Hunter S.Thompson, The Hells Angels, and Jimmy Carter’s famed Bob Dylan speech
Given his accounts of drug-fueled antics during America’s counterculture era – journeying to Las Vegas with a suitcase full of ether or attending the Kentucky Derby while on copious amounts of acid – it can be easy to forget that Hunter S Thompson was, at heart, a serious journalist. When he wasn’t testing the limits of his own psyche, Dr Gonzo was happiest when getting into the nitty gritty of America’s political underbelly, and he made very few allies within the political class.
Although it is often reduced to little more than psychedelic patterns and long hair, the hippie movement was inherently political. The rise of the 1960s counterculture that produced folks like Hunter S Thompson was born from a rebellion against America’s political class, so it stands to reason that Thompson sought to uncover the dirty dealings of Washington DC within his writing. His masterful musings of the campaign of Richard Nixon in Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 marked the gonzo journalist as an exceptional political pundit, and he continued down that path in the years that followed.
Anybody could see Nixon’s faults from the very early days of his campaign, and Thompson was no exception. When following the president’s campaign trail, the writer made sure his feelings about the Republican candidate were known. It is difficult to imagine Thompson praising virtually any politician; it would be akin to a dog praising a cat or Joey Ramone praising Johnny. Nevertheless, the writer did admire a select few American politicians, one such figure being Jimmy Carter.
Eventually elected into the office of president in 1977, Carter’s campaign was closely followed by Hunter S Thompson, who was fascinated by how different the former governor of Georgia seemed in comparison to other politicians. This fact became apparent in 1974 when Carter gave a speech to the distinguished alumni of the Georgia School of Law. In the speech, the politician name-dropped folk hero Bob Dylan and refused to cosy up to the high-class lawyers in the audience.
“The other source of my understanding about what’s right and wrong in this society is from a friend of mine, a poet named Bob Dylan,” Carter shared. “After listening to his records about ‘The Ballad of Hattie Carol’ and ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ and ‘The Times, They Are a‑Changing,’ I’ve learned to appreciate the dynamism of change in a modern society.”
Continuing, the future president said: “I grew up as a landowner’s son. But I don’t think I ever realized the proper interrelationship between the landowner and those who worked on a farm until I heard Dylan’s record, ‘I Ain’t Gonna Work on Maggie’s Farm No More.’ So I come here speaking to you today about your subject with a base for my information founded on Reinhold Niebuhr and Bob Dylan.”
Although the speech did not do much to endear Carter towards those distinguished lawyers, it certainly helped his street cred when Thompson reported on the speech. Later, the gonzo journalist called Carter “One of the three meanest men I’ve ever met,” explaining, “The other two are Muhammed Ali and Sonny Barger, president of the Hell’s Angels.” A world champion boxer and the leader of an infamous biker gang might seem unlikely companions for Jimmy Carter, but according to Thompson, their attitudes were very similar.
“Those three men are a whole cut above everybody else I ever ran into in terms of sheer functional meanness,” Thompson explained. “Carter would have cut my head off to carry North Dakota, cut both of your legs off to carry a ward in the Bronx. Never apologise for it; he understands the system. That’s why he won.” The journalist concluded, “I admire that.”
Earning the respect of Hunter S Thompson is by no means an easy task, particularly for an American politician. However, Carter was very different from the usual career politicians that Thompson covered in his articles. For instance, the governor’s willingness to relate to the younger generation by mentioning Bob Dylan was reflective of that fact. However, as the journalist mentions, that willingness to appeal to the younger generation was far from a sign of weakness.
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