John Lennon - Republican?

Next week sadly will be the 25th anniversary of John Lennon's shocking murder. And as we recall and commemorate the ex-Beatle's all-too-short life, we fondly remember him as a colorful figure, husband and father, standout musician, and international celebrity.

Many mainstream media outlets, though, also remember Lennon the political activist, and assume that if alive today, he would have continued the radical leftist bent he displayed in the late '60s and early '70s. To mark what would have been Lennon's 65th birthday, for example, Beatles biographer Hunter Davies speculates that John would be at the forefront of leftwing activism, protesting against Bush, Blair, and the war in Iraq.

Now certainly Mr. Davies knows plenty about the Beatles, but on this matter I believe he is fully mistaken. Au contraire, I see Lennon becoming a patriotic, pro-America Republican.

Yes, I know this may sound ludicrous to some - this same man, after all, virtually represented all things anti-authority, protested vehemently against Vietnam, and wrote his most famous solo song ("Imagine") as a virtual ode to utopian communism. But perhaps even more strongly, Lennon detested hypocrisy and always remained on the search for the "next big thing." Given this, I doubt he would have stagnated politically like so many of his leftwing brethren; rather, I believe he would have reversed course entirely a la Michael Medved, David Horowitz, and other liberals-turned-conservatives.

Notwithstanding Davies' official group biography, the best Beatle book out there, in my opinion, is the late Ian MacDonald's Revolution In The Head. (For the record, I am a huge Beatles fan who owns all their albums, has read a number of books on the band, and has seen both McCartney and Ringo in concert in recent years.) Not quite a traditional biography, Revolution examines the Beatles and their music in the context of the decade they represented most - the 1960s. (The band formed in 1957, issued their first single in 1962, and broke up in 1970.)

Many of the book's most fascinating sections cover Lennon and his cultural and political views, and far more than being a by-the-numbers leftist, the head Beatle continually explored new avenues of life experiences in an ongoing search for meaning and importance. Never settling on any one phase for long, John led the group through a myriad of '60s hallmarks - tough rock 'n' roll, Bob Dylan-style folk music, psychedelic drugs and the Summer of Love, meditation and Indian mysticism, anti-war protests, and finally a return to their roots (the "Get Back" project which was released as the Let It Be album). This same pattern continued after the Beatles' breakup, as John launched a solo career, explored leftist/communist political activism with wife Yoko Ono, spent an infamous two-year "lost weekend" living the celebrity life in Los Angeles, sought peace and quiet by moving to New York, retired from music in 1975 to become a stay-at-home father, and returned to his career in low-key fashion shortly before his 1980 assassination.

Clearly, Lennon was no career leftwing activist; rather, it was a particular phase in his highly varied and fascinating life, and as he grew older, he certainly appeared to grow more conservative in his cultural and family outlook. At the same time, he always railed against establishment stagnancy, and today, it is the Democrats, particularly those on the far left, who have largely assumed this characteristic. I believe John would have continued these personal trends, and were he alive today, would with sharp moral clarity support America's efforts to achieve freedom around the world. Assuming he would have obtained U.S. citizenship (he was on track, having been granted permanent residency status), I feel he would have become a card-carrying Republican and voted for President Bush in the 2004 election.

Perhaps his latest song would have even been a cover of "G-d Bless The USA."

*note: This essay is adapted from a piece I wrote back in October on the occasion of Mr. Lennon's would-have-been 65th birthday.

Comments

[kuhnkat]

Dr.WOB,

Uhh, where did Lennon live for the latter part of his life??

Where did the largest chunk of his income originate?

Like many lefties he "voted with his feet".

I really love the fact that soooo many of them won't stop denigrating our country while violently opposing being forced to LEAVE!!!

I wonder what we have no one else has?? Animal magnetism???

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

So, if a murderer offers you intellectual respect while blowing you away it is OK?? If an embezller offers you respect while cleaning you out it is OK?? If a communist offers you respect while undercutting you and overthrowing your democratically elected gubmint it is OK??? You are such a MAROOOOOONNN.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Norah]

kuhnkat, how old are you? Your childish response to Dr. WOB's post makes me think you a.) didn't read it, or b.) didn't understand it.

[daniel]

i love satire. i mean, this post was satire, right?

[kuhnkat]

Nora,

over 50.

Why, thank you. I always liked the old saying "...from the mouths of babes..." (Not referring to what is on babewatch)

And you apparently miss the ridiculous idea of respecting the individual, even though he/she is a raving lunatic, just because they apparently are offering you respect.

Daniel,

I do not believe it is. I could be wrong. I think he was commenting on how many intelligent people outgrow their earlier misguided idealism that sends them in the wrong directions.

As many people point out and he admits, it is speculation.

[Freedom Fighter]

Anyone who thinks that John Lennon---who despised imperialism, the ruling class, and the American military-industrial war making machine---would have turned into a clueless, fascistic, hate-filled, Bush-loving Republican is engaging in wishful thinking.

