Duped by Dylan: Who is like the NYT editorialist, Maureen Dowd? I can only envy her brilliant writing as she weaves her literary and artistic knowledge into prescient opinion that often is itself a work of art. Her editorial yesterday was entitled "Blowin in the Wind" (link below) which takes a sardonic look at the sixties music icon and supposed voice for peace, Bob Dylan. I commented on it and Dylan:

I have given up trying to figure out Bob Dylan a long time ago. I loved the late 1960's that was the best and most meaningful time in my life. Everything seemed to be changing, everything good seemed possible and we were going to finally do it. I loved everything -- the music, the art, the politics, the literature -- everything. It seemed to all point to one thing -- collective change was coming where human beings in this country and beyond were going to finally care about each other and produce a humane world, eschewing war and waging peace. We were going to create a fairer more equitable world and Dylan was a part of that. The folk music of which he now waxes critical was sweet and yet piercing in its message telling us, as we THOUGHT he did, the times they were a changing and none too soon.

He was always enigmatic though. He was to me a bit personally offsetting, condescending and smoked incessantly. There was an edge to him but I overlooked that for what I thought was his greater message. The sound of his music was often rather harsh, many times did not make sense but he was placed at the top of the pack because he was sending new beautiful ideas to our souls. It was fortunate for him that we thought that because I am sure he made millions from us who bought his media and his message even if sometimes we could not understand all the lyrics. It did not matter.

Now, like so much around us he says his message is NOT what we thought it was. He really hated being thought of as a folk singer and leading a movement. He felt uncomfortable with that while he raked in the dough. He and our culture today, have, in my mind, betrayed those that believed in them. He, his music, his words of peace betrayed what we thought he was. Now he is anti everything in which we put our trust. He was a fraud and we were the fools.

I can parallel the leadership of my country to him. I thought it was finally changing; finally we would extricate from wars and wage peace. Finally, someone would rescue us from the greatest economic catastrophe my generation has ever known. Not only were we not extricated from wars the wars increased. Not only will the economics of our time barely change, the academics I do trust say it will get ultimately worse while the smartest guys in the room running the country laugh at our stupidity and they take it all.

Not only did the largest and most powerful money makers of Wall Street not get the jail that is due so many of them, they INCREASED their riches, took was not theirs to take, looked back and smirked when those they took it from lost everything -- their homes, their money, their hope and in some cases their lives.

And what happens to the evil ones who did these dastardly things, who took everything that was not theirs, who left people without savings, without a future, without homes and without hope? NOTHING. Not one except ponsey schemer Bernie Madoff has gone to jail. To the contrary they stole more and will do it again because in our culture petty criminals go to jail while the white collar rich thieves get away with high crimes. Now they know their hateful plan to take it all works and they will take more. Too bad folks -- folk singing is for the gullible. It’s not Dylan’s fault if we believed his message. Face it, we were duped!

Now I loathe Bob Dylan and his so called "music" and I loathe that part of our country who mesmerized us with hope, took that hope, went sailing on their big yachts with it and laughed while many of the folk who believed the lies they sold are left with nothing.

Bob Dylan is a metaphor for our times. He was NOT what we thought he was! Times surely did and are a changing but NOT for the better. The charlatans keep playing their song and we dance to tune of the American Dream while we, the duped, can never wake up from the nightmare!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/opinion/10dowd.html?_r=1