It's hard to 'Imagine' that (Elton John "banning religion", deconstructing John Lennon's "Imagine")

Rocky Mountain News column ^ | Friday November 24th, 2006 | Mike Rosen

[ajolympian2004]

Elton John - make that Sir Elton John - recently declared in a magazine interview that "religion should be banned completely." At least he didn't say it should be banned selectively; that might smack of favoritism and discrimination. It seems his animus toward religion is driven largely by his status as a homosexual. He resents religiously based disapproval of his lifestyle and says that religion directs "hatred towards gay people." His ironic remedy is that religious intolerance, as he sees it, shouldn't be tolerated. He's also critical of religious leaders for not coming together to end war.

Now, Elton John is a talented musician. But like so many right-brained artsy types, he's given more to emoting than to reasoning or practicality. It's certainly true that throughout history religious differences have sometimes led to war. But he hasn't explained just how he'd "ban" religion or how the ban would be enforced. Would he have our armies go to war against religion? And would they first shoot their chaplains? What would Americans do with our First Amendment guarantee of religious freedom and those pesky references to "God" and the "Creator" in the Declaration of Independence?

Of course, Sir Elton is not to be taken seriously. He's just venting. As long as the vast majority of humans believe in one form of deity or another, there will be religion - for better or worse.

In the midst of his ramblings, Elton John invoked the memory of John Lennon, saying that if he were alive today he'd be fighting for peace (my oxymoron, not his). Which reminded me of Lennon's epic song, Imagine. Baby boomer romantic nostalgia notwithstanding, the puerile lyrics of that tune sound like a collaboration of Karl Marx, Cindy Sheehan and Dennis Kucinich.

Imagine there's no heaven/It's easy if you try/No hell below us/Above us only sky/Imagine all the people/Living for today

Even if you don't believe in rewards or punishment in the hereafter, responsible adults don't live just for today. They defer gratification and save for a rainy day and retirement. Think of the parable of the grasshopper and the ant.

Imagine 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

No, I can't imagine that. It's anti-historical and contrary to human nature. People are inherently tribal and nationalistic. They band together, linked by common cultures, superstitions, beliefs, values and preferred systems of political economy.

You may say that I'm a dreamer/But I'm not the only one/I hope someday you'll join us/And the world will be as one

You're a dreamer. Never happen. The only way the world would be as one is under the guns of a militaristic, totalitarian regime. And even that would only be temporary. Empires invariably fall.

Imagine no possessions/I wonder if you can/No need for greed or hunger/A brotherhood of man/Imagine all the people/Sharing all the world

Good heavens, no! This is right out of The Communist Manifesto. No possessions? You mean no property rights? That means no rewards, no incentives, no creativity and very little production. Moochers living off a dwindling pool of hard workers. Who's going to harvest the crops while the "dreamers" are smoking dope and flashing peace signs with that silly grin on their faces? What everyone owns, no one owns. Think of the graffiti on the walls of community-owned property like a New York City subway station men's room. By comparison, have you ever seen graffiti on the walls of a bathroom in someone's private home?

You may say that I'm a dreamer/But I'm not the only one/I hope someday you'll join us/And the world will be as one

He's repeating himself. We've already covered that. Where's Mister Hold Button when I really need him?

End of song.

When I discussed this on my radio show recently, a well-meaning but hopelessly idealistic woman called in and defended Lennon's message as "aspirational," as in a lofty and hopeful goal. I responded that as an ambitious goal-setter myself, I've aspired to many things in life and proudly accomplished some of them. But I don't believe in setting your sights on things that are impossible to achieve or counterproductive. That's a formula for wasted effort, failure and frustration.

Remarkably, the woman described herself as a devout Christian whose "aspirations" apparently didn't include renouncing her faith. Islamofascists also have no interest in discarding their predatory religious beliefs, either. They just want you to give up yours. Imagine that.

Mike Rosen's radio show airs daily from 9 a.m. to noon on 850 KOA. He can be reached by e-mail at mikerosen@850koa.com

[ajolympian2004]

Mike Rosen's web page at 850am KOA -

http://www.850koa.com/pages/shows_rosen.html

[doug from upland]

IMAGINE is eviscerated on YOUTUBE -- http://youtube.com/watch?v=65pXSBsbOkY

[stockpirate]

So while it is not okay to ban gay's, it is okay to ban religion.

[ajolympian2004]

Excellent. Sending off to Mike Rosen.

[doug from upland]

Thanks. I hope Mike enjoys it.

