You Make Your Own Dream

I missed this anniversary on Friday, but in honor of the man's apparent influence on Occupy - and of course Billo's delusion that a citizen asking him questions was trying to turn the overgrown pervert into "the next John Lennon," here is RJ Eskow at Crooks and Liars:

It speaks to John's gifts as a communicator that "Imagine," which is so clearly hostile to God and religion, is so popular in our heavily theocratic society. I'm not an atheist, but atheists who are looking for an anthem should track down a bootleg copy of "Serve Yourself," his answer song to Dylan's Christian hymn "Gotta Serve Somebody." It's hilarious, profane, and cuttingly anti-religious.

(Other atheist anthems include Bad Religion's "American Jesus" and Motorhead's "No Voices in the Sky.")

Lefties should check out the 1971 interview he and Yoko did with Tariq Ali and Robin Blackburn, where Lennon mixed a hostility toward what he called "God shit" with some die-hard Marxist terminology - although he and Yoko retain some of their unique stylistic flourishes as they chat with Robin and Tariq. He also gives us a glimpse into his polemical brilliance when he talks about the use of simplicity.

Would John have supported the Occupy movement? Last July 4th, when I was hoping more people would "declare independence" from corporate politicians and charismatic corporate politicians, I quoted him:

"You make your own dream ... If you want to save Peru, go save Peru ... Don't expect Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan or John Lennon or Yoko Ono or Bob Dylan or Jesus Christ to come and do it for you. You have to do it yourself."