Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Who Cares About Flowers, Where Have All The Stalinists Gone?



Tom Lehrer pays a richly deserved tribute to all those battlers against injustice who enter combat armed only with banjos and camouflaged with nothing but broken grammar and plaid shirts. Good stuff.

Returning to the subject of Pete Seeger, I looked through many of the essays and tributes to him trying to learn when, or whether, he ever regretted his years as a loyal Communist during the era of Stalin. Did he break with his old comrades after the Budapest Uprising, or the Berlin Wall, or the Prague Spring?  Or anything at all?

No such luck.

According to a New York Times article from 2007, the best Seeger ever did in the way of a denunciation was this:
But in fact, Mr. Seeger, 87, made such statements [denunciations of Stalin] years ago, at least as early as his 1993 book, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” In the book, he said in a 1995 interview with The New York Times Magazine, he had apologized “for following the party line so slavishly, for not seeing that Stalin was a supremely cruel misleader.”

His 1993 book? Stalin died in 1953. Couldn't Seeger have come to a conclusion a little sooner than 1993?

I've read that Seeger joined the Communist Youth League in 1936, and the main Communist Party USA in 1941. So, he spent up to 17 years of his Party career under the leadership of Stalin. (I say ‘up to’ because Seeger never made clear exactly when he left the Party.) That should have been enough time to develop an opinion of the man.

What was Stalin up to in those days? Well, he was sponsoring the great purges and show trials in which the Party, government, and Red Army leaderships, plus the peasants, the intellectuals, and foreign minorities were terrorized and decimated. That news made the papers, even the New Masses, so I assume Seeger was well aware of it all.

What else? Leon Trotsky, the Russian revolutionary and Marxist theorist, original member of the Soviet Politburo and founder of the Red Army, who had been exiled by Stalin in the 1902s, was assassinated in Mexico City on Stalin's orders.

Then there was World War II and Stalin’s pact with Hitler (1939 to 1941), followed by his invasion and annexation of Poland and Lithuania.

Right after the war there was the hostile take-over by the Soviet Union of Eastern European states, followed by the violent suppression of the East German uprising of 1953, which started with labor strikes. In Poland, there was the PoznaƄ uprising in 1956, also a labor strike. Also in 1956, there was the huge uprising in Hungary which ended in the abolition of the Hungarian Communist Party, the calling of multi-party elections, and withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact – in fact, a counter revolution - which was brutally suppressed by a Russian military invasion. I know Seeger must have heard about that.

To be fair, since Stalin died in 1953, it was his successors who were directly to blame for everything that happened in 1956. Of course, also in 1956, came the famous denunciation of Stalin by Nikita Khrushchev to the Twentieth Party Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. His speech "On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences" was published in the West, including in the New York Times. It made quite a splash.

Surely Seeger read about Khrushchev's speech. Didn’t the crimes of the Stalin era make an impression on him? I guess not, if it was only in 1993 that Seeger expressed some small criticism of Stalin.

A supremely cruel misleader. That’s it? After spending thirteen years as a loyal Communist while Stalin was alive, and with the benefit of another forty years of hindsight after Stalin’s death, that’s all Seeger had to say about the man?

So tell me … if Leni Riefenstahl, sometime around 1984, had told an interviewer that Hitler was “a supremely cruel misleader,” would she have then been welcomed back to the human race, and become a fit subject for film criticism or, say, an NPR profile about all her fascinating artistic pursuits since WWII? At the least, would Jodie Foster finally be able to make the Riefenstahl biographical film she is rumored to be developing? I don't think so.

I mean, 1993? Really? Why even bother making such a ridiculously mild ‘denunciation’ at such a comically late date? Not only had Stalin been dead for forty years, but the Soviet Union itself had ceased to exist by the time Seeger wrote his book.

It’s like Seeger waited until he was the last Communist still standing before he let rip with that tiny diss.
Where have all the commies gone, long time passing?
Where have all the commies gone, long time ago?
Where have all the commies gone?
Gone to grave yards every one
I hesitate to speak ill of the dead. But given that we've talking about the last unrepentant follower of Stalin, I ask myself, when will we ever learn to shun the propagandists of left-totalitarianism the same as we do their counterparts on the right and elsewhere?

   

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

TSB: My first thought while reading this post...having never known enough about Woody except to enjoy his songs was: I bet nobody ever asked him!

Most of us folk song lovers don't care if the guy who wrote them was right or wrong on the politics. It's like that 'I'm a good old Rebel' song. Its a great song whether you a Yank or a Rebel.
I think most of us learn our history 'wrong' first and only get it right if we persist. Good Post! gwb

TSB said...

GWB: Guthrie was another of those who were trying to raise the consciousness of the Proletariate with banjos, putting Marx to music, etc. At that same time, WPA artists were painting Staling Gothic murals of heroic farm workers on Post Office walls, and WPA writers were inventing working-class myths like the John Henry story (wholly an invention, one of the 'hammer songs' that Seeger was referring to in his most well-known song).

