Land of Opportunity

Inclusion

A while back I wrote a blog about This Land Is Your Land. The premise was for a more inclusive national anthem. The message behind the Woody Guthrie classic is inclusion. This land is for #everybody No exceptions.

At the time, I thought Woody's message might be too controversial. The messages coming out of Trump's administration, make it seem like a damn good idea. If we truly are one nation under God, there's a critical point conservative Christians are missing. "Their faith is for #everybody just like this country.

Happy Birthday America!

Change the National Anthem?

I saw a posting about keeping the Star Spangled Banner as the National Anthem the other day. I wondered what the motivation was for the posting. Debate about the National Anthem seems like such an irrelevant issue to me. There is opposition to the militaristic nature of the lyrics. There has always been opposition to the Star Spangled Banner. Your can read about it in the Washington Post.

It was written during the war of 1812. It didn't become the official anthem until 1931. Although it became a favorite of the military during the civil war. At that time Hail Columbia and Yankee Doodle were also unofficial national anthems. America the Beautiful and America are often mentioned as replacements today.

To me it seems a distraction. A side issue. This will all work itself out...or not.

What About Woody?

My thoughts landed on "This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie." I remembered the song from grade school. We sang the first and second verses....sometime the third. I also remember this as being part of the songbook for the Folk craze of the late 50's and early 60's. This Land is Your Land launched thousands of budding folk singers with inexpensive nylon string guitars. I had one. It cost about $25 with the case.

This Land Is Your Land

Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

This land is your land This land is my land

From California to the New York island; 

From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters 

This land was made for you and Me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway, 

I saw above me that endless skyway: 

I saw below me that golden valley: 

This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps 

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts; 

And all around me a voice was sounding: 

This land was made for you and me.

Going Deeper - Not Going to Happen

First, Guthrie was a communist. There's a lot of baggage associated with communists in this country. It's a label meant to imply that he or she is not part of us. Once that kind of label is applied, it is easy to discriminate against the person and dismiss any ideas as invalid. No matter how valid the issues, if they are presented by a "the other", they are demonized and dismissed. Based on that alone, his song would never fly here. Digging deeper, there's a references to Great Depression and the ecological disaster that went along with it, the Dust Bowl. Thousands of farmers lost everything. This started a migration. Many choose California and the land of opportunity. They were met at the border and not allowed in. There's a verse about that discriminatory practice.

"As I went walking I saw a sign there, And on the sign it said "No Trespassing." But on the other side it didn't say nothing, That side was made for you and me."

There's also reference to the millions who were seeking work, but could not find any. We were promised two chickens in every pot and a car in every garage, It was the American Dream. The dream was dashed by greed.  

"In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people, By the relief office I seen my people; As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking Is this land made for you and me?"

In the final verse, Guthrie promises to keep speaking out about the injustice of a system that has allowed so many to fall through the cracks.

"Nobody living can ever stop me, As I go walking that freedom highway; Nobody living can ever make me turn back This land was made for you and me."

Obviously, it's a protest song. It was controversial then. It is still controversial today. We didn't know that in grade school.  Yet, the ironies 75 years later are striking. There's a severe drought in Southern California and large portions of the West, and there are millions of working Americans cannot make ends meet because they are working poor paying jobs. Of course, The Great Recession was brought on by greed,

Today, I find myself admiring the message of inclusiveness in the face of exclusion. The message is still relevant.

Meeting Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger Opened My Eyes

I got the chance to meet Pete Seeger. I didn't know it at the time but, the meeting was life changing. The changes were so gradual I didn't really think about them until Pete's passing last week.

It was the mid 60's. I was in high school. The people I hung with were musician wanna be's. We all played. I had taught myself some chords and a couple of lead riffs on guitar. I sang some tunes too. At the time there was a blending of folk and and rock mixed withe the British invasion. I think we all had dreams of making it big. Never mind the talent level, we had a lot of fun.

Appealing to Youthful Rebellion

I got a call from Ron Cope one afternoon. He said, "Pete Seeger is going to be at the Oriental tomorrow night." "Do you want to go?" Without hesitation I said, "Yes." Ron then said, "You know, he's a communist?"
The politics in our high school was Republican and Conservative. The thought of going to see a communist perform seemed slightly rebellious. We went over slight objections from our parents. I found out later that Seeger had quit the communist party about 1950 over objections of the abuses of Stalin's regime.

Pete played and told stories. He talked about social justice and causes. The songs he sang were mostly from the civil rights movement. There were also songs from the labor movement and some adaptations of music from around the world.  His two hour performance was intense and drew me in. It was just Pete singing and accompanying himself on guitar or banjo.

The Experience was Personal

After the concert we walked backstage and took the stairs to his dressing room...uninvited. (try that today) He looked tired but, he was gracious and smiled at us when we asked about his twelve string and his banjo playing style. He spent about ten minutes talking with us. Nobody else came up. The moment was magic.

After the concert I bought one of his albums, "We Shall Overcome."  I played that album until the grooves wore out.

New Perspectives

His music opened my mind to new ways of thinking about issues. It didn't make me a radical...more of a progressive. Progressive in the sense of creating a level playing field as opposed to creating barriers. The level playing field, or equal opportunities should be in place in order for all of us to be allowed to reach our full potential. The politics aren't as important as the desire to look at issues and ideas in different ways...To explore and understand the perspectives of others. Social justice became a strong theme in my life. The music...the event...changed my life.

That sense of caring about community brought me to Public Radio and to the FOCUS Center for Autism. Thanks, Pete!