One hour of today's Talk of the Nation on NPR was devoted to a discussion of Alan Lomax. Two of the guests on the show were Nick Spitzer and Pete Seeger. If you missed it, you should be able to find it here. The program hasn't been archived yet, (too soon after airing) but I think they usually do. Someone did call in near the end of the program and raise the matter of copyrights. Spitzer briefly addressed the matter.

I have a couple of thoughts on this:—

1. When someone is generally and justly admired for what they have accomplished in life and the words of praise are flowing, some people feel compelled to rush in and shine a spotlight on the person's feet of clay. I find this sort of thing ingenuous. Sure, we're all human: we've all done things that we're not particularly proud of, we've all done things yesterday that we probably wouldn't do today, and we should all be aware that the admired person was not perfect. But I really question the motivation of people who feel this overwhelming need to leap up, out-shout the eulogy, and point out what they believe to be the person's dark side. What psychological need of their own makes them feel that this is necessary?

2. It is hardly fair to judge the actions and beliefs of someone years ago (especially when there is some question that the person actually performed those actions and held those beliefs) by the sensibilities of today.

3. Before we get too judgmental, perhaps we should apply the It's a Wonderful Life principle. You remember, in the movie: George Bailey, feeling that his life had come to naught, is about to hurl himself off the bridge into the river below. "It would have been better," he said, "if I'd never been born." The angel, Clarence Goodbody appears and gives him a chance to see what the world would have been like had he not been born.

What would the world be like if Alan Lomax had never been born?

Don Firth