Something to Know - 28 January

1.  We lost a good and decent human being.  A true American.  His call to action and his poetic music is what opened up the hearts and minds to many of my generation.  What he said to Charlie Rose in an interview was that you can get away with a lot more in singing than you can with speaking.  He made one think about what it is to be a true and patriotic citizen.  He leveled the playing field of big guys and little guys where everyone was equal and materialism mattered nothing, and that love of humanity and peace was everything.  Sure, it is all Kumbaya to some, but Pete was for facing down the dark side of life and championing idealism.  His passing has greatly affected a bunch of us today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/arts/music/pete-seeger-songwriter-and-champion-of-folk-music-dies-at-94.html?emc=eta1

2.  David Brooks, presents a relevant look at what is important when paradigms are knocked askew and one has to figure out what to make of the pieces.  This is nothing about politics, but about finding answers that are contrary to conventional wisdom:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/28/opinion/brooks-alone-yet-not-alone.html?emc=eta1

3.  I end this today with something that only Pete Seeger could find the words and sing about.  This is about who we are as a nation today, and its strength is laid to what we had envisioned when we started:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/28/opinion/bruni-emilios-great-race.html?emc=eta1  

--

****

Juan

 
I still call myself a communist, because communism is no more what Russia made of it than Christianity is what the churches make of it.
-- Pete Seeger