Last evening I watched the PBS documentary on the life and career of Pete Seeger. (Pete Seeger: The Power of Song. You can find the complete program on Youtube)
I'd seen it before but this viewing was a kind of tribute to him because of the news of his death last week at the age of 94. I wanted to stop and remember him because he had a profound influence on me as I made the journey along the rocky road of adolescence.
What was it about him that so impressed me? His music? His activism? His 'lefty' attitudes? All that I suppose, but at the root of it - he encouraged me. I never met him, nor did I ever see him perform live, but I could tell that he had a profound faith in the human heart - in our capacity for love, and co-operative effort. He believed in the possibilities and potential of human communities. He was, in my view, the ultimate humanist - he had, deep in his heart, a profound concern for human welfare and a belief in human values and dignity.
We need people like Pete Seeger to remind us that we need one another - that we are nothing without community, that at our core we are relational beings.
We need people like Pete Seeger to encourage us. People like him teach us to respect and support and encourage one another - because we all, at all times, need to be and to feel respected. And without exception, at one time or another in our lives, we all need support and encouragement.
Pete Seeger's medium of communication was his music. And he was most effective in communicating and connecting when he was in front of an audience. He said that his greatest satisfaction was singing with his audience - whether they be adults or children - and that singing together made him feel hopeful about the future of the human community.
I remember hearing something Pete said to an audience that says better than I ever will what he believed about the power of song - and why his faith in that power has given me courage throughout my life. I can't find the verbatim quote (maybe you can direct me to to it) but it goes something like: "If you know the words, sing out! You'll encourage your neighbour!"
I smile when I remember listening to my vinyl copy of The Best of Pete Seeger, over and over again.
And I smile remembering Bruce Springsteen's cheer (Bruce gives me courage too.) at the celebration of Pete's 90th birthday: "Congratulations Pete! You outlived the bastards!!"
Yes.
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