What a stupid thread - just like the other one with the same title. I have to agree with wideawake. So many are so quick to leap to knee-jerk conclusions about what Dylan was implying - it reminded me of a phrase one of the lost causers likes to say: “The hit dog howls”.
I would reject the word “ruined” - that’s a bit over the top. The Particular Institution certainly added an unnecessary amount of misery and offered an opportunity for unscrupulous schemers to try to tear our country apart.
We could try to edit what he said -- entirely off-the-cuff in a throwaway interview -- to make it more accurate or responsible, but I suspect it's something that will be provocative for a few days and then forgotten.
The basic idea -- I guess -- is something we had 20 hours or so of in Ken Burns's Civil War documentary. It shouldn't really shock people.
You also have to take into account that Dylan (or Zimmerman) was born into a different America. The America that he's talking about may not have much in common with the one people live in today.