Essay 5
        Lennon, The Legend
        “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” (Lennon, lyrics).  These are hopeful words written by a man who hoped to change the world.  John Lennon was one of the most brilliant, talented musicians of the 20th century.  In a time of injustice, war, rock and roll, and the emergence of psychedelic drugs, his song lyrics promoted peace and love.  As a social figure, Lennon’s actions and words were paid close attention to.  Along with his music, Lennon is well known for his obscure comments, experimental use of drugs, and his unique love life with Yoko Ono.  His public life created for him many enemies and critics of his peculiar ways.  However, Lennon’s diehard fans realized what a peculiar person he was and hoped to understand him better.  Lennon’s fans knew he wanted to change the world.  After his untimely death, Lennon became idolized and his music is still popular today.  Being misunderstood by many, this study involves a reevaluation of John Lennon’s life to establish him as a more prominent thinker and influence in American culture through his political views, theological views and social activism.
        John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool England.  Although he is English, he was continually fascinated with American popular music.  His former band-mates, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Richard Starkey a.k.a. Ringo Starr, formed the Beatles in 1960 and were being promoted by Brian Epstein in 1961.  Shortly after the Beatles broke up in 1969, Lennon began his solo career (Slominsky 727).  Lennon had two children.  Julian Lennon is his son from his first marriage with Cynthia Powell.  Sean Ono Lennon is his son from his second marriage with Yoko Ono (Larkin 2451).  Yoko Ono was a Japanese-American artist who met John in London during one of her art-shows.  They collaborated on musical albums and many people believed that Yoko Ono caused the break up of the Beatles (Slominsky 727).  
        Lennon was one of the most politically controversial celebrities of the 1970’s.  Beginning in 1971, the combined efforts of the Nixon Administration, the F.B.I., and the British Intelligence Agency MI5 brought many troubles to Lennon along with several attempts to deport him (Duffy).  Because Lennon was a critic of the Nixon Administration and he was an anti-war activist (Duffy), he became a victim of continued FBI surveillance and harassment from the Immigration and Naturalization Service for over four years (Marck).  Lennon also associated with many people that the government considered rebellious, such as Jerry Rubin and members of his “the New Left” group.   Lennon used his popularity to support the anti-war movement through fund-raisers, voter-registration drives, rallies, and concerts.  These peaceful demonstrations took place in many of the presidential primary states (Marck).  With Nixon running for re-election and the country in the midst of the Vietnam War, the administration was afraid of the impact Lennon’s popularity would have over the voting population (Parker).  It was revealed that Senator Strom Thurmond had written a memo that mentioned Lennon as a threat to Nixon’s 1972 reelection campaign and that he felt the easiest way to remove Lennon would be to revoke his visa (Marck).  Recently released documents from the government describe in detail all of the information that was procured about Lennon.  None of these documents mention anything about Lennon planning to commit or committing any crimes.  Also, after Nixon resigned and J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the F.B.I. at the time, had died, Lennon was allowed to stay in the country without being threatened of deportation (Duffy).  These false political allegations of Lennon have reflected negatively on the way he is viewed by the public.    
        Theologically, Lennon made many controversial statements about Jesus Christ and Christianity that caused turmoil in America and the rest of the world.  However, these statements were taken out of context and blown out of proportion.  Lennon said, “Christianity will go, it will vanish and shrink…we’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first- rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity.” (News of the Odd).  This statement was taken out of context because people began thinking that Lennon was comparing The Beatles with Christ.  However, at the time Lennon was simply observing that the Beatles were better known to many people than Christianity because Christianity was at a low point.  His statements caused an international reaction.  Radio stations refused to play Beatles music, people were burning records and memorabilia of the Beatles, and many religious leaders denounced the Beatles.  In response to the public’s reaction, Lennon made another statement that was not as publicized as his previous one.  He explained that he believed the basic principles that Christianity stood for, such as “love and goodness”.  He said he would like what Jesus said to be more popular and that he was never trying to be anti-religious (News of the Odd).  Lennon never tried to upset others or say religion was bad. Lennon was speaking his mind and through the media, his words became misconstrued.
