I don't agree this discussion has to be binary. The silent minority of the 60's did support the outcome of Watergate. They could support the war and relinquish their support of Nixon. Musical artists, while not comparable to the giants of literature and philosophy, can point the way to ideological change. And who was ultimately right regarding the war? Countless suffering and death. Lies upon lies. But we fail to learn. Music educates us in the experience of joy, dance, the suffering of others, and yes, even political expression.
My mind of mush at 16 was still a mind that I often regret leaving on the sidewalk of mortgages and fruitless careers. Somehow age delivered humility to my doorstep while too many others received all the answers in a box of cynicism.