09/28/2006
Actually, what John Lennon wrote wasImagine 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 …
My imagination isn’t that good; countries are important, as Aleksandr Solzhenitzn said, " Nations are the wealth of mankind."
Via Kathy Shaidle, I see that Mark Shea has done a full analysis of what’s wrong with this song,
That is why I have always thought of it as a sort of anthem to Original Sin — fallen man’s infinite capacity to believe he can create Heaven on earth if he’s just permitted one more chance to get it right. Everything the song advocates and hopes for as a supreme good was the fountainhead of all the horrors of the 20th century. Imagine there’s no countries? Hitler dreamt of a world without borders. Imagine there’s no heaven? No religion too? Stalin and Mao sought to free us from religion and the burden of hoping for something more than this life. Imagine no possessions? Communism was all about freeing us from possessions (though multi-zillionaire Lennon seems to have honored this dream more in the breach than the observance). [I Can’t Imagine a Dumber Song,catholicexchange.com, September 27, 2006]
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