Tony Funderburk

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Imagination can be an awesome and powerful force. But it can be used for good OR evil. So, it can also be a hypocritical and destructive force. You can imagine yourself flying, on your own power, over the clouds and even through the ocean. And you can imagine no possessions in a world where everyone shares everything. And you can imagine you’re more virtuous than the next person because you say so.

You probably picked up on the “imagine no possessions” part. Right?

Yeah, that’s a phrase from the lyrics to John Lennon’s song, “Imagine.” And when you examine his lyrics, and then examine his actual life, there’s a (more than) slight discrepancy. I’ll share a glaring example of that further down.

It doesn’t exactly show up in the first verse:

“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”

No, that’s just the musings of someone who’d rather BE God than acknowledge the exist of THE God. And I consider it a very weak and hopeless use of imagination. Because it implies there’s nothing to look forward to after you die. So, people should be “living for today.” Because tomorrow might be the end.

Then, Mr. Lennon (supposedly with the help of his wife, Yoko) expanded on his need to BE God. In fact, he decided his worldview, which opposes God, is the one that can deliver peace.

“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”

And then, in the chorus, John set himself up as just a dreamer.

And he basically said if everyone else would just be a dreamer, too, we’d have one, big, happy world. Yeah, the ol’ one world order dream. Didn’t some wise guy said there’s nothing new under the sun? So, nothing new to see here either.

“You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will be as one”

So, it’s cool for John to suggest everybody be like him. But it’s not cool for me to suggest being like Jesus. OK, good to know. Anyway…now we get to the part where Mr. (and maybe Mrs.) Lennon reveal his hypocrisy, although I’m sure that’s not what he intended.

“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”

Well, evidently John only imagined those concepts. Because he sure didn’t carry them out. At least not the way the lyrics would have you imagine (see what I did there?) His estimated net worth, at the time of his death in 1980, was somewhere around $200 million. That’s equal to about $620 million in today’s money.

And he definitely owned possessions.

Even fancy schmancy stuff. Matter of fact, on this date (June 29), in 1985, his 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V limousine, with psychedelic paintwork, sold for a record amount. $3,006,385. It was part of a Sotheby’s auction in New York. They don’t auction off used cheap stuff, by the way.

So, just think. If John Lennon would have actually shared “all the world” instead of only imagining it, he could have given 200 people/families $1,000,000 each. That’s one million dollars to 200 homes. Can you imagine what a difference that could have made in their lives.

But maybe John wasn’t really a hypocrite. And maybe he just didn’t get around to sharing before his untimely death, at the hands of a deranged murderer. (side note: if only that murderer would have paid more attention to John’s lyrics)

Yeah, maybe John knew his fortune would be in the hands of his benevolent and caring, sharing wife. After all, Yoko was with him at all the “give peace a chance” photo ops. So, surely she spread the wealth. Right?

Well, according to the online sources I’ve seen, Yoko’s net worth is somewhere around $700 million. But she’s probably just ironing out the details for which 700 people/families will each get a million dollars. Because, it’s gotta be SO difficult for her to have all that dough AND imagine no possessions.

I talked about an alternative view in a song, “Book of Life,” back in 2000.