These are dark days for those of us who follow the news. Most of us need reassurance that we can do something–that we can make at least a modest contribution to what I’ve called the Resistance, that we can join with the millions of other Americans who are appalled and frightened by the insanity of the Trump administration.
In these difficult and challenging times, I read a lot of the pundits and pollsters and “wise men” who write for legacy media and issue Substack letters, and while I find many of them to be thought-provoking and analytically helpful, it is rare to read a column or essay that gives me hope and encourages activism.
On the other hand, although I’m embarrassed to admit it, I often do react positively to the lyrics of a song. (It’s especially embarrassing because I mostly listen when I’m on the treadmill, trying to keep my aging body moving..)
As my grandchildren will attest, my musical preferences are firmly anchored in the past. I know very few of the famous vocalists who came after the Rat Pack, my favorite songs from musical theater tend to be from oldies-and-goodies like “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Kiss Me Kate,” and I have a special fondness for the folk music of the 60s and 70s. While I’m sure more contemporary compositions also have life lessons to share, I’ve missed them.
These admissions are by way of explaining why I found a Peter Paul and Mary song so relevant to our times. I was grinding out my minutes on the treadmill by listening to folk songs when “Light One Candle” came into the rotation. Those of you who share my age cohort probably remember the lyrics. It began:
… Light one candle for the Maccabee children
Give thanks that their light didn’t die
Light one candle for the pain they endured
When their right to exist was denied
… Light one candle for the terrible sacrifice
Justice and freedom demand
And light one candle for the wisdom to know
When the peacemaker’s time is at hand
And then the chorus–an admonition for our time if there ever was one:
… Don’t let the light go out!
It’s lasted for so many years
Don’t let the light go out!
Let it shine through our love and our tears
… Light one candle for the strength that we need
To never become our own foe
And light one candle for those who are suff’ring
Pain we learned so long ago
… Light one candle for all we believe in
Let anger not tear us apart!
Light one candle to bind us together
With peace as the song in our heart
… What is the memory that’s valued so highly
That we keep it alive in that flame?
What’s the commitment to those who have died
When we cry out they’ve not died in vain
… We have come this far, always believing
That justice will somehow prevail
This is the burning, this is the promise
And this is why we will not fail
I know that many people are giving up and choosing to leave the United States right now. Scientists are being wooed by countries that still respect empirical reality; businesspeople are opting for countries where the rule of law protects commerce; growing numbers of retirees are becoming expats in places that combine warmth with fiscal stability and rational governance.
It is, after all, a difficult time to be a patriotic American.
But millions of us can “light a candle and ensure that justice prevails.” We can take to the streets in large numbers, peacefully demonstrating our commitment to the Constitution, to the vision of America that so many have died to protect. We can all participate in “No Kings Day,” June 14th, for example.
Indivisible and a huge coalition of pro-democracy partner organizations are planning a nationwide day of defiance on Flag Day (June 14). The protests are set to take place during Donald Trump’s grotesque military parade in Washington, D.C. Instead of allowing this military parade to be the center of national attention, activists will make national protest the story of America that day. Alongside local organizers, partners, and leaders from across the pro-democracy and pro-worker movements, activists across the country will come together for marches, rallies, and demonstrations to reject the corrupt, authoritarian politics currently defiling the United States.
From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, citizens will be taking action to reject Trump’s demented authoritarianism, to show the world that a united population is refusing to be ruled by a would-be monarch.
Participants will light a (metaphorical) candle. It mustn’t be the last.
I plan to be in the city park in Denver at the foot of the Capitol building. I simply can’t let this monstrosity go without lighting my little candle of protest.
I must say that Sheila and I share a similar musical taste, at least approximately.
Long ago, at work, a phrase became popular: gentle pressure, relentlessly applied. Rants and raves damage relationships while gentle recruits. The secret is in being relentless. The old carrot and stick routine.
It’s the long run that works. We have four years, and our commitment must be to show up at every opportunity, build the crowds, and never give up until the restoration work is done.
We were given a liberal democracy, and passing it on is one of our highest callings. Be Zelensky.
Professor-I just listened to “Don’t Let the Light Go Out” and teared up, just as I did decades ago when I first heard it. Thank you. We will be with you on Junev14!
I had to look up “Maccabee children” because I’ve never heard that expression, and I’m a fan of the Rat Pack. Frank is the man and still sings one of the only songs that has made me cry.
