has been quite open to admit it. |
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09 May 07 - 04:22 PM (#2047275) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: WFDU - Ron Olesko It is because people do not understand what Communism was all about in America at that time. It should also be noted that Pete left the party well before Stalin's attrocities were revealed. |
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09 May 07 - 05:47 PM (#2047324) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: John Hardly "It is because people do not understand what Communism was all about in America at that time." If that were the case, he need not have apologized. |
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09 May 07 - 07:21 PM (#2047416) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: WFDU - Ron Olesko He did not apologize for being a Communist, he apologized for believing in Stalin. |
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09 May 07 - 08:26 PM (#2047460) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: John Hardly Then nobody should be criticized for pointing out that Seeger was a Communist nor for pointing out that he was a Stalinist (at one point). But most of what I've seen written about him makes it sound as though those who accused him of being a Communist were wrong. Acoustic Guitar Magazine did this a few years ago in an article on Seeger. They wrote about the history and referred to "his accusers" as though their accusations were vacuous. They were not. |
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09 May 07 - 08:52 PM (#2047476) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Joe_F "It should also be noted that Pete left the party" When was that? "well before Stalin's atrocities were revealed." And when was that? They were revealed to different people at different times. Some heard about them from Koestler and Orwell. Others waited to be told by Khrushchev. |
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09 May 07 - 11:33 PM (#2047562) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace Seeger joined the CP in 1942. He left it in 1950, maybe 1952. |
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10 May 07 - 01:15 AM (#2047617) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: cshurtz Not to turn this into a discussion about Communism, but I believe it is pretty clear that the presentation and dissemenation of folk music in this country would be completely different without the strong communist and communist culture community presence in the 1930s and 1940s. After all, Alan Lomax was not a card carrying member, but he was a sympathizer (something his father even argued with him about) and he presented radical songwriters as authentic examples of folk culture. It's hard for me to think about our representation of American folk music without giving a little knod to the United States Communist Party |
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10 May 07 - 01:53 AM (#2047627) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: GUEST,Mike B. Apparently there were a few folk singers who testified before HUAC and ratted on their fellow performers. I won't name any of them here - merely note that the initials B.I. and J.W. come to mind. |
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10 May 07 - 02:01 AM (#2047628) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: cshurtz Yes B.I and J.W named some names...as in his role in rudolf the red nose reindeer old B.I must have been more interested in the Silver and Gold |
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10 May 07 - 05:57 AM (#2047786) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: John Hardly Or he might have cared about the threat of communism. |
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10 May 07 - 09:21 AM (#2047968) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: WFDU - Ron Olesko "Then nobody should be criticized for pointing out that Seeger was a Communist nor for pointing out that he was a Stalinist " There is a difference between "was a " and "is a", and there needs to be a qualifier when discussing the American Communist Party. While it seems important to some that the word "communist" is used when discussing Pete, why isn't the word "veteran" also used? Pete's love of this country and this planet is very deep and when you use words with intent to demean a persons character, the whole story should given. If you read something in Acoustic Guitar that was wrong, or that you interpreted a different way, that is not Pete's fault. He is very honest and open with his politics - and he will discuss it, except when the question is being asked by a government that has no right to question a persons beliefs. |
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10 May 07 - 01:51 PM (#2048230) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: John Hardly "If you read something in Acoustic Guitar that was wrong, or that you interpreted a different way, that is not Pete's fault. He is very honest and open with his politics - and he will discuss it..." Yes, but his groupies feel the need to underplay what he gladly admits to. It's a sickening revisionism that is focused upon making those who were right -- those who called him a communist (which he was) seem like liars. They were not. |
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10 May 07 - 01:57 PM (#2048234) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace No, they aren't. And we all bloody well know it. Happy? |
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10 May 07 - 02:01 PM (#2048239) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: John Hardly Have you ever known me to be happy? wait ...that didn't come out right. |
