Romantic Changes

In today’s “On the Square” article, The Changed Times Don’t Last , I reflect on the counterculture and its continuing hold on some influential people in our society, beginning with my reaction to the Dylan classic, “The Times They Are a Changing.” When I first heard it, a few years after it appeared,

it seemed a declaration of enlightenment and progress. Now, it seems a self-serving charter for liberating oneself not only from one’s parents but from all they metaphorically represent, from Moses with his laws to that uncle who used to warn you about saving every penny for the future. Which liberation, speaking as a parent and one who respects all we metaphorically represent, seems disastrous.

But hard to give up, for romantic reasons.