This past weekend I spent some time reading different reviews of the 1/18 Inaugural Concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  Now I hadn't planned to spend so much time reading, but the more I read the more uncomfortable I became.  Across the country it seemed as if America's problems and possible solutions were seemingly being ignored by so many journalists. 

A major opportunity was missed when these writers chose instead, to focus on the entertainment ("feel good") value and superifically pay homage to the celebrities present.  What seemed truly ironic was that the one voice- that of Pete Seeger was present but for the most part ignored.  The one man who has been saying for so many years if only "we the people" could work together we could resolve our issues.

continuing on...
One newspaper (from a large West Coast city) ran a picture of Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen. To assist the reader who might not know which was whom, when you moused over the performer his name popped up. So, not too surprisingly, mousing over Bruce Springsteen resulted in his name popping up.  However, when you moused over Pete Seeger he was also identified as Bruce Springsteen.  Moving along, another (this time a major East Coast city) newspaper forgot to mention Pete Seeger at all. 

The majority of the press articles read this weekend made it sound almost as if Seeger and Springsteen were an up and coming folk rock group. The Presidential Inaugural Committee listed a number of performers for the event but in all fairness to the committee they did acknowledge it was not a complete list (and did not include Pete Seeger).  CNN led off their coverage with a description of the roaring crowd and ...high energy acts such as U2, Mary J. Blige, Usher and Beyonce.

All but missing was any awareness that Pete Seeger has been singing to presidents about issues of economy, healthcare, peace, taking care of our military for more than 68 years.  March, 1941 he was invited to perform for Eleanor Roosevelt at the White house honoring US military serving in WWII. 

[This is not the picture I was referring to when mousing over the faces of the performers. 
This picture was taken by Pete Bruce and listed on: http://blog.nj.com/ledgerentertainment/large_Petebruce.jpg acknowledged and gratefully used]    


It was bittersweet to read repeatedly of Pete Seeger being asked to join (as in back up) Bruce Springsteen on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in the the singing of "This Land is Your Land." originally written by Woody Guthrie and performed initially by the "Almanac  Singers" in 1940, a folk quartet later black balled by the U.S. Senate.  Today only one person from this infamous quartet remains alive- Pete Seeger. 

The redeeming aspect of the concert was provided by(then still) President-Elect Obama when he joined Pete to share an intimate exchange between two great men from different generations both of whom have worked so hard on behalf of all of us.  With Pete's grandson Tao Rodriguez-Seeger present, one could not miss the significance of history being made- Obama and Seeger talking on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with Martin Luther King, Jr day being celebrated the next day.  Among his many accomplishments Pete Seeger also Marched with Martin Luther King, Jr.

So what can we do today?  One suggestion- go to:  http://www.nobelprize4pete.org/resources.html click the link on the left that says "sign the petition" and become one of only 23,000 people so far to sign the petition requesting that Pete Seeger be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.  If Pete Seeger doesn't deserve the Nobel Peace Prize then who does?  If not awarded to Pete Seeger perhaps the Nobel Peace Prize should be retired as no longer relevant in a greed driven corporate America.

                          Dissociation

High up the Wasatch plateau of the Rocky Mountains
concealed from view is a sanctuary.
It’s location downslope
from the top of the Pennsylvania flat.

A sheepherder’s hut settled down in a depression
carved out by an ancient glacier’s retreat,
Parched hinges and an old hand-cranked phone
whisperings of so long ago.

He was born near this place
and had twice returned as a youth,
to lie in grasses never touched by a plow,
to the eagle riding the thermals in search of prey.

Today in a hectic place and different phone.
clients needs compete with unwritten reports.
Now the eagle soars only within his mind,
Yet his determination resides on the plateau.

---DCL (2nd draft 2/4/2005)

“I wanna tell you 'bout some blues I got one time,
          in a little place called Vietnam”
    (Sarge Lintecum, Singer, song writer, musician, poet)

The unspeakable-
Poetry and War:  A Public Gathering at ASU, March 11, 2003

It wasn’t supposed to be,
yet a poetry class transformed
into a straggling platoon
wandering across campus.
Student sounds beating
counterpoint to the rhythm
of my own pulse while the tang of fear
plays havoc with vision.
Body chills compete with
the warm ASU afternoon.
Conversations, bird calls, traffic
sounds congealing into noise.

    

A meandering column without
visible head or tail,
even the TA allows
a cherry poet,
a newbie writer to take point.
Down tunnel and up into
the sunlit glare blinded.
Shade naked exposed to the silent
stare of those along the wall.
Cable stumbling techs
reposition equipment only
to be moved to another
hurry up and wait location.
Mic check
..one
….two
cadence count
..three
….four
Humping books instead of gear
TAs disappear as quick as LTs
no where to be seen.

    

A whiff of grass stirs memories
a poetry reading, circa 1970.
Not silent or orderly as ASU.
The poets spoke openly that day.
Shouting orders counter
demanding directives
the value of life
snafu’d beyond recognition.
Critical mass achieved by
formed up columns
of poets for recon missions.
LTs project body counts while
striving to avoid the
58,178  waiting body bags.

    

Today well mannered professors
mouth the works of others,
while 1,817 primal poets
from an earlier time
now silently reside on
Montagnard bracelets
Missing in action.
It had no meaning then
as it has no meaning now.
Yet TAs or LTs still lead
poetic newbies to their fate.