tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post6399425477919481985..comments2024-03-24T19:55:32.537-05:00Comments on The View from This Seat: Freedom DayLKSeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-10527499515550774542014-04-25T17:04:58.496-05:002014-04-25T17:04:58.496-05:00From the 4/24 Washington Post:
"Twenty years...From the 4/24 Washington Post:<br /><br />"Twenty years since apartheid: How does the new generation see South Africa?" By Nick Kirkpatrick <br /> <br />"'We should pat ourselves on our backs when you think where we have come from,' Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu said Wednesday at a news conference in Cape Town’s St. George’s cathedral.<br /><br />"Sunday marks 20 years since the end of apartheid in South Africa. But close to 20 million people, which is some 40 percent of the country’s population, has no personal memory of South Africa’s turbulent history.<br /><br />"They are referred to as 'Born Frees.'<br /><br />"On May 7, South Africa goes to the polls. 'Born Frees' will have the opportunity to vote for the first time."LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-76001356065214993942014-04-25T15:13:21.436-05:002014-04-25T15:13:21.436-05:00The first comment received today was from Thinking...The first comment received today was from Thinking Friend Glenn Hinson, who wrote,<br /><br />"I'm with you on that, Leroy. April 27 is a great moment in world history, as well as South African."LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-44451116192970362502014-04-25T15:02:20.380-05:002014-04-25T15:02:20.380-05:00Craig, good to hear from you again. Thanks for tel...Craig, good to hear from you again. Thanks for telling me (and the readers of this blog) about "Paul Simon's Graceland Journey," which I knew nothing about.<br /><br />Thanks, too, for writing about Elvis Presley and "In the Ghetto." Maybe it was because I was in Japan in 1969, but I don't ever remember hearing that song. I have just now listened to it--and was quite impressed.LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-8440810765193234412014-04-25T11:12:04.817-05:002014-04-25T11:12:04.817-05:00For those looking for a different way into this to...For those looking for a different way into this topic, PBS aired a fascinating documentary, Paul Simon’s Graceland Journey: Under African Skies, about his 2011 25th anniversary reunion with the musicians who created Graceland with him, and about the ironic history of how this fit in (and did not fit in) with the independence movement in South Africa, which culminated with the Graceland tour group performing at the inauguration of Mandala. It all started when Simon heard a cassette tape of South African music. He and his South African musicians got caught up in the boycott of South Africa, which caused great controversy as they toured the world. it was a classic example of how the best can indeed be the enemy of the good. Fortunately, both the best and the good succeeded in the end.<br /><br />An interesting side note was that the title "Graceland" came as a surprise to Simon. He put it in an early version of the lyrics, and assumed he would find a more appropriate term later as he worked on the song. Well, the word would not go away, so Simon got in a car and drove to Memphis to find out what was going on. That trip provided more lyrics, but even visiting Presley's home did not change the place of Graceland in the song. So there it stayed. My one quibble with it all was that Simon never addressed the obvious fact that he was playing a role in bringing South African music to the rest of the world, much like Presley had once done in bringing black music to the rest of America. Before he died, Presley even managed a hit titled "In the Ghetto" that directly addressed American race issues, something with which even the Supreme Court is currently having difficulty.<br /><br />See a review of the movie at this link: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/episodes/paul-simon’s-graceland-journey/about-the-film/1479/<br /><br />See Presley's song at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6am8V5KNJ4ACraig Dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00033176451913108084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-37949546116989570282014-04-25T10:03:21.846-05:002014-04-25T10:03:21.846-05:002 generally good men who, like most of us, bring a...2 generally good men who, like most of us, bring a mixed bag that can be divisive. As with most leaders of good change, it is their followers who I worry about - they can be vicious loose cannons.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com