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10 May 07 - 02:24 PM (#2048261) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Don Firth Dunno about J. W., but I read that Woody Guthrie dropped in on his old friend, B. I.—this was well after the HUAC hearings, and Woody didn't hold any grudges (a lesson for us all, perhaps?). They spent a lot of time together, had some good times, and they talked a lot. When Woody got back east, someone asked him about the visit and especially about B. I., particularly in the light of his testimony. Woody shook his head sadly and said, "He's one angry man." "What's he so angry about?" asked the other person. "He's angry at himself!" said Woody. It would appear that Woody had forgiven him and still considered him to be a friend. Maybe we could all learn something from Woody. It seems a bit rigid and closed-minded to hold someone responsible in perpetuity for some blunder or piece of bad judgment they made fifty or sixty years ago. People do grow and learn. How is everybody here doing? Would you like to be held responsible for some of the ideas you held when you were young? Don Firth |
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10 May 07 - 02:37 PM (#2048275) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace LOL, John. You have a great snese of humour. Thanks, man. |
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10 May 07 - 03:17 PM (#2048305) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace snese = sense humour = humor (for my American friends) |
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10 May 07 - 03:29 PM (#2048315) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: John Hardly I figured you had mis-spelled it. I was trying to figure out, but it left me wondering what a "sneeze of humour" might be. Glad you cleared it up. Sneezes often need clearing up. |
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10 May 07 - 03:44 PM (#2048332) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: WFDU - Ron Olesko "It's a sickening revisionism" No its not. What WAS sickening were the individuals that attacked him in the first place. The people who called him a communist weren't liars, they were just ignorant. Neither Pete or his "groupies" feel shame about his politics, and THAT is what gets his detractors angry. They seemed to get some sick joy out of watching people squirm and it kills them that people like Pete were able to lead successful and inspiring lives. Pete is still around, and many of the sick individuals who attacked them are long gone. Pete showed them all, and that really irritates some people. The gracious things is that Pete realizes where he was wrong and apologies for his blind allegiance, but he never apologized for doing the right thing. He forgave others, and he performed in concert with Burl Ives near the end of Burl's life. |
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10 May 07 - 04:06 PM (#2048357) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: John Hardly Pete owes much of his success to his "persecution". He didn't "pay" a wit for anything. The "persecution" served to make a talented musician into a folk hero. Without that persecution he'd have been as much of a nobody as most of the other folk musicians of his era. He was no poor boy made good -- though that is the persona that still sticks. He was Ivy League elite who learned the fine art of slumming with plain ol' "folk" -- and those "folk" ate it up. Still do. |
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10 May 07 - 05:32 PM (#2048432) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Don Firth The Weavers first came into existence in 1947, and by 1949 they had several hit songs—songs that are now considered "standard folk favorites." Not only could one make a strong case for their being the primary ignition of the "folk boom" of the late 50s and 60s, one would be hard pressed to deny it and subsequently be taken seriously. They set the pace for the Gateway Singers, the Kingston Trio, and the plethora of other groups that followed. The two most prominent voices in the Weavers at the time were Pete Seeger and Ronnie Gilbert. I first heard Pete Seeger live in fall of 1954, after the Weavers had been blacklisted and temporarily broke up. The Pacific Northwest Folklore Society, of which I was a charter member, sponsored a concert by Pete Seeger as our initial event. There was nothing political about our choice to sponsor Pete. We had heard him on records, both with the Weavers and on his own Folkways "Daring Corey" album. Our choice was strictly musical, and Pete was available. The concert was an incredible two hours. There were a couple of old labor songs in his program, but the bulk of it was just a full run of mostly American songs and ballads, and, of course, within about twenty minutes he had the whole audience singing in parts like a trained choir. Pete was agreeable to a bit of a bash after the concert. It finally ended at about four in the morning with about a half-dozen of us, including Pete, sitting on the living room floor passing a guitar back and forth and swapping songs and guitar licks. Pete is very knowledgeable about folk music (after all, as a teen-ager, he worked with Alan Lomax at the Archive of American Folk Music at the Library of Congress) and his enthusiasm for it is genuine and highly contagious. He may not be the best singer in the world and he may not be the world's best banjo player or guitarist, but he was a very good singer and he definitely had a flair for any instrument he turned his hand to. And if they gave Olympic gold medals for song leading, he'd have a whole drawer full of them. His early interest in communism sprang from his humanitarianism. A lot of people who were deeply concerned with the human condition and the inequities of the world made that same "mistake." Once they realized that communism as it was manifesting itself was abandoning human values for totalitarianism, they, in turn, abandoned communism. There is an old saying: He who is not a communist in his early twenties has no heart. He who is still a communist in his forties has no brain. Those who delight in bad-mouthing Pete Seeger don't know what the hell they're talking about. Don Firth |