Guthrie was about the only one of those lefty folkies who was actually of the working class. The others were just posing, being of old New England families, like Seeger, or second-generation Jewish immigrants from New York, like Aaron Copeland. I'd guess that Guthrie was honest, whereas it's the dishonesty and politically comditional compassion of the Seegers that annoys me about them.

Guthrie tried to join the Communist Party in the 1930s but they wouldn't accept him! CP officials were quite puritanical, and they didn't care for his undisciplined personal life.

TSB said...

One more thing about Guthrie: did you know he once worked as a contractor for the U.S. Energy Department? Energy commissioned him to write some folk music about it's Hanford plant and the big hydro projects it was doing in the Pacific Northwest. The only good song that came out of that was Roll On, Columbia, Roll On.

Still, I think it was nice of them to hire him when he was down on his luck and broke, and it says something nice about Guthrie that he could find a social good to sing about in a hydro power project. Seeger wouldn't have. But then, cheaper electrical power only makes life better for common people; there isn't anything to it that would interest Marxists.

Anonymous said...

Good points TSB! I've always love that Roll On song and probably never knew who wrote it. gwb

Anonymous said...

James: It looks like the ex- Prez of Ukraine is falling in line with you on the prospects for civil war. The current President has taken to hospital for various stress related conditions. (probably while his wife gets the rest of the family money out of danger) gwb

Ukraine Stocks Hover At 5-Year Lows As Ex-President Warns Of Imminent "Civil War"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/30/2014 - 09:01

James said...

TSB: "Who Cares About Flowers, Where Have All The Stalinists Gone?" As Chairman Mao sort of once said, Let a thousand parodies bloom!

GWB:That song has been around for awhile and covered by many artists. It supposedly was written by an ADC to R. E. Lee while a POW.

Anonymous said...

James: Believe me; I knew nothing about all these scandals until I read
about them in the Skeptical Bureaucrat! gwb

Anonymous said...

TSB:37% of All the Illiterate Adults in the World Are Indian: India has 287 million illiterate adults, the... Just wondering.. are we gaining on them or will that take more spending? gwb

James said...

GWB: Beware of relying on the shadowy TSB!
Speaking of: TSB, I've just realized I've never asked, do you deal in actual construction, inspection, contract document compliance? If you can't answer, I'd understand.

TSB said...

GWB: That adult illiteracy figure is stunning, and it's not what you think of (any more) when you think of India. But I don't doubt it for a minute. The underclass in India is so much more deprived than the worst of our poor that we are in no danger of catching up to them. Not unless there is a zombie apocalypse or a nuclear war.

James: My life is an open book, so far as that is possible with an anonymous blog. I do oversight and monitoring of the overseas buildings operations part of [REDACTED - the foreign affairs department of the Washington DC area's largest employer] on behalf of its security element. That means translating the security needs of Department facilities in the field into terms that the design/construction world can deal with, i.e., by putting them into scopes of work, designs, and contracts, and implementing them. Basically the same thing the military now calls Force Protection, only for the official civilian presence overseas. I think of my job - in all seriousness - as protecting the strong from the weak.

James said...

TSB: That gives me a pretty good idea.
GWB: Actually, I was surprised the Indian number was not higher.

James said...

TSB: On second thought that's fairly impressive. I've only progressed to "Scourge of the Proletariat" in my career.

James said...

GWB: On further thought that stat for illiteracy seems kind of suspect. It implies about 720 million or so world wide which seems low.

TSB said...

James: The World Bank's reports might have something on adult illiteracy data collection/methods. Depending on how they define "adult" and "illiterate," 720 million might not be too low.

About 25% of the world's population is under 14. If those are the non-adults, let's say, then there are about 5 billion adults in the world, and the 720 million figure would represent around six percent of adults. My subjective impression is that literacy is pretty good in most parts of the world today. Under ten percent? Not impossible.

James said...

Closer to 14 1/2% than 6%. But you're right, the key is what is considered adult and illiteracy. Besides they haven't counted any Ivy League students, so it could go much higher.

Anonymous said...

You guys are pretty hilarious with all that literacy math. This post illustrates what I like best about TSB. He regularly comes up with a subject that is interesting and entertaining and adds a slant that superficially is debatable. But when you see more it's fun and you learn something. For instance: Here is my favorite really old Tom Leher: It Makes A Fellow Proud To Be A Soldier: Thanks TSB! gwb
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0L_rD7CCe4

TSB said...

My apologies for the math error. Pro Tip: Don't do mental math late at night while on your Ipad without checking your work before you post!

TSB said...

GWB: I like that old Tom Lehrer stuff, and I've been coming across a lot of it lately. Maybe he's heading toward a revival? Maybe even a come-back tour, since I think he's still alive. His Werner Von Braun song was the first political satire I can recall understanding, way back around age 13 or so.

James said...

