Mixed reviews, I know, but I’m going now to the record store to purchase Dylan’s new album anyway. Genius has his weak moments, too. See ya later...
” stigma of slavery ruined America”
I actually agree with that part, although we diverge at that point. This has been demagogued to the point of The Entitlement Culture with politicians and the media to have that “frank discussion on race” as Holder claimed to want. We see now in full view the phoniness of “hope” “unity” and “yes we can” The embracing of losers like Rodney King and OJ Simpson, the failure to call out bigots like Jesse, Al and Ben Jealous. The hypocrisy of “affirmative action” and “diversity” The lionization of the character defective MLK. Also the failure of the political system to even dare mention, crime, drugs, quotas etc. Notice how those are totally lacking in this election cycle? These are real issues that affect real people, but the powers that be just give lip service or look the other way about the true status of race relations in this country. A one sided street approach where racism is defined only in connection with whites as perps and blacks as victims has led to this. Just watch what happens with George Zimmerman’s case if you don’t believe me.
So who cares what a washed-up drug head thinks?
He can’t even tell anyone what his lyrics mean.
He wrote all of those “controversial” lyrics while on a drug-induced, alcohol-induced “high” or “low” as the case may be. He admitted as much on the Johnny Carson show.
So leave already...
We don’t want to pay for your nursing home care after all the drug use anyway...go away!
Really, Mr. Dylan? Even in this day there’s a great portion of humanity that pays nothing more than lip service to the ideal of civil liberty. Do they not also have little but scorn and contempt for the American ideals “We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...”?
Where do we find any great regard for these American Ideals in the chaos that exist in great parts of the basket case that is Africa? But, that’s hardly a civilized part of the world. Aside from murderous tribal pogroms, ‘blood diamonds’ and other tales of human atrocities come to mind.
Can we say that the Islamic world has let go its affection for slavery? How can we be sure . . . given that the Islamic culture has no scruples in lying to foreign cultures? And, God knows, Islamics abuse their women and the “infidels” in their own territory without mercy, while engaging in widespread human servitude behind the closed doors of their compounds.
Asian cultures are notorious for poorer families selling their daughters into servitude, and even the most advanced Asian countries seem to display an amazing tolerance for women held in bondage for the purposes of prostitution. We see the same attitude rampant in Eastern Europe.
On a wider scale, it’s problematic how much the world holds slavery an abomination when so many societies around the world routinely indulge in speculations about how much of their members’ energies, wealth, and labor should be harnessed for the benefit of other members of those societies.
In our own experience, for at least the past one hundred years, we have been witness to a government and a bureaucracy engaging in every scheme they can devise to control as much of our lives as they can muster. These are not American Ideals.
But, to the extent the world really does think slavery an abomination, whence came its inspiration if not from American Ideals? Was Abraham Lincoln a Slaver, Mr. Dylan?
BOB!
Like Italy, Greece, Egypt, and the rest of the Middle east and North Africa. I can go on.
Having this point of view does not make you a supporter of reparations and I doubt that Dylan supports reparations as well.
In fact, I believe the opposite approach is needed. We need to eliminate affirmative action, racial quotas and special rights of any kind. We need to put blacks on equal footing with the rest of us and not give them preferential or special treatment of any kind. We need to treat them as equals in every way. Giving them preferential treatment only perpetuates racism as it implies that they aren't as good enough as the rest of us, therefore we need to lower the standards for them.
Only when we have an environment where we are all equals and we don't have to walk on eggshells when around each other (out of fear of offending) can we put this stigma behind us.
As for Bob Dylan, he's not the leftist many people make him out to be. We are talking about a guy who as far back as 1969, got as far away from Woodstock as he could get so he didn't have to contend with the smelly hippies sleeping on his lawn (he lived near the Woodstock concert site). He's a great songwriter as well (and his new album is pretty darn good).
Wonder what the actual interview will say.
Dylan Annoys; Dog Bites Man
Most of us Americans alive today didn’t have ancestors who were slave owners so STFU. No guilt here.
There is no concept of redemption except in Christianity.
I don’t feel any shame.
Wait, was he talking about the black slaves owned by whites and blacks in northern and southern states; or was he referring to the white slaves (former Confederates) owned by those states in the north that enslaved them?
It all gets so confusing.
He is a great songwriter, but as a singer, he is worst than Tom Waits bleating to an airdrill. He sounded horrible in the 1960s, and he actually got WORST. Bob Dylan though is a sacred cow to music critics. He could record his farts and would get a standing ovation and 5 star reviews from Rolling Song.