Who is Bob Dylan?

Joan Baez and Bob Dylan circa 1960

Professor Joe Goldblatt

A friend of mine recently told me that he was going to see 83 year young Bob Dylan perform at his local concert hall. One of his other friends, upon being told that he was going to see one of the great folk and rock and roll stars of the past 60 years asked curiously “Who is Bob Dylan?”

Dylan (aka Robert Zimmerman) is the composer of the anti – war folk anthem Blowin in the Wind” , hundreds of other songs, the recipient of the Nobel Prize, and many other international awards.

However, the question about Dylan’s identity reminded me of how easy it is even with all of the media that surrounds us, for millennials and generation Z to not have the slightest idea as to who these important figures are today, unless they regularly appear on Instagram or tour endlessly such as Taylor Swift.

I suppose you may be wondering, does it really matter if one generation does not remember the contributions of previous generations. I believe that it does.

The old saying that if we fail to remember our history we may make the same mistakes over and over again, may also be examined with a positive focus. If we do study our history we may then actually improve the world for future generations.

Therefore, I encourage you to reguarly look back ever so gently to learn about past heroic figures with a view that their contributions may just positively influence your and even positively influence our future lives?

And in looking back we may just discover too that “the answer my friend, is blowin in the wind.”

Professor Joe Goldblatt is Emeritus Professor of Planned Events at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland. His views are his own. To learn more about his views visit www.joegoldblatt.scot