While I will admit to loving Graham(and agreeing with Nash's quotes in Military Madness), I do not think that loving an artist requires me to agree blindly with everything that artist says or writes or thinks. For one thing, an artist's viewpoint can and does change throughout his/her life. For another thing, I think that interpreting everything an artist writes as the sole reflection of that artist's perspective rather than an artistic articulation of a thought or point of view, trivializes or marginalizes the talent of the artist. Should I still "Love the one I'm with" or never listen to Stills again? Do I have to become Muslim to listen to "Morning has broken"? Can I eat meat or wear leather shoes and still listen to "All we are saying is give peace a chance"? Must I refuse to listen to Elvis Presley because of his drug problems or because he admired Nixon? I absolutely LOVE John Mellencamp, but have heard he is a real SOB to work with; must I throw out all my Mellencamp cds? Artists open our eyes, make us ask questions, show us injustices, broaden our outlooks, BUT, at least in my opinion,should not preach to us, ask for blind faith, or reject our views when and if those views differ from their own views. I highly respect Jackson Browne, love everything he has written, have had several great conversations with him, BUT I would never vote for Nader for president, nor does Jackson look down on me for voicing my opinion and voting for some one else. I would and do expect that same courtesy from the people who listen to Dylan, Baez, Joni, Young, Joplin,Crosby, Bruce, Melissa, and others. Darice