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10 May 07 - 05:49 PM (#2048438) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace "He who is not a communist in his early twenties has no heart. He who is still a communist in his forties has no brain." Never heard that one before, Don. It's good. |
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10 May 07 - 06:08 PM (#2048455) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace Guys: John is one of the nicer ol' farts yer likely to meet. He can take it as well as dish it out, and he does have a great sense of humour. Maybe we could all lighten up just a bit. I'll lead off. HEY, Hardly, shut up. LOLOL |
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10 May 07 - 06:54 PM (#2048552) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: John Hardly blow it out yo.... ...oh, that was you, peace? nevermind. I LOVE Pete Seeger the folk musician. There is no male voice I enjoy more than Pete Seeger's voice. That voice was the perfect vehicle for the raw honesty to which folk music naively -- but "good" naively -- aspires. But the ignorant naiveté that had so many idealists clinging to the utopian promises of communism so tightly that, though they were not ignorant of the European atrocities done by communism (as revisionists would have us believe), chose instead to turn a blind eye to those atrocities so they could stay latched onto their dreams... ...and sing there quaint utopian songs. So that to this very day, those same self-righteous, aging "folkies" with little left to believe in, dare to look back on the past atrocities of the communism of Seeger's era, and claim that it was those who were exposing the atrocities who where the liars. And the more the "folk" music became tied to that naive utopianism, the less it became good music as an art form. There have been two major atrocities commited to the world of art in recent years -- Thomas Kinkade and the PBS program "This Land Is Your Land" -- that put an exclamation mark to the banality that folk music became because of its naive utopianism. And, again, if communism was no big deal, just a little bump on an otherwise smooth test drive on the road to utopia, then what the hell did Seeger apologize for? |
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10 May 07 - 06:55 PM (#2048554) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: John Hardly their |
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10 May 07 - 06:55 PM (#2048555) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace That's a good question, John. Does anyone have an answer? |
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10 May 07 - 08:52 PM (#2048680) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: WFDU - Ron Olesko "And, again, if communism was no big deal, just a little bump on an otherwise smooth test drive on the road to utopia, then what the hell did Seeger apologize for?" Should we type slower for you so you can keep up? Again, he apologized for following Stalin, not for being a member of a party. He grew out of favor with the direction and realized that there were better paths. It is called growth. Perhaps others could follow suit instead of dredging up old battles? " He was no poor boy made good -- though that is the persona that still sticks. " You are making up a persona that doesn't exist. Pete makes no excuses or hides his upbringing. It is well known that he dropped out of an Ivy League school. The persona that exists is the person that he is. If you need to cling to such garbage, shame on you. |
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10 May 07 - 09:20 PM (#2048701) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: GUEST,Mike B. The gracious things is that Pete realizes where he was wrong and apologies for his blind allegiance, but he never apologized for doing the right thing. He forgave others, and he performed in concert with Burl Ives near the end of Burl's life. He appears to have forgiven the aforementioned J.W. as well - "The speed of [Josh] White's capitulation to right-wing pressure disturbed and puzzled his leftist friends. Pete Seeger, who staunchly resisted HUAC at great personal cost, was shocked by White's HUAC testimony. Seeger could only speculate that White, who was a "ladies' man", must have been blackmailed by the FBI. Seeger later softened his stance, happy to share a stage with White, but Harry Belafonte, whose style was much influenced by White, was hurt by the betrayal and still remains unforgiving. Others on the cultural left were saddened rather than angry, and sympathetic to the pressures on White, but for virtually all, their relationship with White was over." http://www.greenleft.org.au/2001/449/26022 |
