Want a hero? Look to Pete Seeger The singer, New York born and
bred, has a legacy of optimism and activism BY PETER DREIER* /
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ASTRID STAWIARZ/GETTY IMAGES Pete Seeger,
seen here in 2009. To everything, there is a season, according
to Pete Seeger’s song, “Turn, Turn, Turn,” drawn from the Book
of Ecclesiastes. This is the season for New Yorkers and all
Americans to honor Seeger. Now 93, the Manhattan-born troubadour
has devoted his life to educating Americans and the world about
peace, social justice, the environment and our country’s musical
tradition. Why not at least name a city public school after the
man? His legacy begins, of course, with music. The hundreds of
songs Seeger has written orpopularized as a member of The
Weavers and as a solo artist have sent powerful messages of
tolerance and hope. Seeger turned “We Shall Overcome” into a
civil rights standard and a global anthem for human rights. He
popularized his friend Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land,”
now our unofficial nat