Saturday's Songs for the Soul: Pete Seeger and the Psychology of Folk Music

Thought for the Day: I already wrote about Pete Seeger, but want to share some more of his music today in his honor. I decided to write about the psychological impact of Pete Seeger's music. Saturday's posts always share music that has been inspirational or helped people cope with the challenges of life. Pete Seeger's vast catalogue of songs did more than just soothe and inspire our souls. Psychologically, his music did more.

An important psychological element to our mental health is related to what psychologists call internal locus of control. To translate into simple English, when someone has a sense of internal locus of control they feel they are in control of their lives and what happens to them, not fate or other people. Pete Seeger's music sent out a strong message that we have control even when we may be suffering from oppression. However, his music went one step further to empower the listener. His music also encouraged people to take action, join in, raise their voices and become a change agent not only for themselves but for others suffering from prejudice or injustice. His songs were simple, honest and encouraged the listener to think freely, to question injustice and to stand up for what they believe. They teach people who may have lost hope that they could take control of their lives. They could make a difference. His music helped end the Vietnam War, overcome segregation, restore the Hudson River and helped many other causes around the world. He never put down his hammer of justice, stopped ringing his bell of freedom or teaching us us to love our brothers and our sisters all over this land.

What If: Politicians Asked Like Ed Koch & We Took the Time to Answer?

Thought for the Day: On Friday, the world lost former Mayor of NYC, Ed Koch. I was fortunate enough to see him at Lincoln Center at a screening of the new documentary, Koch, just two weeks ago (on the link to this event is a clip of the Q & A at the January 13th screening I attended). Although he was physically frail & came to the event in a wheelchair, he began lively informal discussions with the audience before the screening in the lobby. He proudly walked from the wheelchair onto the stage after the film screening for Q & A. His responses were lively & as entertaining as he was earlier in his life. The movie is a very well made film giving insight into both Koch's often controversial style of leadership & the history of NYC. As I prepared the short video (less than a minute) for my What If Wednesday series, I was struck by the question, What if all politicians followed Ed Koch's example & asked, "How am I doing?" & we all took the time to answer?

What do you think would happen? Would we have the same stalemates in Washington? Since psychologists have found that social action is related to feelings of an internal locus of control, would we feel more in control of what is happening in our country? Would we be more motivated to get involved in politics?

From the documentary, Koch, with the city he loved

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts & comments. Let me know, "How am I doing?" The best ideas & suggestions for future "What If Wednesday" posts will be shared in later posts. So please let me know what you think.