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11 May 07 - 07:22 PM (#2049563) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: EBarnacle I have been considering the premises of this discussion. Both the Stalin situation and the Tawana Brawley situation have one thing in common. Pete followed his moral beliefs, even to the point of legal consequences. When he discovered that his premises were wrong, he disavowed them. He did not disavow the principles he believed in, nor should he have. In the 40 + years I have known him, Pete has remained truer to his principles than any one else I know. He has often found himself on the unpopular side of issues. More often than not, time has proven him correct. How many of us would be willing to go to jail for our convictions? The truth of a position does not necesarily attract followers. |
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12 May 07 - 12:12 AM (#2049694) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Mike Miller Pete Seeger came into prominance in an era that tolerated low key performers and intelectual performances. In today's atmosphere of glitz, scatology and volume, gentle and thoughtful acts are as likely to get attention as a mime and poetry act. Pete represents our link to a time when one didn't have to shout to be heard. Politically, Pete is no more commited to peace than any number of well known celebrities. If Pete deserves Nobel consideration, what about Will Geer, Harry Belafonte, Joan Baez, Jane Fonda or, for that matter, that grand old rebel, Lee Hays? When it comes to political consistancy, give me Paul Robeson (who was one hell of a folksinger). Let's admit that the Nobel Peace Prize should not be awarded for intent, alone. There has to be a direct and resultant peace from the actions of the honoree. We're talking Dr. King, Ralph Bunche and a few folks we don't like so much, but whose actions produced real peace, folks like Anwar Sadat, Menachim Begin and Henry Kissinger. (As it has been said, one does not sign peace treaties with friends.) So, Pete deserves props for his singing and his liberalism, but a Nobel, not so much. |
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12 May 07 - 10:31 PM (#2050340) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: WFDU - Ron Olesko "Let's admit that the Nobel Peace Prize should not be awarded for intent, alone. There has to be a direct and resultant peace from the actions of the honoree. " That's not true. Nobel's will states that the prize is awarded to "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". Carl von Ossietzky was a German journalist and won for his efforts as a radical pacifist. Elie Weisel and Linus Pauling have also won. Why not Pete? |
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12 May 07 - 10:54 PM (#2050344) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace "Anwar Sadat, Menachim Begin and Henry Kissinger." Tell me that was tongue in cheek, Mike. |
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04 Aug 07 - 03:54 PM (#2119134) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: GUEST,Pete Seeger documentary project Hello all of you, I have find your comments about Pete Seeger. Please let me send to you the next mail: My name is Josep and I live in Barcelona, Spain. I like Pete Seeger from my twenties (now I am 43) and he has made me love the banjo and try to play it in frailing style. Also I take classes of three fingering style with Lluís Gomez ( www.nechville.com/downloads/banjoviasummer06.pdf). I work in the media as a technician and video mixer in Television of Catalonia (TV3). I have been working there for 18 years. I like very much documentary and I want to make an independent documentary about Pete Seeger. Attention: It has no relation with TV3 is just and only and independent project for me. So TV3 is not behind the project. If you like very much Pete Seeger's person and music, has followed his career through your life, have attended to his concerts and historic musical moments in his career, also if you play banjo or guitar perhaps for the Pete Seeger influence, and you want to make your contribution to this documentary in your own words, please write to me. If you are interested could you send me an email: jlloveraster@gmail.com Also could you answering the following questions with a few words, just to make a first contact. The next step for the people who are interested in taking part of the docu will be another more deep interview. All of that in order to make a selection: -Your relation with the music and career of Pete Seeger. -What Pete meants to you. -Why you are interested in participate in the docu. I am looking for common people, not famous, or professional people, just different people, different ages, from different places, etc. The docu will try to make an approximation to Pete through the experiences and thoughts of "anonymous" people. I am looking for people who likes Pete Seeger but I am not assuming that everyone agrees everything with Pete. I think that every respectful and positive criticism is good. But I am looking for people that beyond the diferences and disagreements like very much Pete. I am just starting the project, so there is a lot of time before I go anywhere to shot the docu. Thank you very much. Josep |
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05 Aug 07 - 02:48 PM (#2119821) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Stringsinger Why should Pete have to keep company with Kissinger? Frank |
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05 Aug 07 - 04:47 PM (#2119911) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: GUEST,dax "Without that persecution he'd have been as much of a nobody as most of the other folk" While I don't agree with this statement I am intrigued with the concept.I wonder if Christ would be remembered as well without the persecution that he endured. Should Pete get the Nobel Peace Prize? I would say no. Should he receive a profound apology from the powers in Washington for shoddy treatment? I would say yes, and do it while he still lives! |
