Who will replace America's Conscience?

A giant has fallen. Pete Seeger is dead at 94.

Slate posted the transcript of his testimony to HUAC. Brave man.

voluptuary_manque said:

A giant has fallen.

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I had the good fortune to have met him and talked with him for a while, about thirty years ago. A kinder and more gracious man I have never met, before or since.

He was truly a "great soul," in the tradition of Gandhi. You had the feeling that he was a boulder in the stream of current events, shaping the flow of history around him without being shaped very much in return. He was a constant in a world of change, a pole star to steer by.

But what struck me most was that he was really and truly more interested in what you had to say than in what he had to tell you. He ended up interviewing me, and not the other way around. He took an almost childish delight in discovering my opinions, my beliefs, my faith, and my goals. That quality doesn't really come through in his public appearances and concerts.

I cried for hours when I heard the news. I cried a lot less than that when my father died. But Pete was everybody's father, and everybody's brother, and everybody's crazy uncle. I quieted down when I realized that his goal was to get everybody singing, and he succeeded.

I think I'm going to cry some more now.

Athalia said:

I had the good fortune to have met him and talked with him for a while, about thirty years ago. A kinder and more gracious man I have never met, before or since.

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You actually met him? I never knew that! I've seen him in concert a couple of times, and lots on the television. I'd have given my right nut to have actually had a long conversation with him.

I think I'm going to cry some more now.

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Go ahead and cry, luv. You'll have lots of company.

One of his lasting legacies will be the Clearwater project and the clean-up of the Hudson River. He truly believed in thinking globally and acting locally. He reminded us that we weren't just citizens of the world. We were also citizens of our communities and our neighborhoods, too. Let's not forget that.

voluptuary_manque said:

Stop calling me the Denver Bronco of AH posters.

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OK not a problem