Music: Pete Seeger
The man is truely an inspiration. Here are some of the excets from his mccarthy trial:
In 1955 the H.U.A.C. called on Seeger to give formal testimony regarding his ties to the Communist Party. Seeger found himself at the horns of a dilemma. He could either plead the Fifth and emerge from the hearing relatively unscathed, or he could attack the legitimacy of the H.U.A.C. by claiming that it violated his First Amendment rights. In 1947 the Hollywood Ten, a group of screenwriters accused of Party involvement, employed the latter tactic. The H.U.A.C. slapped them with contempt of court and jail terms.
Although Seeger did not explicitly evoke the First Amendment, he did abandon the Fifth tactic and attacked the committee as un-American. When directed by the H.U.A.C. to answer a question, Seeger responded:
I am not going to answer any questions as to my associations, my philosophical, or religious beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election or any of these private affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such compulsion as this.
When asked by the H.U.A.C. if he had been a member of the Communist Party, Seeger answered, "I must give the same answer as before." Through the barrage of questions, Seeger retained his position. He would answer no questions he deemed immoral for an American to ask. Occasionally, the repeated pressing of the committee prompted passionate and humorous responses:
I decline to discuss, under compulsion, where I have sung, and who has sung my songs, that I have helped to write as well as to sing them, and who else has sung with me, and the people I have known. I love my country very dearly and I greatly resent this implication that because some of the places that I have sung and some of the people that I have known, and some of my opinions, whether they are religious or philosophical, or I might be a vegetarian, make me less of an American.
Seeger responded to other questions with the terseness of a persecuted martyr. At one moment in the trial, the committee’s chief counsel Frank Tavenner handed Seeger a photograph taken in 1952 that showed the musician dressed in military uniform and carrying a placard reading "Censored." He asked Seeger, "Will you examine it please and state whether or not that is a photograph of you?" Seeger examined the picture and shot back, "It is like Jesus Christ when asked by Pontius Pilate, 'Are you king of the Jews.' " This response clearly grated on the chairman of the committee, Francis Walter (Pennsylvania). He scolded like a cross school teacher, "Stop that."
While Seeger refused to answer questions of affiliation, he offered numerous times to discuss his songs with the H.U.A.C. When asked if he had sung "Wasn't That a Time" in a leftist arena, Seeger responded, "I can sing it, and I don't know how well I can do it without my banjo. Later in the trial, Seeger explained:
I have never refused to sing for anybody because I disagreed with their political opinion, and I am proud of the fact that my songs seem to cut across and find perhaps a unifying thing, basic humanity, and that is why I would love to be able to tell you about these songs.
Seeger offered this proposal, because he viewed his music as self-explanatory, able to stand on its own and appeal to all humanity free of its context. Seeger’s voice was his music. If the H.U.A.C. wanted to investigate him, it would only find answers in the language of the folk song. The H.U.A.C. was displeased with Seeger’s approach — it found him in contempt of Congress. Seeger did not, however, serve any jail time for contempt. In 1962, he won a reversal of his conviction.
In his refusal to discuss his politics outside of his songs, Seeger alluded to one of the most important ideas of the folk song movement: the message cannot be separated from the medium. To most of the singers, the medium was the message. Guthrie maintained that folk songs are "political by definition." A folk song passes through generations orally. Each new generation changes some of the words and makes the song its own. Songs that become "public possessions" are symbolic of socialism, and in direct opposition of capitalism.
In 1955 the H.U.A.C. called on Seeger to give formal testimony regarding his ties to the Communist Party. Seeger found himself at the horns of a dilemma. He could either plead the Fifth and emerge from the hearing relatively unscathed, or he could attack the legitimacy of the H.U.A.C. by claiming that it violated his First Amendment rights. In 1947 the Hollywood Ten, a group of screenwriters accused of Party involvement, employed the latter tactic. The H.U.A.C. slapped them with contempt of court and jail terms.
Although Seeger did not explicitly evoke the First Amendment, he did abandon the Fifth tactic and attacked the committee as un-American. When directed by the H.U.A.C. to answer a question, Seeger responded:
I am not going to answer any questions as to my associations, my philosophical, or religious beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election or any of these private affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such compulsion as this.
When asked by the H.U.A.C. if he had been a member of the Communist Party, Seeger answered, "I must give the same answer as before." Through the barrage of questions, Seeger retained his position. He would answer no questions he deemed immoral for an American to ask. Occasionally, the repeated pressing of the committee prompted passionate and humorous responses:
I decline to discuss, under compulsion, where I have sung, and who has sung my songs, that I have helped to write as well as to sing them, and who else has sung with me, and the people I have known. I love my country very dearly and I greatly resent this implication that because some of the places that I have sung and some of the people that I have known, and some of my opinions, whether they are religious or philosophical, or I might be a vegetarian, make me less of an American.
Seeger responded to other questions with the terseness of a persecuted martyr. At one moment in the trial, the committee’s chief counsel Frank Tavenner handed Seeger a photograph taken in 1952 that showed the musician dressed in military uniform and carrying a placard reading "Censored." He asked Seeger, "Will you examine it please and state whether or not that is a photograph of you?" Seeger examined the picture and shot back, "It is like Jesus Christ when asked by Pontius Pilate, 'Are you king of the Jews.' " This response clearly grated on the chairman of the committee, Francis Walter (Pennsylvania). He scolded like a cross school teacher, "Stop that."
While Seeger refused to answer questions of affiliation, he offered numerous times to discuss his songs with the H.U.A.C. When asked if he had sung "Wasn't That a Time" in a leftist arena, Seeger responded, "I can sing it, and I don't know how well I can do it without my banjo. Later in the trial, Seeger explained:
I have never refused to sing for anybody because I disagreed with their political opinion, and I am proud of the fact that my songs seem to cut across and find perhaps a unifying thing, basic humanity, and that is why I would love to be able to tell you about these songs.
Seeger offered this proposal, because he viewed his music as self-explanatory, able to stand on its own and appeal to all humanity free of its context. Seeger’s voice was his music. If the H.U.A.C. wanted to investigate him, it would only find answers in the language of the folk song. The H.U.A.C. was displeased with Seeger’s approach — it found him in contempt of Congress. Seeger did not, however, serve any jail time for contempt. In 1962, he won a reversal of his conviction.
In his refusal to discuss his politics outside of his songs, Seeger alluded to one of the most important ideas of the folk song movement: the message cannot be separated from the medium. To most of the singers, the medium was the message. Guthrie maintained that folk songs are "political by definition." A folk song passes through generations orally. Each new generation changes some of the words and makes the song its own. Songs that become "public possessions" are symbolic of socialism, and in direct opposition of capitalism.
posted by Google Ninja at 10:04 AM
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