Idol Smashing Circa 1966, House of David Style

Sometime around the year I was born Bob Dylan freaked all the commies out.

They were all so sure he was their man.

Pete Seeger thought Bob was gonna turn America red with his prophet's twang.
Joan Baez thought he was gonna foment their prole-volution and she would reign queen with the man.

Meantime Bob had zero thoughts in these strange directions, as he says in the clip above he's not even sure he knew what a communist was. This of course didn't stop any of them from thrusting their desires, agendas, fears and expectations upon him.

So, beyond category, here's Bob Dylan at something like 23 years old
fresh out of Nowheretown, Midwest in General, USA
after about a year with the beatniks in the big city
he gets some kind of award from some communist related organization, I forget which, maybe it was even Broadside magazine, I'm not sure.

So they're gonna give him the big award you know, and they all think they own him, and they all think he has the exact same premise of life as they do, and they are all sitting there glowing, anxiously awaiting young Mercury's New Prince of the Realm commie genius acceptance speech.

Meantime...
back in the visionary sphere of the prophet,
Bob reads them a short, terse, vague and deep thing, (which I can not find anywhere at the moment but it is spoken about in Scorsese's No Direction Home ~ )
and basically, what he said to them was:

I will not be your beard,
I will not wave your banner,
I am not your trick pony
or
your crown prince.
ask some other ballerina to dance.

Shortly after this he goes "electric"
was called Judas
and they tried to boo him off the stage

Bob's response was to turn to the band and say,
"Play it fuckin' LOUD"


When I was a little kid and I saw Bob Dylan on television the first time,
he mesmerized me. While watching these words flashed in my mind:
"House Of David"
I had zero knowledge at that time what those words meant on any level,
which is why I never forgot it.

Living beyond category requires extraordinary courage. Smash the idols, like the prophet Bobby Zimmerman did... like Abraham, he started with the ones in his own house. He knew they were trying to make him their God so... he smashed their idol for them. House of David Style.

A prophet has no honor in his own home, and if they hated me know they will hate you too, thus sayeth another radical idol smasher from the House of David in the way back long ago.



Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am the LORD your God. ~ Leviticus 19:4




This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire
~ Deuteronomy 7:5




They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. ~ Psalm 106:36



But those who trust in idols, who say to images, 'You are our gods,' will be turned back in utter shame. ~ Isaiah 42:17




They say to the seers, "See no more visions!" and to the prophets, "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions" ~Isaiah 30:10