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25 Oct 07 - 02:38 AM (#2178651) Subject: Nobel Prize for Pete Seeger From: eddie1 There must have been a previous thread on this but a search revealed a mountain of threads on Pete Seeger and I have to get to work! I got this e-mail today. I can think of nobody else in the world of folk who deserves such recognition more! Those who agree, will sign. Those who don't agree, won't. Eddie Dear Petition Signer, The petition to nominate Pete Seeger for a Nobel Peace Prize has grown rapidly; there are over 7600 signatures and you are one of them. The comments on the petition web page attest to how deeply Pete has touched our lives, from our parents to our children and grandchildren, and helped shape our sense of human responsibility. In response to this initial outpouring of support, we have launched a new website, specifically to support this campaign. While it is still under development, we are asking you to take a look, and to publicize its existence to others who might want to support this campaign. The site can be reached at: http://nobelprize4pete.org We are actively seeking additional help in building this campaign. Of particular interest would be organization endorsements of the campaign that we can publicize. If you are involved in such an organization, please ask them to endorse this effort, and have them send email to that effect to: info@nobelprize4pete.org Another goal of ours is to collect additional materials to support this campaign. Because Pete is such a private person there is little besides what's on his record jackets that fills in his life story. Everybody has a little tale to tell about when they first met Pete or when he sang at their camp or school. Others may have photographs of Pete or of activities he has been involved with. It would be nice to collect those memories. He is essential to so many people. Below are some of my thoughts on this campaign that you might be able to use in convincing others to join in! Eleanor Walden eleanor@nobelprize4pete.org ==== some thoughts ==== The fact that Al Gore won the Peace Prize award this year encourages our effort for Pete Seeger for 2008! I hope this recognition helps the environmental movement and increases ways to protect the planet that is our home. I hope it makes more of us aware of the chasm we endure between rich and poor, between obscenely rich and obscenely poor. I am also encouraged that it was through an art form, a film, that Al Gore got his message around the world so quickly and won such acceptance. How tired I am of having the arts referred to as "artsy/fartsy", how insulting to have the Universities cut back programs in the "humanities", and music and arts enhancement in grade schools be the first to go for budget cuts. The folk music revival movement that spread around the world encouraged young people to learn to play an instrument, give poetic voice to political opinions, and find appreciation for the carriers of folk tradition who had kept those jewels of music alive in their families and communities. One of Pete's most important contributions to our consciousness was that he always paid homage to the lineage of folk traditions and was one of the first to see that folk music, was not cute and quaint, but was a form of protest against oppression. Pete Seeger is an ambassador for Peace and Social Justice and has been over the course of his 88-year lifetime. His work shows up wherever you look in the history of labor solidarity, growth of mass effort to end the Vietnam war, ban of nuclear weapons, work for international diplomacy, support of the Civil Rights Movement, for cleaning up the Hudson River and for environmental responsibility in general. Pete knit the world together with songs from China, the Soviet Union, Israel, Cuba, South Africa and Republican Spain. We learned that Crispus Attucks, born a slave, was the first man to die at the opening of the Revolutionary War, that the Farmer-Labor party in the mid-west had a socialist philosophy that lasted well into the 20th century, we learned that anti-slavery movements were often inspired by songs that indicated a map of escape, such as "Follow the Drinkin' Gourd," he popularized many of the IWW songs that helped in CIO organizing, and spread the Civil Rights Movement through promoting the SNCC Freedom Singers and making songs such as "We Shall Overcome," known all over the world. When subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee and Senator Joseph McCarthy, Pete defended himself on the basis of the First Amendment, the right of an American citizen to free association, not the Fifth Amendment, protection against self incrimination. When he was boycotted from earning a living and practicing his craft on a national scale Pete appeared at union meetings, summer camps, Jr. High and High Schools, and Colleges. His pay at times was as little as $5, but his value was priceless! Pete also had his mentors: among them Paul Robeson, who said: "The Artist must elect to fight for freedom or slavery..." It is time that a cultural worker receives the acknowledgment that, as Bertolt Brecht points out, "Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it." The cultural workers who know the power of the arts for social and political change, also know how difficult it is to gain recognition for cultural creation without either trivializing the art or somehow qualifying for designation of "high art" selected by an elite. Pete Seeger always held to the principals that people's music is not only "good art" but is representational art through music. Thus "folk music" was a living, vibrant form of culture. Culture, in essence, means to honor our forbears. In the words of the Eastern European writer