Now Let us Praise Courageous Men, II

For the many who probably have either never heard of Phil Ochs, or maybe have heard his name in passing, he was arguably the finest folk protest singer of his generation (the 60's), or of any other.

Constantly living in the shadow of Bob Dylan, and with whom he saw himself--foolishly--in competition, he wrote and sang some of the most passionate, poignant and powerful songs that ever took on unreasonable, destructive authority.

Like Mark Twain with a guitar, Phil's' songs were tinged with biting irony, lacerating satire, high idealism and a sense of heartbreak over what he'd seen his country become, as it waged war on the Vietnamese people in its efforts to extend the borders of Manifest Destiny.

With songs like "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore", "White Boots Marching in a Yellow Land" and "The War is Over", Phil minced no words in telling us what he thought of what President Eisenhower termed the Military-Industrial Complex and its international capers.

One song, "Cops of the World" is just as, if not more timely now than when it was written over 40 years ago.

Its final verse, "We own half the world/ Oh say can you see?/ And the name for our profits is Democracy/ So like it or not you will have to be free!" tells us more about the US's imperialistic dynamic than any given 10 books on the subject ever could.

When the 60's whimpered out into the "Me Decade", the complacent, "laid back" 70's, Phil found himself alone, seemingly howling in the wilderness. He was already being hounded by the FBI and other governmental agencies, as those who dare to speak truth to power in this alleged 'land of freedom" often are.

In 1976, alcoholism and untreated manic-depression moved Phil to put an end to his own life.

But, like Tom Joad, he--and his songs--will be there whenever and wherever people are being oppressed, treated unjustly and deprived by arrogant and unreasoning power of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."