Being good lefty means never having to say you are sorry, #1

I have decided to start a series of entries on hypocrisy and the ability of the left and the popular culture machine in general the ability to forgive any sin, no matter how grave, just so long as you walk the walk and talk the talk.

It will be called “Being good lefty means never having to say you are sorry”.

First at bat, Bruce Springsteen’s stage buddy at the Coronation festivities: Pete Seeger.

Pete Seeger’s life has been marked by tireless and reflexive advocacy for left wing causes. He spent summers entertaining young comrades at the Camp Woodland summer camp for the children of New York City’s left wing community. Seeger sang and donated for other lefty dejour causes such as the end to the Korean War, support for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, the Rosenbergs, nuclear disarmament (unilateral naturally), the environmental movement, Vietnam, Nicaragua and just about anything deemed appropriate by the left.

His adherence to the Party line was so strict and unflinching that in 1941 Seeger and his band “The Almanacs” released the album “Songs for John Doe”. It was during that magical time of global peace and prosperity before Operation Barbarossa when the Soviet Union and its gentile and loving leader, Uncle Joe, was helping its pal Hitler put down the totalitarian threat that was posed by their bloodthirsty neighbors in Poland.

The CPUSA was under the complete control of Moscow, and the Soviets now saw an ally, all be it temporary, in Nazi Germany. So they directed their subordinates in Europe and the United States to lobby for peace instead of confrontation with Berlin, and that was the primary message in “Songs for John Doe”.

Seeger’s lyrics eviscerated Roosevelt for aggressive warmongering policies like making sure Britain didn’t starve with “Lend Lease”. (from “Washington Breakdown”)

Franklin D., listen to me,
You ain't a-gonna send me 'cross the sea,
'Cross the sea, 'cross the sea, You ain't a-gonna send me 'cross the sea.

You may say it's for defense,
But that kinda talk that I'm against.
I'm against, I'm against,
That kinda talk ain't got no sense.

Or ranting against the peace time conscription that began in 1940: (from “C is for Conscription”)

I'd rather be at home,
Even sleeping in a holler log,
I'd rather be here
home,
Even sleeping in a holler log.
Than go to the army
Be treated
like a dirty dog!

Naturally, all of this changed 3:15am June 22, 1941 when the first of 166 German divisions poured into Soviet occupied Poland. The CPUSA changed its tone on war, and all the members fell into line.

Seeger had all copies of “Songs for John Doe” recalled and destroyed because they were subversive and could harm the war effort he now enthusiastically supported. He and the Almanacs quickly penned a new album, “Dear Mr. President”, in which the theme was definitely not the kind of pacifism Seeger preached before:

I'm a-goin' to Berlin
To Mister Hitler's town
I'm gonna take my
forty-four
And blow his playhouse down.

How Hitler went to Russia
In search of Russian oil
But the only oil he'll find there
Is a pot
in which he'll boil.

Seeger later enlisted in the Army and entertained troops in the Pacific . Interestingly enough, in all the lyrics in all the songs, its never about protecting America or defeating Imperial Japan, its always about fighting fascism and the betrayal of Russia.

This episode really underscores what’s wrong with people like Seeger, they root for the coach, not for the home team. They are willing to sacrifice every ideal they claim to hold dear to them when those ideals become inconvenient.

Bur most importantly, when they do these things, when they betray themselves and their principles the pop-culture machine and rest of the left always warmly welcomes them back into their bosoms.

Because being good lefty means never having to say you are sorry.

Sometimes I wonder if these people would be on our sides if Al-Qaeda attacked Cuba or North Korea? One could only wonder.