I generally avoid attempting to discern what an artist meant by their creation. What is more instructive is how an artist’s work is perceived by its viewers, readers or listeners. In that vein, one way to interpret Bob Dylan’s words upon his acceptance of the the ACLU award is that he sees institutions and laws not where they lie on a political spectrum, but whether they support an individual’s quest to develop to their fullest potential or whether they oppress people (hence the up or down reference).
No Direction Home, Dylan documentary by Martin Scorsese.
This afternoon I rewatched this great film, probably the best documentary on a musical figure I've ever seen. It is not only interesting from a historical perspective, but is also very entertaining and funny, particularly Part 2. Methamphetamine really seemed to enhance Bob's sense of humour. ;-)
The movie contains one segment I found particularly relevant in our current state of affairs. In December of 1963 the ACLU presented Dylan with their Tom Paine Award. He accepted it, but not without making the following statement:
"There's no black and white, no left and right to me anymore. There's only up and down, and down is very close to the ground. I'm trying to go up, without thinking about anything as trivial as politics."
Needless to say, the ACLU was not pleased. Dylan obviously had no desire to be the organization's poster boy, so I then wonder why he showed up at the awards ceremony, and accepted the "award"? IMO, Jackson Browne should have followed Dylan's lead; he hasn't been worth sh*t since he started making political statement albums.
Remember the scene in The Last Waltz in which Band bassist Rick Danko says " We're not trying to save the world, only improve the neighborhood"? Speaking of neighborhood, I am reminded of Dylan's song "Neighborhood Bully". Not explicitly political, but mighty close.