"Imagine" and 20th anniversary of John Lennon's death
By John Bockelman
With the 20th anniversary of John Lennon's sad and tragic death being an up-front media circus, I had this comment to make. As lovely and melodic as the song "Imagine" is, I totally disagree with and deplore the lyrics. Millions of people were influenced and affected by that song, and what he is saying in it is for the world to unite in a perfectly communist state. He is describing Karl Marx' philosophy to the letter.
I heard the lyrics the first time I heard the song, and I went, "What?! How can he have the nerve to perpetrate such a statement to the world! He's crazy if he thinks I'm going to go along with THAT!" And here I am, 20 years later, going against John Lennon's vision of a peaceful and complacent world full of mindless drones who are happy to give up their freedom and free will and join the multitudes of idiots who ascribe to that jerk's idea of what things ought to be like.
I suppose it was easy for him to say, being hopelessly rich and irrevocably trapped in his ivory-tower existence that was obviously hazed over by all the drugs he took. He could write great songs, no doubt, but that didn't qualify him as a messiah for the millions of people he saw as having no clue as to how to live, and who he thought looked up to him as the guy to tell them what is right and what is good.
He even made himself look as much like Jesus as was possible. I've never in my life heard anything as insulting to my intelligence and as threatening to my freedom as "Imagine". They should pass a law in America that bans the song and go back and destroy the master tapes of it. I'm sorry John Lennon was killed. He was in many ways, a beautiful guy posessing immense talents and his music was great. But as a man, like you and me, he was no more of a world-shaper than my next-door neighbor is. His political and societal opinions were much better left to himself, but he chose to push that crap off on everybody, along with his insane and untalented girlfriend, and I remember that back in the day, whenever they'd come on the radio, I'd switch the channel so I didn't have to listen to their nonsense.
I'm just sorry he's gone, and I wish he could have lived, at least to have redeemed himself after making himself out to be such a fool to me. I didn't agree with "All You Need Is Love", either. Oh yeah, I was a Beatle fan, but once Lennon took it upon himself to pontificate to the world what it should think and do and feel, I started to back off. There was something deep within me that told me "Don't go there". Anyway, I could rave on all weekend about this, but I think you get the picture. Just thought I'd share that with you. Have a great weekend! See you later.
John Bockelman
Rock/Pop Music, MTV, Hollywood, Satan and Antichrist