If you have any doubts, read his last interview with Rolling Stone. He makes quite clear what his political views are. I know it's hard for right-wingers who like the Beatles to admit it, but John Lennon looked with complete disgust and contempt upon your hideous views. Live with that reality and don't try to distort who and what he was. (And I won't pretend that if Elvis were alive today he'd be out there protesting against the American occupation of Iraq.)

[Solid Surfer]

You have totally missed the point about everything I wrote. Of course Lennon was a leftwinger earlier in his life. But the point is - people change. And I think he would have been one of those people.

And by the way, I welcome courteous posts only on this blog.

[Levi]

Lennon may have been a proud American once he acquired US citizenship, but from what I have gathered, Lennon was still strong with his fundamental position.

I'm not some John Lennon fan who will detest anything opposing the traditional Lennon ideology, but what you have written seems to be more of a leap of hope instead of just an inference with reasonable facts. I'm not berating what-so-ever, I just don't believe this. Just because people change doesn't mean he would have; his mentality is and was before him, shared by many.

I didn't exactly care for the remark of "Imagine" being a utopian communism, just because it was slightly rash and better words could have been chosen, ya know? Just because the world could be as one doesn't mean you had to refer to communism, utopia would have been fine.

And to J.L., he had become an American citizen; this was widely known. And also, "Working Class Hero" is not exactly about poseurs, but of how "they" (government) have created this pseudo-world that we live in and have created what is expected of us. Isn't that song almost self-explanatory?

[Solid Surfer]

Hi Levi,
Thanks for writing. Good to revisit this thread. I agree that of course there's no way to know how Lennon really would have ended up, but with regards to him becoming a conservative, stranger things have occurred - who would have dreamed, for example, that Yoko and McCartney would have made enough peace by the mid-90s to allow for the creation of the Beatles Anthology?

As for "Imagine", perhaps Lennon was indeed just in utopian mindset, but when the lyrics say things like "Imagine no possessions/I wonder if you can...Imagine all the people/Sharing all the world", that's about as basic a definition of communism as you can get.

[prozacula]

feh. you fools like to project all your messed up ideas onto everyone else, even dead anti-war protestors.

yeah, your evidence is ted nugent. that man is a freaking retard! all of his catchy songs are so memorable...oh wait - nothing he has written as a musician has ever been good.

please, go piss on someone else's grave. maybe your grandfather's, or perhaps some asshole neocon.

[Solid Surfer]

Umm, okay...so because you don't like Ted Nugent's music, that means my whole essay is "messed up". Keep on dreaming.

[Jason The]

Possibly the most irrational argument I have ever had occasion to read.

Lennon is rolling over in his grave at what the Bush administration has done to habeas corpus. He would be burning a flag over the soldiers killed in a manufactured and ludicrous war.

You gotta listen to the lyrics too, dipshit.

Love and kisses,
A TRUE BEATLES FAN

[Pete Second-Best]

I just stopped by to point out, as others have, that you're full of shit, "Solid Surfer" (if that IS your real name). Lennon a Republican? No motherfucking way.

[Dr Zen]

Dream on, dude. Lennon would have recognised you as the enemy, which you are of any decent human being.

[Solid Surfer]

I haven't posted to this site in a long time, but the last three comments here need some addressing.

To The Jason, Pete Second Best, and Dr. Zen: If you really think John Lennon would have been so different, then go ahead and explain exactly why, rather than insulting me and accomplishing nothing. Lennon, after all, is the one who sang "Gimme Some Truth." Yes, I've listened to his lyrics, and yes, I see how they changed from the naive radicalism/communism/utopianism of the early 1970s to something far different and more mature later in his career.

What would his political views be today had he lived? In truth there is no way to know. But to say he would have become a Republican is certainly within the realm of realistic possibility.

[Gus]

I agree. This website is one of the most unintentionally hilarious websites I've ever seen.

[Solid Surfer]

It's been a while once again since I've posted anything here, but an intriguing discovery has just emerged that I thought worth nothing: As a teenager, Lennon was apparently a member of the British Air Training Corps: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/7246967.stm

This is yet further evidence that he was no lifetime pacifist and that his political views and interests changed throughout the years.

[Jack Kearney]

You don't know John

[BLA]

I really don't care if you buffoons argue back and forth about what is or is not patriotic, but DO NOT and i repeat. DO NOT bring in the late great John Lennon into this discussion. It is a disgrace to his name and everything he stood for.

"imagine there's no countries"

[BLA]

you're going to bring up something from his TEENAGE past to back your arguement Solid Surfer? disgusting. it was his TEENAGE years, of COURSE he hadn't taken his stance on war yet. Hell, i bet he hadn't even decided what he was going to do for a living...

[sweet]

"I see Lennon becoming a patriotic, pro-America Republican." surely imply that only Republicans are patiotic. You didn't say that but it seem like that.