Pete Seeger was also nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize. I won't argue that he should have won, or that President Obama should not have. I'm sure that Mr Seeger would be amongst the first to wholeheartedly congratulate our President. But I just want to remind y'all of another worthy nominee and of his contributions.
I say “contributions”, not “accomplishments”, because peace is not something that has ever been attained, except perhaps in the hearts of a few very special people. Peace is what we seek, always trying to do the next right thing, often failing, but keeping on keeping on anyway.
Some have criticized Obama's win for being premature: that he hasn't accomplished enough yet. I'm not concerned with that. I doubt if many Peace Prize winners have accomplished what they sought to achieve. The prize is for their effort and their influence in moving human civilization in the right direction.
Alfred Nobel, a Swede, made his fortune making explosives. All but one of the prizes he established are awarded in Sweden. The Peace Prize he entrusted to Norway, a land far removed from the maelstrom of human conflict in Nobel's day. Norway happens to be my home, and although I haven't been invited to join the Peace Prize committee, I respect their good intentions and their good efforts.
Greit nok!
Seeger is over 90 now, and has lived a life dedicated to illuminating the hearts and minds of people to an awareness of being able to choose justice and freedom for themselves and for their brothers and sisters, too. That is a beautiful thing which should not be forgotten.
I find his 1955 refusal to name his “fellow travelers” to the House Un-American Activities Committee to be not only courageous, but ingenious. He didn't take the Fifth to protect himself; he invoked the First Amendment, saying: "I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, 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." An indictment for contempt followed, but he stood firm.
Seeger's banjo displays the motto: "This Machine Surrounds Hate and Forces It to Surrender." He faced fascism in the days of Franco and Hitler, served in the army in WWII, and kept singing through it all. His voice has served the peace movement, environmental preservation, workers rights, and the civil rights movement. He seems to have always sought to do the next right thing.
Congratulations President Obama. Better luck next time Pete.
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