With that said, U2 sings many songs about rebellion since they come from Ireland, but you’d have to expand your restricted music horizons. 😉
Insiders are saying that the leadership team of Trump’s death cult had a falling out with Musk because he crossed the red line of disrespecting Dear Leader and his politburo. Musk has even criticized the Big Beautiful Bill, and Trump was asked about it during a press conference, which caught him off guard. He admitted that there are parts he doesn’t like, which means he hasn’t fully embraced attacking Musk at this point. Just wait…
That was easily predictable due to the size of unchecked egos in the room with the ignorant Dear Leader. As long as Musk was leading, everything was okay, but when he drastically missed his $2 trillion waste target, his leadership was diminished. The politburo learned he didn’t know what he was talking about. Even so, you don’t offend Dear Leader in private or public.
So, grab some popcorn and soda; I expect future outbursts on X by Musk shortly, and there’s no way Karoline Leavitt or “TACO MAN” can keep their mouths shut.
Vive la Resistance lyrics by Hypernova:
“Do what you like, but you’ll never succeed
No, you’ll never succeed
At breaking my heart
Breaking my soul
I’ve reached a point where I just don’t care no more
The pigs, they’re a-preaching
While the preacher is teasing
All the pretty little boys
The empire is falling
The architects are running
It’s time to raise your voice”
James Michener writes,
“In the 1936 Olympics, Adolf Hitler became the first to exploit sports as an arm of nationalism,”
“Those who seek to subvert the interests of the State are often the first to disguise their aims by a display of patriotism.”
Displaying patriotism is obviously just a display of hypocrisy. Does it feed the hungry? Does it shelter the poor? Does it provide medical care for the sick? Is it empathetic? Is it compassionate? Does it make everything all right? Does it defend the rights of the least of us? Does it promote human rights? Does it promote civil rights? Does it promote equal rights? The answer to all of these questions and others, is a resounding NO!!!
The most recent global displays of patriotism that many can remember, was standing in front of the dictators that were so prevalent in world war II. You saw the throngs whipped up into a frenzy by Adolf Hitler, or Joseph Stalin, or chairman Mao, or Benito Mussolini! And what happened to most of those people worshiping the flags, and the patriotic symbolism of a global conflict? Most of them died horrible deaths in the millions in the tens of millions. I’m sure that gave them all a warm fuzzy!
Just like sports, religion has just become another arm of patriotism. It has nothing to do with being a benefactor of good for those who are living breathing souls. In Every single instance, patriotism devolves into demonizing others! It devolves into elevating some over all, because it is hypocritical, and not compassionate or empathetic.
A flag is just something sown together by men, an idol is something carved by men! And since when does cloth and wood, or wood and brass have any sort of consciousness? These things are used as vehicles to promote what’s already inside of a person, and to mislead them, by other men. And when do these men have the best interests of their neighbors at heart. Those mentioned above, showed what those interests were, poison, concentration camps, war, slaughter, murder! Sacrifice of one’s agency to a man! Sacrifice others agency to those men. And what has it accomplished?
“I, the congregator, happened to be king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I set my heart to seek and explore wisdom in relation to everything that has been done under the heavens—the calamitous occupation that God has given to the sons of mankind in which to be occupied. I saw all the works that were done under the sun, and, look! everything was vanity and a striving after wind. And anything that my eyes asked for I did not keep away from them. I did not hold back my heart from any sort of rejoicing, for my heart was joyful because of all my toil, and this came to be my portion from all my toil. And I, even I, turned toward all the works of mine that my hands had done and toward the toil that I had toiled to accomplish, and, look! everything was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing of advantage under the sun.” (King Solomon, son of King David, the Syriac version of scripture.)
“The wars are long, the peaces frail
“The madmen come again
“There is no freedom in a land
“Where fear and hate prevail!”
Todd,
The Maccabees, or the Maccabean revolution, brought nothing but disaster, destruction and unending sorrow, in a misguided and patriotic attempt to resist the Romans. Jerusalem was doomed at that time, and the Jews slaughtered each other under siege. Why? Because they refused to listen to the prophets of the time, and to flee the area because of the coming destruction. They knew about the destruction that was going to be unleashed, and yet, they decided to disobey what the prophets were telling them. They all died of very horrible death, probably one of the first holocausts that the Jews endured but not the last. It’s interesting that people can be teary-eyed over a song written millennia later, but, this was part of scripture, and scripture is supposed to be fake isn’t it? Or, is it? That’s what I’m talking about, that’s what scripture talks about, patriotism, is not something that combines well with theocratic law. The Abrahamic covenant, The law of Moses, or the law of Christ, The maccabean revolution, and all of the grief it had wrought, did not follow any of the previous laws, and it did not have the sanction of the God of David or Solomon or Abraham or Isaac or Jacob or Job or Christ himself!