        The need for world peace seemed to emanate from everything Lennon did.  In his songs, his actions, his words, and in his relationships with other people, Lennon was continually focusing on world peace.  Many of Lennon’s most popular songs were written for world peace.  One of these songs, “All you need is love”, was written because  the Beatles were asked to write a song that could be understood in many languages and which conveyed the message of love.  With this in mind, Lennon wrote the song “All You Need Is Love”.  It was broadcasted all over the world from North America, Europe, Central America, Scandinavia, North Africa, Australia and Japan on the first ever live global television broadcast titled, Our World.  This event was the precursor for other events such as Live Aid, Farm Aid and others.  “All You Need is Love” became a “worldwide anthem” for peace (Marck).  Many other Lennon songs had political meanings.  “The Luck of the Irish” protested the enduring civil rights violations England put upon the Irish Catholics.  His song “Give Peace a Chance” became an anti-war protester’s favorite.  “Happy Christmas (War is Over)” conveyed the message that each person needed to look seriously at his/her deeds over the past year (Walsh).  Through his music, Lennon impacted the world in a positive way; these songs can be considered his life’s work.  
        Lennon’s mission for peace did not stop with his songwriting; Lennon was also involved in many anti-war demonstrations.  One of his most popular occurred when Lennon was on his honeymoon with his wife, Yoko Ono.  While they were in Amsterdam, Lennon and Ono staged a seven-day “bed-in” where they sat on a bed, fully dressed and discussed their message and views on world peace.  The media covered the entire event in the newspaper, radio, in magazines, and on television.  During this time, Lennon and Ono participated in many live interviews and they also made an hour long documentary of what is now known as the Amsterdam “Bed-In”.  Lennon is quoted as saying, “Yoko and I are quite willing to be the world’s clowns, if by doing it we do some good.”  Lennon welcomed the media because he knew the most influential way to get his message across was to use the communication network (Marck).
        On December 8th, 1980, the forty year old Lennon was shot outside his New York City Apartment building by a mentally ill man who believed he was driven to kill because of the message from the classic book, “The Catcher in the Rye” (Helander 380).  Charles Cloutman, a business owner from Pennsylvania, was in his thirties at the time of Lennon’s death.  Charles believed that Lennon’s contribution to the musical world was amazing.  He says, “There was a lot of shock and disbelief that something like that could happen to someone like him.  It seemed like a waste of talent” (Cloutman).  The entire world reacted to Lennon’s death.  Memorials were held in cities all over the world and Lennon’s fans and many of his fellow musicians were deeply impacted (200 John Lennon…).  In 1984, a section of Central Park in New York City was dedicated in Lennon’s honor.  Strawberry Fields (Lennon’s memorial) is located on the same block as Lennon’s old apartment building where he was killed.  These two landmarks are visited by fans who travel millions of miles to see and pay homage to Lennon every year.  In 1994 Lennon was inducted into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of fame (Helander 381).  Along with being in the Rock and Roll Hall of fame, Lennon is tied with Mick Jagger for the most appearances on the cover of The Rolling Stone magazine, as well as an appearance on the first cover in 1967 (Edwards).  Lennon was recognized by the entire world as a musical genius.  His songs, which topped the billboard charts in the sixties, are still popular today.     
        Lennon’s contribution to American culture was a message of individuality.  Lennon was an example of a person doing all he could to support his beliefs and strive to make things better in the world.  Although many of the things Lennon did were considered bizarre, he should not be judged by his private life, but by his music and what he did for the community and the world.  The false perceptions of Lennon because of his spiritual comments, his politically opinionated views, and his social activism are a matter of opinion and not fact.  Lennon has said, “My role in society, or any artist’s or poet’s role, is to try and express what we feel.  Not to tell people how to feel.  Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all.” (Lennon, Interview).  By expressing himself peacefully, Lennon has made himself a musical icon and sent a message of love and peace to the world that will last forever.