You misunderstand Guthrie. He's making a claim for common ownership. This land doesn't belong to the rich, the bamkers, the bosses, it belongs in common to the common people. If that strikes you as "meanly possessive," I have no idea what to say to you. I mean, we are speaking different languages. Since when was the abolition of private property, expresslt called for in the full version of Guthrie's song, "meanly possessive"?
Between the doctrine that the land belongfs to all in common and belongs to no one there is little to pick philosophically, except that the assertion of property rights carries with it rights to use, exclusion, possession of the fuits of the the land, etc -- in Guthrie's case all in common -- that it is hard to make out coherently on the no-ownership theory.
Berlin I don't blame, though I dob't care for the song, but it is a fact that his somng ticked off Guthrie, and later events and misappropriations show he was probably right.
And you do not NOT blamer a guy for a line he _struck_ from a song. maybe he struck it because he didn't think it was right.
--- Gary? <slade.g at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 8/28/05, andie nachgeborenen
> <andie_nachgeborenen at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Is this a hard question?
>
> > This land is your land, this land is my land
> > >From California, to the New York Island
>
> >
> > God Bless America
> > Words and music by Irving Berlin
> >
>
> Berlin is rejoicing in his country and faith, I can
> make excuses for
> him but Guthrie shows a mean possesiveness of a land
> that is not his
> or anybody elses, this song being written just fifty
> years after
> Wounded Knee. The original lyric also contained
>
> 'God blessed America for me.' although it was
> removed from the final version.
>
> Gary?
> ride si sapis
>
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