January 3
GUEST: Ben Grosscup, singer and songwriter who is as comfortable on a picket line as he us in front of a mic, talks about his recent trip to the Hudson Valley as a guest performer at a Veterans For Peace event on Palestinian rights.Middle East Crisis - Facebook
I played a couple of songs opening for Ben the following night in Woodstock. We had a lot to fit in, a movie about Israel's invasion of Lebanon and then Ben. Singers like Ben and David Rovics are movement people first, trying to make a basic living by livening up the revolution.
"Love Me, I'm a Liberal" does just that. Originally by Phil Oaks, Ben does an updated version with the familiar theme. According to Oaks, most liberals are "ten degrees left of center in good times, ten degrees to the right of center if it affects them personally."
Of course, the same goes for human rights. Some liberals preach respect for all oppressed people, except for Palestinians. Progressive Except for Palestinians (PEP) allows Americans to think they are doing the right thing while drawing the line on their support for an all Jewish state.
Here is Ben signing in Saratoga for a Palestinian rights demonstration. I am reading a book on Woody Guthrie called "Ramblin' Man (thanks, Josh). Woody evolved politically during his life and you can follow his transition in his songs. He was an experimenter, not afraid to try new verses or to change old ones to fit new political realities. Songs change people because they satisfy on an emotional level as well as an intellectual one.
We shall, we shall not be moved. Sing that with a group of Black and white Americans and you will feel the emotion come over you.
