[lbo-talk] A sample from Bob Dylan's memoir

Carl Remick carlremick at hotmail.com
Fri Nov 18 13:49:18 PST 2005



>From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
>
>Carl Remick wrote:
>
>> who hasn't done anything but follow his own whim for decades.
>
>Carrol's right - he's a modern Emersonian. So why's it ok for RWE, but not
>RZ?

Dylan's guilty of inconstancy in the first degree, IMO (make that IMHO in deference to Louis Kontos). Emerson said, "A *foolish* consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." He did not denounce consistency itself, a quality little evidenced by rich showbiz narcissists like Dylan, Jane Fonda, Madonna et al., who gyrate wildly from one persona to another -- perhaps being a secular lefty one moment, a Christian fundamentalist the next, a Lubavitcher after that, etc., etc. -- with no solid identity or core values.

I think Emerson exemplifies Transcendentalism as a voyage of self-discovery that has the capability to strengthen a sense of connectedness with other people by deepening one's inner awareness. If you're constantly changing your values like underwear, it would seem impossible to gain any depth of self-awareness or solid sense of empathy with others.

Carl



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