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“Imagine” by John Lennon Lyrics
John Lennon’s beloved peace anthem “Imagine” turns 50 tomorrow, but would you still like the song if I said it’s promoting communism? Take a look at the lyrics and follow along with my breakdown:
1. Imagine there’s no heaven
Basically, imagine no religions. Hence, no more ‘my god is better than your god’. The anti-religious stance is to curb fanaticism and extremism leading to ‘holy wars’ (ie. Christian Crusades & Extremist Jihads)
2. Imagine there’s no countries
Let go of national identities, no more ‘us’ vs ‘them’ mentality. Hence, nothing to go to war for.
3. Imagine no possessions
Lennon’s Thoughts:
In an interview, John said “Imagine” is ‘virtually the Communist Manifesto’. He had to ‘put his political message across with a little honey’ and ‘because the song is sugar-coated, it is accepted’. But he also states that he does not belong to any movement. Even so, he was investigated by the FBI.
So, is Lennon a Communist?
The song was written during the Vietnam War, so John’s anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional and anti-capitalistic stance was meant for protesting war and violence. He was an idealist, simply dreaming of a utopia of world peace. So, no, I don’t think he was a Communist, but does it even matter?
I see so many insecure conservatives citing this song to be evil as it seems to align with Communism/Socialism, banning it from the radio and schools. I can only urge people to not be reactionary just because of the word ‘communism’. Not everything is good with a certain system, not all is bad either. After all, ideologies are just different means to get to the same end, better lives for people.
“Whether the cat is black or white, it’s a good cat as long as it catches mice.”
Besides, John Lennon simply asked us to imagine a world where people get along better and give peace a chance. I wonder if you can.
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