A voice of conviction
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Since he died Monday night at age 94, Pete Seeger has been praised for his impact on American music, thanks to songs like “If I Had a Hammer,” “Turn Turn Turn” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”, along with his wide-ranging social activism.
Just about every obituary has mentioned Seeger’s fearlessness in facing down the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1955. Grilled by congressmen at the height of the Red Scare, Seeger declined to reveal his political inclinations or those of any other musicians or associates.
Rather than invoking the Fifth Amendment’s self-incrimination clause, Seeger said, “I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such a compulsion as this … I have sung in hobo jungles, and I have sung for the Rockefellers, and I am proud that I have never refused to sing for anybody … I love my country deeply.”
Seeger’s refusal to name names won him a contempt citation that could have landed him in jail, a fate he was ultimately able to evade after seven years of legal wrangling and a technicality in the indictment.
He never had to cool his heels behind bars, but Seeger’s refusal to kowtow to the McCarthy-era witch-hunters on Capitol Hill slowed the momentum of his career, damaged his livelihood and undoubtedly caused him and his family great stress and many sleepless nights.
That’s conviction and courage every American should admire.