Since the original sin, men have been left to their own devices, with certain entities whispering in their ears. And still, people prefer to listen to a song, and become emotionally intertwined with it, and all the while ignoring the reasoning for all of this in the first place. And the rejection of the laws that would have prevented all of this agony. So now it has to play out, and it’s not going to be pleasant. Because the die has been cast, The gauge has been thrown, and humanity has not been up to the task. In Jerusalem, and the Maccabean area of resistance, later on, resulted in those resistors eating their children! So yes, leaving men to their own devices, can truly be disgusting! You think that can’t happen in this day and age? How many thought did what’s going on right now couldn’t really happen today? And yet, here we are! Remember, things were terrible in Jerusalem and then there was a slight reprieve which caused a false sense of victory. When the Romans came back, they experienced unspeakable brutality and resorted to unspeakable methods of survival.
John Sorg,
Perhaps your best commentary ever.
Also read Heather Cox Richardson today!
June 14th needs to be THE National Day of Protest!! Non-violent protest to reclaim the true principles of the Constitution; i.e. “to promote the general welfare.”
That means the welfare of every person, not just the oligarchs.
“Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of heaven,
you’ll be justified in the end.”
Theme song “One Tin Soldier” from the movie “Billy Jack”
“… Light one candle for the terrible sacrifice
Justice and freedom demand
And light one candle for the wisdom to know
When the peacemaker’s time is at hand”
Both telling us to remember that old, wise and true adage, “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.”
We are living that “terrible sacrifice” of Trump and MAGAs; is it because we let the light of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.s candle of non-violence burn out? We are definitely now in a place where we must refight the battle for all of our civil and human rights because the “…peacemaker’s time is at hand…” AGAIN. Will it take another Revolution in the form of another Civil War with actual “boots on the ground” and the “blood in the streets” threatened if we take action against Trump?
I don’t have the answers but my Ear Worm suddenly began playing “When The Lights Go On Again All Over The World” from WWII.
That is a wonderful song, especially PP&M’s rendition. We sang it at UU services, and at a community choral concert. I find it very emotional, evoking an earlier time in history but appropriately capable of lighting a fire in our souls in response to our current situation. Thanks for the lyrics for everyone to see.
John Sorg, you’re mistaken. The Maccabean revolution was during the period of the Greek conquest, long, long before the Romans. The practice of the Jewish faith had been outlawed and Temple in Jerusalem had been defiled—the conquerors kept swine in it! The people, finally having had enough, rose up under the leadership of Judah Maccabee and his sons, overcoming their oppressors and kicked their butts out of the country. They cleansed, purified, and resanctified the Temple; however, there was only enough sacramental oil for one day to keep the eternal flame lit, and no more would be ready for several days. Miraculously, the oil in the lamp burned for eight days, when the new supply was delivered.
This is the basis of our Hanukkah celebration, where we Jews light one candle each evening at sundown for eight days. (You’ll note that the song Sheila cites has eight candles.) The Maccabeean revolution brought peace, prosperity, and freedom.
In the sixties and seventies, we were in the throes of the Vietnam war, which started with a mistake by one of Ho Chi Min’s soldiers, which gave the Dulles brothers exactly what they wanted, an excuse to go back to Asia., so the protest music was more universal.
In the nineties, Tupac, Biggie, and the rappers focused on local issues with their music. Issues like drug use, gun use, and police abuse. I’ll admit to being the oldest Tupac fan in the world.
Today we have to look to Bono and Springsteen for anything resembling protests. I’m hoping that Taylor Swift and Beyonce think about what’s happening and are encouraged to write something about the rule of law. I know Taylor has given a lot of money to causes that Orange Jesus doesn’t like and I would bet that Beyonce has done the same, but she doesn’t get flack from him.
As far as the Maccabees are concerned, they weren’t well loved during their brief reign for good reason. And really, I know bacon isn’t kosher, but I wouldn’t give my life, refusing to eat some. It just seems like God wouldn’t hold it against me because He knows how good it tastes.😉
Not being reported in MSM is the 5/20/25 drone attack on President Putin while he was in the Kursk region. Russians report 46 drones were destroyed in fending off the attack.
If the attack, and an effective decapitation of the Russian government, had been successful, would there have been a nuclear retaliation by Russia, and against which targets? Germany, France, Ukraine?
More disturbing, when the attack was mentioned at a press conference, President Trump said he had not heard about it. Is this information being kept from him? Were Ukraine and U.K. in charge of this attack? Will this attack have any effect on Ukraine peace negotiations?