Milan Kundera: " the struggle for people's power is the struggle for memory and against forgetting". Pete's talent, sense of decency, and inalterable belief in, as Anne Franke said, that, "at heart, people are basically good", were uniquely his, but he has never been alone in his work; the support of his wife Toshi and his family gave him the opportunity to be all he could be. We all stand on Pete Seeger's shoulders in a manner of speaking. We share Pete Seeger as a "father" of cultural, social, and political movements, as much as we share our parental DNA. It is time that cultural work receives the recognition that the arts have great influence and global reach, that it is not only a medium of entertainment but of education, compassion and action. It is the desire of the committee that Pete Seeger be recognized as a beacon of integrity and principle in a time, and in a country, more defined by the absence of those qualities than by their honor. Eleanor Walden www.nobelprize4pete.org Eleanor@nobelprize4pete.org
-Joe Offer- |
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25 Oct 07 - 04:41 AM (#2178691) Subject: Pete Seeger Nobel Prize From: Fred McCormick Hi Folks, I've just had a message from the people who are organising the petition for the Nobel Peace Prize for Pete Seeger. Full details can be found here. http://nobelprize4pete.org If there's anyone hasn't signed it yet, they can do so online at this address. |
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25 Oct 07 - 06:02 AM (#2178713) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Fred McCormick Sorry Folks. Hadn't seen the existing thread. |
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25 Oct 07 - 12:17 PM (#2178971) Subject: RE: BS: Pete Seeger for Nobel Peace Prize From: Wolfgang Wolfgang (refreshing the third thread about this topic) |
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23 Sep 08 - 03:47 PM (#2448410) Subject: Pete Seeger Nobel Prize Petition--Signup From: Uncle_DaveO Today I got an email on the Ballad-L list, with the link for a web petition to the American Friends Service Committee to convince them to nominate Pete Seeger for the Nobel Peach Prize. Needless to say, I signed the petition. In my opinion, if there's any person alive who deserves that honor more than Pete Seeger, I haven't heard of him/her. Click here to sign the peition! Dave Oesterreich New thread combined with exiting thread. |
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23 Sep 08 - 03:48 PM (#2448412) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger Nobel Prize Petition--Signup From: Uncle_DaveO That should have been "Peace Prize". But he IS a peach! Dave Oesterreich |
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23 Sep 08 - 04:57 PM (#2448459) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: curmudgeon Thanks for the link, Dave. I voted. If all the Mudcatters who do so will comment here, we can see how many of us have joined the petition - Tom |
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23 Sep 08 - 05:42 PM (#2448482) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: GUEST,Volgadon What a brilliant idea. Signed it. |
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23 Sep 08 - 05:53 PM (#2448485) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Don Firth I signed it the first time around. Don Firth |
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23 Sep 08 - 06:54 PM (#2448533) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: GUEST,BanjoRay I've signed it - he's much more worthy than Kissinger was! Ray |
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23 Sep 08 - 07:00 PM (#2448539) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Silas I rally think this is taking the piss. Nice guy, genuine I have no doubt, and a committed peacemaker, but honestly - Nobel peace prize material - I don't think so. |
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23 Sep 08 - 07:40 PM (#2448565) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Don Firth I can't think of anyone who has worked much harder in this cause. Contemplate, for a moment, that there is a faction that wants to nominate George W. Bush, then ponder a bit. . . . Don Firth |
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23 Sep 08 - 08:04 PM (#2448573) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Mark Ross Signed it already. Mark Ross |
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24 Sep 08 - 08:05 PM (#2449342) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: Peace Signed it many moons ago. |
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25 Sep 08 - 03:28 AM (#2449475) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: GUEST "I rally think this is taking the piss. Nice guy, genuine I have no doubt, and a committed peacemaker, but honestly - Nobel peace prize material - I don't think so." Surely you jest. |
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25 Sep 08 - 03:40 PM (#2450157) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: GUEST,Volgadon That was me. |
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25 Sep 08 - 03:44 PM (#2450162) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: rumanci I signed it a long time ago |
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26 Sep 08 - 11:43 AM (#2450898) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: billhudson Having known Pete for the last 30 years or so I would say it makes perfect sense for Pete to have the Nobel Peace prize. Through the years Pete has shown all of us how hard work with many hands can really do something good in this world and really get it done. It never easy and mostly outnumbered but somehow there are many of us who continue to try to make this world a better place for all of us. |
