May 24, 2024, is Bob Dylan's eighty-third birthday.
I don't want to sound like an aged Boomer inflicting demographic imperialism on the rest of humanity one more time. This is a political blog and we try not to wander off the reservation too frequently.
Sticking to politics, I want to thank Bob profusely for many, many things especially his apolitical life. Too many artists and entertainers spew Leftist verbiage because they want to be stylish or because they happen to be idiot savants who know nothing about anything outside their polished craft.
I could name a dozen actors who I once admired and respected but who are now repulsive to me. Think Robert Deniro. "Taxi Driver", "The King of Comedy", "Good Fellas"...I can't even look at these masterpieces anymore. Deniro is a ruling class suck-up and his moronic comments taint his lifetime of work. He just had to go and ruin it for me.
Could there ever be a greater disconnect between a star's contrived persona and their true essence than what Bono has displayed? The compassionate, sensitive, Christian artist is also a World Economic Forum participant. Is a greater contrast between essence and affect possible?
Well yes, it is possible. Man of the people/blue collarish/Nebraska-folkie/if Pete Seeger-and-Bob Dylan-had-a-love-child, Bruce Springsteen seems to have topped them all. Witness his flying above all of us on Air Force One with America's first Soros-puppet president. Larry Sinclair did it better, Brucie. Oh and let's not forget the sweet time Brucie had with Barry and Tom Hanks and Richard Branson on Branson's private yacht. That was one exclusive circle-jerk. And I used to love your music. I used to think--get this--I used to think you were real.
I can't feel you anymore
I can't even touch the books you've read
That brings us back to Bob. Bob was on hand for Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. It is believed that that was Dylan's last protest of any kind. He sat out the peace marches and the no-nukes fad. Rush Limbaugh once ignorantly, ignorantly, ignorantly stated that Bob was "some kind of big environmentalist". Not publicly, he wasn't. Bob has been politically agnostic since at least the mid 60's.
...Lies that life is black and white
Spoke from my skull, I dreamed...
...Spouted out that liberty is just equality in school
"Equality," I spoke the word
As if a wedding vow...
...In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand
At the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not I'd become my enemy
In the instant that I preach...
Ah, but he was so much older then. We were to see another side of Bob Dylan that was no longer preachy, or sophomoric or even vaguely partisan. Interestingly, the same album that gave us "My Back Pages" also provided "It Ain't Me Babe", a song that could be read as a rejection of guru status. Bob kept things in perspective.
Thanks for not ruining the enjoyment of your life's work, Bob. Happy Birthday, friend.
