G
Gandalf Grey
Guest
Missing John Lennon
By Dennis Rahkonen
Created Dec 8 2007 - 9:45am
In attempting to justify his inexcusable imposition of martial law on the
Pakistani people and their society, strongman Pervez Musharraf queried,
"When the nation is about to be declared a failed state, tell me whether the
(restoration) of so-called democracy is important, or efforts to save the
country?"
During the Las Vegas Democratic presidential debate, CNN's Wolf Blitzer
asked gathered aspirants pretty much the same thing, in a US context: "Is
human rights more important than American national security?"
The supposedly obvious assumption in both questions was that the latter
needed to take precedence over the former.
That's nonsense.
It made me appreciate just how truly visionary and liberating John Lennon
was in writing Imagine, easily the most inspiring composition to come out of
an era when many good souls penned, or uttered, some very wonderful words.
His critique of the harm inflicted on humankind by exclusionary private
ownership of necessities that people ought to communally share will resonate
through time. Also, in imagining a world without religion or nationalism, he
gave us a correction for the basic mistake embodied in the aforementioned,
two questions.
Democracy and human rights must always come before any one country's
abstract, momentary security, for they are -- or ought to be -- the
indispensable, mutual "property" of our entire species.
A land in which they're absent is reduced to being little more than a
holding pen for men, women, and children.
Perhaps the question should be posed this way:
"What's more important, national security for Iceland or Monaco, or
democracy and human rights for everyone?"
By turning our chauvinism on its head, we begin to grasp the real point, the
overriding consideration that frees and protects us all.
A variation of this thinking should spring to mind whenever someone says,
"God bless America." Why should the deity's beneficence stop at our
geographic borders? Only a god who'd bless everybody, everywhere, would
actually be worthy of anyone's worship.
But, because various groups and nation states believe only in their
particular god, and hurl damnation on those who think otherwise, terrible
things like abortion-clinic bombings and 9/11 routinely happen.
"No religion too..." Yes, that's vastly preferable.
For untiringly extending solidarity to the American peace and justice
movement of the late Sixties and early Seventies, John Lennon was
obsessively hounded by Richard Nixon's FBI. His phone was tapped and he was
constantly watched. Outside his building, for instance, a guy would
incessantly tinker with a motorcycle, never really accomplishing anything.
He was just one of many government spies assigned to the Lennon "case,"
which culminated in frenzied efforts to have the former Beatle deported
under the pretext of a minor drug offense in England.
If only the American people could get back the tax money wasted on that
ridiculous persecution, plus others like it, and have it spent on useful
services!
On the morning of December 8, 1980, a solemn-voiced radio announcer caused
my shocked heart to implode.
John Lennon had been shot dead in front of his Dakota Apartments home, in
New York City.
I shook my sleeping wife to tell her the awful news. Undoubtedly still
mostly unconscious, she mumbled, "Uh-huh," but nothing else.
I then walked across town to work, through blocks left beautifully white by
a gentle snowfall, magical in the street lamps' soft glow.
Although there certainly had to have been cars and buses passing at that
hour, I don't remember seeing or hearing them. At least in recollection, no
pedestrians were encountered either.
It was just me, entirely alone, amid complete silence.
With tears freezing to my cheek.
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
By Dennis Rahkonen
Created Dec 8 2007 - 9:45am
In attempting to justify his inexcusable imposition of martial law on the
Pakistani people and their society, strongman Pervez Musharraf queried,
"When the nation is about to be declared a failed state, tell me whether the
(restoration) of so-called democracy is important, or efforts to save the
country?"
During the Las Vegas Democratic presidential debate, CNN's Wolf Blitzer
asked gathered aspirants pretty much the same thing, in a US context: "Is
human rights more important than American national security?"
The supposedly obvious assumption in both questions was that the latter
needed to take precedence over the former.
That's nonsense.
It made me appreciate just how truly visionary and liberating John Lennon
was in writing Imagine, easily the most inspiring composition to come out of
an era when many good souls penned, or uttered, some very wonderful words.
His critique of the harm inflicted on humankind by exclusionary private
ownership of necessities that people ought to communally share will resonate
through time. Also, in imagining a world without religion or nationalism, he
gave us a correction for the basic mistake embodied in the aforementioned,
two questions.
Democracy and human rights must always come before any one country's
abstract, momentary security, for they are -- or ought to be -- the
indispensable, mutual "property" of our entire species.
A land in which they're absent is reduced to being little more than a
holding pen for men, women, and children.
Perhaps the question should be posed this way:
"What's more important, national security for Iceland or Monaco, or
democracy and human rights for everyone?"
By turning our chauvinism on its head, we begin to grasp the real point, the
overriding consideration that frees and protects us all.
A variation of this thinking should spring to mind whenever someone says,
"God bless America." Why should the deity's beneficence stop at our
geographic borders? Only a god who'd bless everybody, everywhere, would
actually be worthy of anyone's worship.
But, because various groups and nation states believe only in their
particular god, and hurl damnation on those who think otherwise, terrible
things like abortion-clinic bombings and 9/11 routinely happen.
"No religion too..." Yes, that's vastly preferable.
For untiringly extending solidarity to the American peace and justice
movement of the late Sixties and early Seventies, John Lennon was
obsessively hounded by Richard Nixon's FBI. His phone was tapped and he was
constantly watched. Outside his building, for instance, a guy would
incessantly tinker with a motorcycle, never really accomplishing anything.
He was just one of many government spies assigned to the Lennon "case,"
which culminated in frenzied efforts to have the former Beatle deported
under the pretext of a minor drug offense in England.
If only the American people could get back the tax money wasted on that
ridiculous persecution, plus others like it, and have it spent on useful
services!
On the morning of December 8, 1980, a solemn-voiced radio announcer caused
my shocked heart to implode.
John Lennon had been shot dead in front of his Dakota Apartments home, in
New York City.
I shook my sleeping wife to tell her the awful news. Undoubtedly still
mostly unconscious, she mumbled, "Uh-huh," but nothing else.
I then walked across town to work, through blocks left beautifully white by
a gentle snowfall, magical in the street lamps' soft glow.
Although there certainly had to have been cars and buses passing at that
hour, I don't remember seeing or hearing them. At least in recollection, no
pedestrians were encountered either.
It was just me, entirely alone, amid complete silence.
With tears freezing to my cheek.
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