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27 Sep 08 - 12:38 AM (#2451378) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: georgeward Done. Thanks for the link Dave. - G |
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27 Sep 08 - 07:11 AM (#2451456) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace From: NormanD Here's the latest communication from the co-ordinating group campaigning for the Nobel Prize for Pete. Sorry about the length - as it was an email I couldn't give an URL. But when you sign the petition (you mean you haven't yet?) you should get a fuller copy in return for your email address. Norman Newsletter from Committee to Nominate Pete Seeger for the Nobel Peace Prize. Vol. I, No. I, September 2008 Dear Friends: Thanks for your help in the grassroots effort to get the Nobel Peace Prize for Pete Seeger. This is our first newsletter. As we promised, we have not bothered you with emails or given your name to other causes, no matter how worthy. So far news has spread by word of mouth and emails among friends and between organizations. Please check out our new web site http://www.nobelprize4pete.org and use the resources, pictures, sponsors and stories to help promote this campaign. You can also sign the petition by clicking on the "Sign the Petition" link. Who would have thought when I started this petition just about one year ago that it would have been so heartily supported? By this time you probably want to hear news of the progress of this campaign. The bad news is that our petition was off line due to some sort of "technical difficulties" for almost a month, and I'm sure we lost some signers and confused many people. The good news is that it is up again and has nearly twenty thousand (20,000) signatures! Now we need your help. Our most urgent goal is to get Pete nominated before February 2009, the Nobel committee's deadline. Do you know anyone who works at an organization that might be officially able to nominate Pete? In order to do this, we urgently need help finding a person or agency that will pledge to nominate him. The American Friends Service Committee was interested but gave us no assurance that they would present his name. Qualified nominators include some elected representatives, university professors, and previous Nobel Peace Prizewinners. Please help us find a nominator! Spreading the word is critical. BREAKING NEWS: Representative Barbara Lee's office has agreed to consider our recommendations to nominate Pete. Please call and write Maha mahaibrahim@mail.house.gov, 1301 Clay St., Suite 1000-N, Oakland, CA 94612; 510763-0370 or 202-225-2661. This campaign is not about making an icon of Pete Seeger, it is significant on a much larger scale: 1) Pete is a life-long activist for peace and social justice, someone we can strive to emulate; 2) As a cultural worker, he exemplifies the under-represented strata of the arts, showing that the arts can be more than a medium of entertainment but one of enlightenment, compassion, participation and joy; 3) This is the first time a candidate has been chosen and supported by a grassroots movement, we are taking charge of our own history, heroes and heroines. Those who tell their stories on the petition convey a feeling of family warmth. They are grateful they have a chance to say thank you to Pete during his lifetime, just as many of us wish we had had with our own fathers. They repeat Pete's one-liners just like uncle Joe's old jokes, such as his saying that "not everybody can talk at the same time but everybody can sing at the same time." He never did a concert or demonstration without teaching everybody to sing, and in harmony! "My voice is shot now," he says, "but I don't have to sing anymore; I just wave my banjo neck at the audience and they do the singing." People have asked why I feel so passionately about proposing Pete for this international accolade. I refer to another aphorism of Pete's when he speaks about what he calls the "teaspoon brigade." Working for peace, he says, is like adding sand to a basket on one side of a giant scale, trying to tip it our way despite enormous weight on the opposite side; but if we get enough people adding sand with teaspoons, even if everybody else is laughing at us, we can tip the scales. This is my teaspoonful! Now we need everybody's help to make this nomination a reality. Eleanor Walden Coordinator, Committee to Nominate Pete Seeger for Nobel Peace Prize |
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15 Jan 09 - 10:57 AM (#2540376) Subject: Pete Seeger: Nobel Peace Prize From: NormanD I know there is already a thread on this - I apologise for not being able to locate it. Maybe the mods can combine this with it, please? I have just received an update from the ad hoc group campaigning for the nomination of Pete Seeger for a Nobel Prize for Peace. I quote: Dear Friends, We DO have NEWS! Barbara Lee, Congressional Representative from the 9th District, California, has agreed to carry the nomination of Pete Seeger for the Nobel Peace Prize. They want us to supply specific examples of how Pete participated in work for Peace, social justice, and environmental movements. Send any data you have even if it seems small in consideration to what most of us know of Pete's long and committed work. The deadline for the letter of nomination is Feb 1st, so they need data within the next few day, indeed the next few hours. Send to: Pete Seeger Nomination Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-09) 1301 Clay St., Ste. 1000-N Oakland, CA 94612 510-763-0370 ext. 16 510-763-6538 (fax) Wayne dointern23.ca09@mail.house.gov The petition has grown