[I see my hands]

Nice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT0XxtNPVdQ

[Frank_2001]

Great article!

[ajolympian2004]

Amazing! I'll send that off to Mike Rosen as well.

[knarf]

It should be repeated over and over ...

" It seems his animus toward religion is driven largely by his status as a homosexual. He resents religiously based disapproval of his lifestyle and says that religion directs "hatred towards gay people." His ironic remedy is that religious intolerance, as he sees it, shouldn't be tolerated."

Faggots know they are wrong and will not/cannot 'win' ... Every freakin' religion (according to fahda John) is against queers.

If a religion attempts to explain God to man, and it decrees faggots are wrong ... guess what? God didn't make you that way ... you chose.

[DaveTesla]

The author makes one mistake.
It is all communist.
No heaven, no hell (no purpose but to serve the master state).
No religion (superseded by the state).
No private property (Every thing is owned by the tyrants in control).
No nations (all one big Marxist global government).

Communism promises you heaven on earth (which is impossible due to human nature)
It enslaves you to obtain and build this heaven.
It then murders all that disagree or are in the way.

In the end it creates hell on earth.

[kipita]

Very good read! Thanks for posting!

[Archytekt]

Sir Elton John - recently declared in a magazine interview that "religion should be banned completely."
does this mean he will no longer be making cheesey Christmas Albums?

[peeps36]

I don't need a religion to tell me that homosexual behavior is perverted and disgusting.It's an unnatural lifestyle that turns mother nature upside down.

[DoughtyOne]

I used to like Elton John, still do enjoy his music from time to time. As far as I am concerned, he jumped the shark in the late 80s to mid 90s.

His views on this topic are a damnation of him, not Christians.

[PRO 1]

You hit it completely.

The stupidity of those whom are suckers enough to believe in this Socialist/Communist agenda is that they are caught up in the wonderfulness/idealist horseshit of the theory, but the practical reality of it is that they construct a greater evil, a greater "bigot" than the "bigot" they seek to oppose. And their egos blind them into being unable to see it.

Don't believe me, try to tell me, where their crap has been tried, how wonderful and fair and prosperous those countries have been. The answer would be goose-egg but again their egos and hatred keep them from admitting it.

Funny how unintellectual they become as they attempt to defend their own excrement.

[Logophile]

Imagine no possessions/I wonder if you can/No need for greed or hunger/A brotherhood of man/Imagine all the people/Sharing all the world

Actually, we do not have to imagine what happens where private property rights do not exist. Just go to any Third World hell hole and find the worst urban slums. There you will see people living in shacks built of mud, cardboard, and junk. No one bothers to build anything better because no one legally owns the land. (Would you devote time, effort, or money to building a house that could be taken away from you at any time without just compensation?) They cannot get loans on their homes or build capital for businesses for the same reason.

By the way, I have always hated that execrable song, "Imagine." It is the perfect prescription for hell on earth, written by a drug-addled twit. No thanks.

[antiRepublicrat]

Now, Elton John is a talented musician.

Not since he turned to making formula Disney soundtracks. The Yellow Brick Road guy is long gone.

[Vince Ferrer]

As far as I am concerned, he jumped the shark in the late 80s to mid 90s.

To me that shark was Princess Diana's funeral, when he heaped onto the pile of overly melodramatic public mourning a re-written copy of his "Goodby Norma Jean."

[wku man]

"Elton John - make that Sir Elton John..."

No, make that Homosexual Pedophile Elton John.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[Wthrman13]

Actually, I think the woman (describing herself as a devout Christian) got it right, but perhaps without knowing it. I've always liked the song Imagine, but not in the way Lennon probably meant it, or in the way most people on the left see it. Essentially, what Christians want for the world is pretty well spelled out in that song. The difference is that we recognize that such a utopian state can only be achieved by God himself. Someone else in this thread mentioned that a totalitarian regime was the only way such a state could occur. I agree, and if the regime is human controlled, it will fail and produce exactly the opposite of what it is striving for. But, if God is the ruler and controller, these dreams can (and will, in my view and hope) be fulfilled in heaven. When the song says "Imagine there's no heaven", consider that Lennon likely was thinking of a very distorted and weak view of heaven exemplified by the popular culture, and not the real heaven that God has in store for us. Indeed, what is heaven in Christian thought but a true "brotherhood of man", with "nothing to kill or die for"? As far as possessions, everyone will recognize that everything is owned by God, but that he gives us the rights to them freely, etc. In short, Lennon's mistake was, presumably, thinking that humans alone could pull this off, but not in yearning for such a state for humanity.