Ain't Talking

Since 1962 I’ve listened to the music of Bob Dylan, studied his lyrics as literature, referred frequently in my blog to his writings from which I have learned much, and for more than 30 years quoted from his corpus in my own scholarly writings. I have written very little in which Dylan’s words have not figured as an important voice in my conversations. 

         These are more than troubling times: the danger to democracy is great and Trump seems to want to crown himself King and crush all opposition as did the European tyrannical monarchs of the 16^th to 18^th centuries. He seems to have the approval of the Republican Party. The presence and unmarked federal troops in Portland and the threat of their deployment in all of those Democratic cities, as Trump refers to them, reminds me of the actions of the royal troops in the streets of London and Paris and Berlin who were charged to arrest all critics of the regimes. I have been rereading A Tale of Two Cities, and I see in the present situation mirror images of the streets of Paris during the reign of Louis XVI and the eighteen-year imprisonment in the Bastille of Dr. Alexandre Manette. We are now in real danger of losing our democracy.

       And so to make some sense of it all I turn again to Dylan. In “Ain’t Talking” I hear this:

They say prayer has the power to help
So pray for me mother
In the human heart an evil spirit can dwell
I’m trying to love my neighbor and do good unto others
But oh, mother, things ain’t going well

       Here we are in the midst of what is being referred to as the biggest crisis since World War II and Trump has grown tired of the issue and abandoned all concern with it despite the rising incidence of infection and deaths as a result of his inaction and his flagrant dismissal of all scientific advice. If one needed an exemplar of the modern autocrat then Trump would aptly serve. All he pronounces is the absurd “I know best,” which sounds to me not unlike the despotic statement of Louis XIV’s declaration, “I am the State.” Today’s online New York Times reports, “Federal agents in Portland have snatched protesters off the streets and thrown them into unmarked vehicles without explaining why they were being detained or arrested, according to some of those who have been seized. Oregon’s governor, Kate Brown, has called it “a blatant abuse of power,” and the city’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, has called it “an attack on our democracy.” The state attorney general has filed a lawsuit seeking a restraining order against the federal agents for what she called unlawful tactics.” 

       And yet . . . Trump’s base, following his lead, refuse to maintain social distance, refuse to wear masks, and seem willing to send their children into the schools where they will not only be subject to infection but may be carriers and infect teachers who are more susceptible to the virus. I’m trying to love my neighbor . . . but things ain’t going well. I walk twice a day now and always wear my masks. Too many people following Trump’s lead refuse the mask and walking with a companion do not maintain between them six feet distance. Runners and walkers coming in the opposite direction from me make eye contact with me and I with them deciding who will move to the side to maintain six feet distance between us. But there are some who look directly in my eyes and refuse to move even when it is obvious that they have the space into which to step and I do not. I would like to say something, but I’m afraid of getting shot.
       And now there are rumors that Trump is readying the troops to disavow the results of the election should he lose (please, please, please may it be so)! He threatens to declare fraud and move to invalidate the vote. And who will stop him? I’m trying to love my neighbor  . . . But oh, mother, things ain’t going well.