to over 21 thousand signatures. Go to our web site at www.nobelprize4pete.org to see what moving and sincere comments people have made about how Pete opened their consciousness in so many ways. I want to keep this petition open until the end of the year so that the final document will be sent to the Smithsonian Institution, or where ever Pete's archives will eventually be housed, as a document for posterity. That again brings me to emphasis that this campaign is not to make a hero of Pete. It has to do with creativity and community. Its meaning has to do with understanding that the arts are not frivolity, not a means to fame or entertainment, but for deepening the meaning of civilization. The "music biz" has distorted our interpretation of culture and this campaign is one effort to correct it! The campaign has spread in exciting ways. Marie Goonan, an activist in Melbourne, Australia, suggested that May 3, 2009, Pete's 90th birthday, be designated as "For Pete's Sake, Sing!" with concerts coordinated around the world. She is producing a concert in Melbourne, another is being planned in Copenhagen, Denmark, and several are planned in the US of A. Big production is not the issue: just imagine what a thrill it would be to know that thousands of people around the world are coming together on one day to join voices for peace, justice, the environment, and honor to a model of personal integrity. Here are a few things that must be done, they are by no means everything: Ø Organize a group at your home or local folk club. Let me know where and when and I will have flyers and bumper stickers available for your group. Ø Money to support the concert series may be available from our fiscal sponsor. Send me a budget of what you think you need for reasonable help. I will see what I can do. We also need contributions of money to help pay for computer workers. Tell people to send whatever they can afford. Ø Join the song-writing contest. Write a song that in some way relates to the qualities that Pete has helped us realize. By Feb. 14th, lovers' day, send me a copy of the lyrics, a melody line, a tape or CD of the song, and $1 bill. The nobelprize4pete committee will select their favorite song, the winner will get all the money collected, and publication of the song for For Pete's Sake, Sing! Ø Go on Craig's List and write an announcement about the campaign, the concert series, and the song-writing contest to post in your area. Those postings expire after 7 days so you will have to mark your calendar to renew it as often as you can. Ø Buy bumper stickers. They are $2 ea. $5 for 3, $30 for 20. You can pay for them via our website through PayPal or by check, payable to "Kendra Alexander Foundation", memo "Nobel Prize for Pete Campaign" to: Kendra Alexander Foundation, 6422 Irwin Ct., Oakland, CA 94609-1123 |
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15 Jan 09 - 11:37 AM (#2540431) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nomination for Nobel Peace -Updated From: katlaughing Thanks for the update. That all sounds wonderful and hopeful of its success. He certainly deserves it and I LOVE the idea for his birthday!! |
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15 Jan 09 - 11:50 AM (#2540442) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nobel Peace -Updated-deadline Feb1! From: Leadfingers Another for Pete |
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15 Jan 09 - 11:51 AM (#2540443) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nobel Peace -Updated-deadline Feb1! From: Leadfingers 100 |
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17 Jan 09 - 03:13 AM (#2541048) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nobel Peace -Updated-deadline Feb1! From: open mike go to www.nobelprize4pete.org for more info... i notice there is another thread that says Bruce Springsteen will play for the innaguration on sunday and he has invited Pete Seeger to join. |
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11 Feb 09 - 09:46 AM (#2563803) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nobel Peace -Updated-deadline Feb1! From: Amos School board apologizes to Seeger over 1960 flap 2:00 a.m. February 11, 2009 SAN DIEGO: The San Diego school board voted unanimously last night to apologize to folk singer Pete Seeger for an action the district took nearly 50 years ago. Seeger had been set to perform at Hoover High School in 1960, but the board at the time asked him to sign a loyalty oath because he had refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee. A judge ruled that Seeger didn't have to comply and the concert went on. The resolution offers an apology to a man who is "one of our dearest national treasures." Seeger, 89, said in a statement that he appreciated the gesture. |
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11 Feb 09 - 12:10 PM (#2563942) Subject: RE: Pete Seeger: Nobel Peace -Updated-deadline Feb1! From: John on the Sunset Coast "There is an old saying: He who is not a communist in his early twenties has no heart. He who is still a communist in his forties has no brain." Actually the saying, credited to Winston Churchill is, "Any 20 year-old who isn't a liberal doesn't have a heart, and any 40 year-old who isn't a conservative doesn't have a brain." Pete and Woody both were Communists...Pete acknowleged that on a recent 60 Minutes. That said, I am unaware that he/they ever tried to overthrow the US Government. That said, he should have been blacklisted...not because of his poitical views...but because he (The Weavers) allowed Gordon Jenkins to put full, lush orchestrations into their music. The blacklist forced them to go back to their roots, proving every ill wind blows some good. |