Liberalism in a nutshell: The Lennon Principle in action

John Lennon's hymn for the Baby Boomer cultural revolution, Imagine, gives a little insight into one of modern liberalism's biggest problems:

"Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can"

The emphasis is mine, but it reflects the accent Lennon puts on it when he performs the song.  You see, Lennon is already there in that secular liberal paradise.  He is just beckoning the rest of us to join the happy land.  But there is a problem.  Observe:



Did you notice that?  That's the official 'promotional clip' (later known to us youngsters as music videos) for the song.  That's Lennon and Yoko.  And that, dear children, is their home.  A sprawling, multi-million dollar English estate.  And that's his famous Steinway piano that was a birthday gift to Yoko in 1971.  Not bad for a fellow bidding the rest of us to imagine no possessions.  Personally, I have no problem imagining no possessions. The one struggling with the concept appears to be Lennon.

It never hit me about the song until the weeks following the 9/11 attacks.  During one of the many concerts and come-together events trying to bring America back from the brink, some country artist performed the song.  Forgive me, but I can't remember who, and not being a fan of country music, I wouldn't know where to begin.  Anyhoo, during his performance, when he came to that part, he sang it thus:

"Imagine no possessions
I wonder if we can"

Again, emphasis mine, but based on his own.  You see that?  He caught the hypocrisy of Lennon's statement.  And yet, so much of liberalism is just that.  Speaking the words.  You don't have to believe it or even live it, just speak the words.  You may not have a black friend in the world.  You may not even like blacks.  But if you accept the liberal narrative about Affirmative Action and other political ideals promoted by the modern Civil Rights Movement, that's all that matters.

And global warming?  Why, as long as you say you believe and are doing anything about it, that's OK.  That's what allowed Al Gore to yell at the rest of us and tell us we have to get radical in slashing our standards of living to save the planet.  Yet while he did so, he was able to wait around for his limo to take him to his private jet to fly back to his own multi-million dollar estate.

And it's the sort of thing that leads to this story.  San Francisco, the closest thing to a Vatican that American liberalism has, and the starting point for some of the most zealous promotion of liberal ideas and values, is moving those pesky homeless people in preparation for the upcoming Super Bowl.

I know, there could be legitimate reasons. But can you imagine some city in Texas or Montana doing the same for any reason at all, and not being blasted by the MSM and the liberal movement?  How does San Francisco get away with it?  Because, it speaks the words.  It embraces the ideals.  It says what is important to say and advocates that which is important.  Whether it actually lives up to it, especially the part about dealing with the poor and homeless around those high rolling Super Bowl fans, is pretty much anyone's bet.  And that's a major coup in the ideological grasping for control of our society because it almost makes how you actually live your life to be more or less irrelevant. 

With so much that defines modern and post-modern liberalism's hammerlock on the modern narrative, it's important to remember that sometimes those who aren't liberal are more liberal in their actions than the liberals who accuse them of hating the poor and babies.  And those liberals who speak the words and are celebrated for it?  Well, sometimes they may speak of a world with no possessions, but they do it with their nearly half million dollar Rolls Royce* in the driveway waiting to take them away. 

*The famous psychedelic paint job alone cost almost $30,000.00 in today's money.