John Lennon: A Life in Term Paper

Lennon's political activities put him on Nixon's famous 'enemies list,' and although the Beatles during their heyday were welcomed with screaming and adoring fans in America, Lennon eventually had to fight the U.S. government to avoid being deported from his beloved city of New York, because of his opposition to the administration. "A campaign of harassment by Nixon-era conservatives...was overturned by the courts in 1976" ("John Lennon," Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, 1994).

Today, the blending of entertainment and politics is accepted, but when Lennon first spoke out, it was unheard of, especially in Cold War America. Artists were supposed to back away from any strong stances, especially unpopular ones. As early as 1966, a reader could hear the sentiments espoused later in "Imagine" in an interview with Maureen Cleave in the London Evening Standard. Lennon said: "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first - rock 'n' roll or Christianity.Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. it's them twisting it that ruins it for me" (Coleman 1995). Lennon was condemned as anti-Christian for this quote, but what he was really commenting on was the fickleness of the masses making idols of popular figures. Jesus spoke the truth, but later people perverted the message, and the same would happen to rock. What was truthful and truly religious, Lennon said, was peace and love. People needed to look within their own souls and in art for truth, not accept answers from politicians or organized churches. For a rock musician to preach this incited anger -- and still incites anger to this day.

Works Cited

Coleman, Ray. "The Dark Side of Beatlemania." Internet Beatles Album. 18 May 1995.

29 Feb 2008. http://www.beatlesagain.com/bapology.html

John Lennon." Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. 1994. 29 Feb 2008. http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/john-lennon

John Lennon." VH1.com. 2007. http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/lennon_john/bio.jhtml.....