"You guys are pretty hilarious with all that literacy math" GWB this serious stuff, serious I say. Just recently there was a rumored out break of literacy at an unnamed northeast school. Fortunately the faculty was alert and quashed it with quick and decisive action. Never forget though, illiteracy is a fragile thing that must be nurtured constantly.
TSB: When at school years ago, I found that polynomial equations were quite easy to deal with in a altered state of mind. Oddly, I never passed a test, but that didn't seem to matter.

Anonymous said...

James; TSB; Juan Cole indicts the whole intelligence establishment and one idiot. And James, here's one for you about a cute little polynomial who forgot to wear her brackets! gwb
http://www.shabbir.com/jokes/adults/polynom.html
http://www.juancole.com/2014/02/christie-officials-instead.html

James said...

GWB: A tragic, but instructive parable.

Anonymous said...

TSB: Tom Lehrer could probably have a great time with this year's Super Bowl security preparations..Apache's and F-16's..
especially if Henry Kissinger shows up. I like this wiki line:
(snip)when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Henry Kissinger in 1973. He did comment that awarding the prize to Kissinger made political satire obsolete. gwb

TSB said...

Lehrer could have said the same for Kissenger's North Vietnamese co-winner. We at least left the war after the peace settlement, the North Vietnamese continued it to a one-sided finish.

Actually, I wonder if Lehrer commented on the 1994 peace prize going to Yassir Arafat?

Anonymous said...

TSB: Wiki shows some phone interview comments from 2013 but back around 2008 he commented that his form of humor was no longer suited for America's politics noting that Clinton was known only for Lewinsky when what he should be remembered for was not having the guts to outlaw land mines. Same for GWB..too pathetic to make fun of. I'm sure Obama has been just as big a flop in his eyes. I wonder if he could have some grist with your governor? gwb

Anonymous said...

TSB, James: All season I have been enjoying the Seahawks being treated like the 'Ron Pauls'of the NFL by the football media experts. (In the pre season they beat Denver 40-10.) It just occurred to me that Russell Wilson is the first and only black QB to win a Super Bowl...AND NOBODY EVER MENTIONED IT! I guess you get fired nowdays if you say something like that??gwb

James said...

You forgot Doug Williams, and that was a long time ago.

Anonymous said...

Damnit James!.. I thought Doug Williams was a backup. You win again! Thanks for the correction.gwb

Anonymous said...

TSB; James: Are we trying to get Belarus to join the west too? Or were they low bidder? gwb

http://freebeacon.com/the-belarusian-connection/

TSB said...

GWB: I think Belarus isn't interested in going any more Western than it is now. I can't believe anyone would contract with them for work on ObamaCare, given their connections to Putin and their history of malicious software development.

James said...

" I can't believe anyone would contract with them for work on ObamaCare" Oh, I can!

Anonymous said...

Sure! It could have been part of Hillary's 'RUSSKIE RESET'. Of course when we hear from whoever was responsible (What? that's classified?) we will know a lot more.gwb Here is what Napolean had to say about it:

"Do you know what amazes me more than anything else? The impotence of force to organize anything." (Napoleon Bonaparte)

Anonymous said...

TSB; James! It looks like some 'Cover Oregon' officials may have hoodwinked the feds out of $58 million with a phony website/ied detector. The site has yet to sign anyone up and the Governor has been
'covering his oregon' if you know what I mean. gwb

http://www.katu.com/news/investigators/Cover-Oregon-allegation-if-its-true-someones-going-to-prison-243427781.html?mobile=y

James said...

GWB: The 'Cover Oregon' officials are following an age old political tradition called plunder.

PLUNDER, v. To take the property of another without observing the decent and customary reticences of theft. To effect a change of ownership with the candid concomitance of a brass band. To wrest the wealth of A from B and leave C lamenting a vanishing opportunity.

Anonymous said...

James: The Plunder story made the very last segment on Greta's Fox show! Oregon got $220 taxpayer millions for a 'Potemkin Plunder' that passed all federal benchmarks!
What a Hoot!! Woodie Guthrie would have a field day with a federal contracting song to the tune of 'Roll On Columbia'. gwb

James said...

GWB: On the Ukraine this article is not bad. It gives a fair feel for the overall diplo context between US and Russia, but more important, the perceptions of the locals.

TSB said...

James: I hope the locals' perceptions of the U.S. haven't been soiled too badly by that potty-mouth Victoria Nuland. To think that such language came from a Choate girl!

TSB said...

James: I hope the locals' perceptions of the U.S. haven't been soiled too badly by that potty-mouth Victoria Nuland. To think that such language came from a Choate girl!

James said...

TSB: "I hope the locals' perceptions of the U.S. haven't been soiled too badly". I don't know. I wonder how much they are anyone else is actually listening to us.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry about local perceptions of bad language TSB. We trumped the bad language with righteous indignation!

{But the absolute punchline: "It’s concerning that private conversation was recorded."} gwb with brackets on!