Here in the United States civility ebbs, dignity dies, and non-confrontation is mistaken for respect. The other evening Bob Dylan performed at the White House to honor the music behind the Civil Rights Movement. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, "It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this." Bob sang The Times They Are A-Changin' while playing an old acoustic guitar, accompanied by a stand-up bass and piano. For all its power, it was sad, slow, mournful, and melancholy. Bob's guttural voice sang each verse without pause enunciating each word clearly. His physicality belied the understated vocals. He kept dropping his left hand from the neck of the guitar while the right hand kept plucking. Between verses, he backed up and repositioned the guitar around his neck, like a tick resurrected from a bad memory. Afterwards, he stepped forward and shook the President's hand. Fifty years on, have the times changed?