An Anthem for Peace? Maybe Not!

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one


I'm sure most of us remember these lyrics fondly, as well as the man who penned them - John Lennon. This one little song was powerful enough to act as the anthem of an anti-war movement. And why not, right? After all, it was written by a man who was almost deported for his criticism of the Vietnam war & an administration (Read: Nixon, Watergate) already mired in corruption.


Although the idea of a Utopian world comes with its own set of strong critics & criticisms, it is not without merit. We all want to live in a world where peace reigns supreme; men & women of every class, caste or race are equal; & the world's worst problem is boredom. And although I sound sarcastic, I am one who longs for exactly that. What we need to understand is our current situation emerged out of someone else's dream for a better world, a little more than half a century ago. That person was Adolf Hitler & the world we live in is still suffering from the after-effects of his utopian fantasy. So, who's to decide what "perfect" involves? Do we really want to give 1 person or 1 organization the power to decide the future of 6 billion others? All I can say is treat 'Imagine' the way it was supposed to be treated - as a moving song of hope, full of pretty, inspirational words, produced primarily for commercial purposes. Let's not treat it as the anthem for the universal struggle for peace.

[Name of the Song: Imagine
Name of singer/songwriter: John Lennon
The lyrics posted are not of my own making &
I am not taking credit for it either, merely using it as a reference. If it seems otherwise, you have my sincerest apologies]