Hey Bulldog
"...(John Lennon) represented life, and that is admirable. Mr. Nixon, and Mr. Bush, represent death. And that is a bad thing."
Gore Vidal
12/8/2006
As I sit here in my cube, sipping a triple short mocha-chino with whip cream and cashew shavings on top, I ponder the cubist reality that I currently inhabit. A never ending paper chase which systemically indoctrinates the human soul to one of materialistic servitude. An existence where a third of your life…the only one you have…is spent hustling to "make your nut." A melancholy befalls upon me when I think of the world in these terms.
But before I become overcome with despair, an abstract sadness that comes from past regrets, missed opportunities or loss, I think of someone like John Lennon who was killed...gunned down on a New York street 26 years ago today...and I am bolstered. He was an artist who first understood, then promoted and finally became the embodiment of a simple mantra in an ocean of indifference:
There is more to life than just paying bills.
Another thought occurred to me as I wiped a hint of nutmeg off my upper lip. Some of you reading this were actually born after that fateful night in 1980. For those of you who fit that category, I suggest that you go to YouTube and do a search with his name and/or “The Beatles.” There is a wealth of visual material to be had there. Watch some of the interviews, performances and performance art pieces that will give you a taste of what is was like in a time when artists were not always empty-headed narcissists, materialist tools with self-congratulatory "conscience" or flat out assholes looking for their next free bottle of liquor. Some of them actually had something relevant to say.
It would be worth your time to do so, if only to find out that an alternative to apathetic resignation once existed...and not that long ago either.
John Lennon was 40 years old when he was murdered.
Larry
posted by Larry B | 12:28 PM
2 Comments:
I remember idolizing Lennon when I was a kid. Upon reflection, I realize that I've referred to his life as a template at every stage of my own life. Oftentimes, relating more to his mistakes and shortcomings than his greatness. As I stand at the threashold of fatherhood, I reflect on his transition into fatherhood with Shawn. I see how Lennon found peace in the stability that fatherhood required of him; while also being aware of his shortcomings as a father to Julian; and his cracked adolescence, explosive youth and implosive early adulthood. And I realize that the element of Lennon's life that resonates with me is his self effacement--his humility. What inspires me is witnessing his hard fought acceptance of his own failings, in spite of his gargantuan success. He let us see him without his skin. He embraced his flaws in front of us, helping us to embrace our own.
Beautifully written Si. I agree with you 100%.
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