Excellent post! I was/am a fan of P,P &M, but do not recall ever hearing that song before, but here it is: https://duckduckgo.com/
I was a fan of The Weavers, as well, but also of much of the ’60’s, and son on, R&R, especially C,S, & Nash…with Young; also The Youngbloods’ and their “Get it Together: “Come on people, love one another.” And so on.
Reportedly, the fools that Trump has elevated to important positions are creating chaos, such as Patel at the F.B.I., just as Mr. TACO is doing elsewhere.
P.S.: “I am because we are,” (Umbunto) and “All thriving is mutual,” ought to be foremost in pout collective minds, I believe.
Why aren’t protest songs being written, sung and shared? Words no longer matter so much in our world of physical, not thinking music. Pete Seeger must be rolling around in his grave.
Right on Sheila. The role of music, especially the folk music of the 50s & 60s played a unifying role for the union movement and others. I’m old enough to remember listening to and singing along with Weavers, PPM, Pete Seeger, Odetta LPs on the home stereo, even going to their concerts. I remember all the words (now THEY had the best words ;-). I once closed one of my academic lectures on discrimination with a recording of Seeger’s ‘Keep Your Eyes on the Prize’ with the words on the Powerpoint for people to sing along. Some did and smiled (the older folk) while the youngsters probably wondered if I’d lost my marbles. We’re at an inflection point where the hard-won victories of the past (food & industrial safety, workers’ rights, women’s rights, economic rights are seen by those occupying positions of power as ancient artifacts that have no relevance to today or way too “leftie” for their liking. In addition Heather Cox Richardson’s latest, Paul Krugman’s Substack from today includes the following (from the free version, more behind the paywall version):
“Between World War II and the 1970s income disparities in America were relatively narrow. Some people were rich and many were poor, but overall inequality among Americans in terms of wealth, income and status was low enough that the country had a sense of shared prosperity. Things are very different today, as American society is beset by extreme inequality, economic fragmentation and class warfare. What happened? The economic data show a huge widening of disparities in income and wealth starting around 1980, eventually undermining the relatively equal distribution of income we had from the 40s to the 70s. Moreover, growing disparities in income have led to growing disparities in political influence and the reemergence of what feels more and more like an oppressive class system. … I feel I need a whole post to discuss what I believe to be the most important factor in rising inequality, the shift in political and bargaining power against workers.”
And nobody mentioned Bob Dylan.
“Don’t let the Light go Out” is a beautiful powerful song grounded in history to caution against letting down our guard today. It seems we’re all “Candles in the Wind” of the storm of tyranny building. It’s an unsettling time and feeling but with resistance and showing solidarity for Constitution and Bill of Rights, the power and resolve is there to back off the encroaching headwinds of authoritarianism.
What I especially like about democracy is that we can enjoy arts, thoughts, cultures from around the world and broaden our perspectives. When I’m chopping vegetables for supper I like to listen to some energized reggae music like Bob Marley. “Stand Up for Your Rights” is so relevant today.
Let’s make sure that the Indiana Democratic Party is registering voters at the No Mad King events. It can’t be non partisan enrollment. Check with you county Democrats to make sure they are at your event. We need a balanced, sane government and need to elect people with morals and will defend the rule of law and the Constitution
The other,
The second book of the Maccabees was written from a time period of about 134 BCE to around the fall of Jerusalem, in 70 CE. There were remnants of the Maccabee warrior class, that decided to chase the Romans as they retreated from their siege of Jerusalem. They’re still is no actual reason that the Romans retreated, but the advice was to leave Jerusalem and flee to the mountains. But during that initial retreat by the Romans, the warrior class and the priestly class of certain factions, and as mentioned, residuals from the
Maccabeans, among others. They committed mass suicide at Masada. Roman general Titus laughed, because all he had to do was step over the bodies in Jerusalem and Masada. The Romans had no fear of the Jewish fighters, because they knew they didn’t have the backing of their God anymore. The Maccabees were not part of the levitical priestly class, because, factions had taken over after the death of Christ, and, the start of Christianity around 33 CE. You got to dig deep to get all of the nuance, And it should be retold constantly. Good things don’t happen when you resist or disobey the law!
Also, the book of the Maccabees, one and two, are apocryphal books and not part of canonical scripture. That’s why the Jews did not include that in the Hebrew scriptures, and for everyone except the Catholics, it seems the books were written by Greeks rather than Jews.
There are many ways to muddy the waters, but the fact remains, and the point was, you disobey the law, there is a penalty.