Dylan Still Subversive It Is Good

Juan Cole 11/13/2004

Dylan Still Subversive?

It is a good thing that Bob Dylan has US citizenship, otherwise he might be in the same fix as Cat Stevens (a.k.a. Yusuf Islam). The mere singing of a 1963 song, “Masters of War,” at a Colorado High School brought in the Secret Police.

Now we know why Usamah Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri haven’t been caught. The US security services are busy sifting through old lyrics looking for the real terrorists. I suggest that they take another look at the Buffalo Springfield.

This is not a new activity. You would be shocked at how many FBI hours were logged trying to find obscenities in the slurred lyrics of Richard Berry’s “Louie, Louie” once upon a time. I kid you not.

The bad news for Dylan? The (un-)”Patriot Act II” allows the government to strip people of their US citizenship.

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page