Pete Seeger: We ARE the Hammer of Justice!

Post 82 + Spook News

PETE SEEGER’S 106^th BIRTHDAY

In these very challenging times, I hope we never forget that we have the tools to reclaim our democracy. But before explaining why WE are the Hammer, I’d like to share four events leading up to Pete’s 106^th birthday.

Friday, April 25, Spook Handy & the Seed Planters return to the Barron Arts Center in Woodbridge, NJ for the first time since 2019 to give tribute to American Folk Music The concert includes a heavy emphasis on the works of Pete Seeger. Advance registration is essential if you’d like to attend.

Saturday, April 26, at the 50^th New Jersey Folk Festival, in addition to a concert from the main stage, I will give a workshop titled “Building Community with Music.” Also, a 2-man, 25-minute mini version of my new play about Folk Music will be presented. I am excited to team up again with my acting buddy Peter Reimann.

Saturday night, Peter and I perform the mini-play again at the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts in Princeton, NJ as part of the live taping of the Café Improv TV Show.

Then on May 3, I will give a “Remembering Pete Seeger” concert and workshop at the International Servant Leaders Museum in Morton Grove, IL. Kristin Lems will join me for the workshop and open the concert.

AGAINST THE BACKDROP

I approach these gigs remembering one of the most potent seeds Pete offered me in the ten years I knew him: that we ARE the Hammer of Justice.

This past week, obscured by fear of economic catastrophe, two very consequential stories went almost unreported. While U.S. troops continued amassing on the Mexican border, the U.S., for all intents and purposes, annexed the Panama Canal through a “Memorandum of Agreement” assuring the U.S. military almost unfettered control of the territory.

Meanwhile, the assault on American cultural and educational institutions intensified giving wonder to whether, in addition to keeping a copy of Mein Kampf at his bedside, the president also studies the life and times of Pol Pot.

I believe there are two things we need to do to save our country: wipe the sleep out of our eyes to see what is really going on, and remember that we have the tools we need to shape our world. These tools include the Hammer of Justice, the Bell of Freedom and the Song we sing about Love between our brothers and sisters. ALL of them.

The open eyes and tools come together in these lyrics from my song, “Always Have a Song to Sing”:

In our hour of darkness
There is no time to hide
So let’s stoke our inner fires
And Keep the Flame Alive!

HOW DO WE KEEP THE FLAME ALIVE?

Sometime around 2007, I attended the monthly potluck/sing/(business meeting) of the Beacon Sloop Club on the Hudson River in Beacon, NY. Pete and I were outside rehearsing “Hobo’s Lullaby” when I noticed a bumper sticker that said, “Gravity is just a theory.”

Photo by Emily Brady

Does anybody remember anymore the W Bush Administration’s attack on science and reason? Pete and I got to talking about it. By lowering trust in and esteem for science, logic, bureaucracy, and expertise, W was implicitly arguing for greater trust in the whims and opinions of himself and his party – regardless of how illogical, untruthful, or legally questionable they were. This was an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism where something is right simply because a political leader says so.

Here’s an excerpt from my play:

I said to Pete:

Spook: Those folks down there in Washington are hellbent on breaking the Hammer of Justice.

Pete: As long as you (pause), and me (pause), and not dozens, not hundreds, but thousands of other people embody the principle of justice (pause), they can NOT break the Hammer (pause), because we. ARE. The Hammer of Justice.

Spook: Holy Cow, Pete! That makes a whole lot of sense because I figured out a long time ago that the Bell of Freedom? It’s not just some piece of metal hanging somewhere in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Bell of Freedom resides in our hearts. And it’s up to us to make it ring.

THE SEED WAS PLANTED

Conversations like this can linger in our minds and hearts for years. Pete’s words that night, like so many others he shared were seeds. And over the years, those seeds have grown.

In 2016, the day after Election Day, I wrote “Always Have a Song to Sing.” That’s also the title of my new play about American folk music.

A TIME TO BUILD UP

I don’t claim to have any monopoly on the definition of “folk music.” But, my definition includes songs that plant seeds for democracy, decency, and humanity. Love. Extolling the virtues. Not all “folk” songs need to do this. But songs that plant seeds that BUILD – especially if they are songs people can sing along to – are high on my list of examples of folk songs.

They go a long way to bolster freedom and democracy. They do a lot to help Keep the Flame Alive!

Here’s a link to my song “Always Have a Song to Sing.”

Your support allows me to continue developing my new play and writing this series. If you find value in this work, please consider upgrading to a supporting subscriber. This way I can keep “Looking for America” free for those who cannot afford it, and continue writing and giving concerts of hope and optimism, especially in these challenging times when a clear path through the darkness is not always easy to see.

Keep the Flame Alive!