ACCENTS: Imagine…the world will live as one

BY JULIA CARREON-LAGOC

I ALWAYS like to listen to John Lennon’s “Imagine” whenever, wherever, howsoever it is sung. And thanks to YouTube, I got my fill — the composer of Beatles’ fame singing it himself. “Imagine”, the song, reverberates with lines that transcend all borders, race, creed, color, and nationality. Nothing like it to express oneness and universality.

It was most fitting that “Imagine” was the opening song of Brenda Cochrane in the huge “Stardust” auditorium of the “Norwegian Star”, the cruise ship we took in our recent tour of the Baltic countries. Her overpowering voice rapt the audience in silence in a song that unified us.

The “Stardust” was full of a diverse group — tourists coming from different countries. Brenda Cochrane called out the name of the countries, requesting for the residents of a particular country to stand up to be recognized. When she shouted Philippines, my son-in-law Timothy waved his hand up high as we Filipinos in the group stood up to the loud clapping of hands.

On our way to the swanky Market Café, who ushered us in but Rodel Cartoneros on his guitar. The exhortations in “Imagine” as Rodel sang it whet the appetite to the fine dining that awaited us. As I’ve mentioned in a previous column, “Mga Bagong Bayani ng Inang Bayan”, Rodel, a Boholano, is one of our OFW (overseas Filipino workers) that we his fellow kababayans should be proud of. Heroes of the Motherland, Presidents Cory Aquino and Fidel Ramos called them thus, because the $20 billion remittances of the OFW prop up the country’s economy.

In the 1960s at the height of Beatlemania, one fan who couldn’t be surpassed in the adoring scale was Imelda Marcos of the infamous 3,000 shoes. Imelda wanted Lennon and company to be guests in the presidential palace. The Beatles had a very brief stay in the Philippines and Malacanang’s invitation they snubbed outright. Imelda’s adulation didn’t feature a gun unlike that of a demented admirer who cruelly cut off a young man’s glorious career. It is most ironic that John Lennon (1940-1980), a peacemaker, was killed by an assassin, a crazy fan killing the idol he idolized. Truly a pacifist, the singer was anti-Vietnam war so much so that former President Richard Nixon threatened to deport him from the U.S. of A.

A singer-songwriter cum social activist, John Lennon’s call for solidarity becomes imperative more than ever. Death and destruction flare in three countries — Ukraine, Iraq, and Gaza. “The Telegraph” on July 27, 2014 showed statistics of 132 Gaza children, complete with their names and ages, killed in the crossfire between the Palestinians and Israelis. Over in Ukraine, a Malaysian plane crashed, downed by a missile. The networks showed mangled bodies, some remaining unidentifiable. Among the casualties were several delegates to the International Aids Conference and three Filipino residents of Netherlands. Sad, very sad.

It is to be deplored that our own country is not exempt from violence. What seems to be never ending is the conflict among our Mindanao kinsmen. The Motherland is not only torn by humungous corruptions, but by the exchange of fire power among Filipinos themselves. Despite this sea of troubles, we can keep optimism run high as John Lennon does in his quote: “If someone thinks that peace and love are just a cliché that should have been left behind in the ‘60s, that’s a problem. Peace and love are eternal.” Like the singer, let’s keep on hoping peace and love will triumph in the end. Hope springs eternal…

For everyone’s delectation, but more than that, for us humans to live in a peaceful world, we can immerse ourselves in the entire lyrics below — in thought, word, and deed. Better yet, get inspired, sing like John Lennon does, or just hum with our hearts in it:

Imagine there is no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky

Imagine all the people
Living for today

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

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

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

You, you may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
And the world will live as one. (juliaclagoc@yahoo.com)/PN