![\"john_lennon\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/408\/2018\/11\/829424_john_lennon-300x172.jpg\")
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Do you remember the first time you heard John Lennon\u2019s song, Imagine?\u00a0 The sixties are over, but the mind expanding and radical sentiments are not.<\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Do you remember the first time you heard John Lennon\u2019s song, Imagine?\u00a0 The sixties are over, but the mind expanding and radical sentiments are not.<\/p>\n
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Imagine there\u2019s no countries<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t hard to do<\/p>\n
Nothing to kill or die for<\/p>\n
No religion, too<\/p>\n
Imagine all the people, living life in peace<\/p>\n
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You may say I am a dreamer<\/p>\n
But I\u2019m not the only one<\/p>\n
I hope someday you\u2019ll join us<\/p>\n
And the world will be as one<\/p>\n
John Lennon 1971<\/p>\n
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I have added a new verse for our times:<\/p>\n
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Imagine no one\u2019s special<\/p>\n
It is something you can do<\/p>\n
No one to judge or be better than<\/p>\n
They have value, too<\/p>\n
Imagine all the people, thinking they\u2019re worthwhile<\/p>\n
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Lennon may not appreciate the prose but I don\u2019t think he would disagree. The need to feel more important than someone else, breeds discontent and resentment. The special, by definition, get the lion\u2019s share of consideration, admiration and maybe even love. \u00a0They get a disproportionate piece of what is perceived as a limited pie. The less special get the leftovers or nothing. When people believe others are getting their fill while they are still hungry, both metaphorically and sometimes physically, they feel threatened and are angry. Shared goals and mutual respect fly out the window, replaced with individual goals and defensiveness.<\/p>\n
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While excellence deserves to be acknowledged and encouraged, regard should not be withheld from those who do not meet the cultural standard. Everyone wants to be loved and appreciated whether they are a Nobel prize winner, a clerk at Walmart or the shut-in next store. The Nobel Prize winner is most important of the three if you have a gene slicing or astrophysics problem but is no more human or loveable. Further, the most gifted and special among us is only an illness or long life away from shut-in status<\/p>\n
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Some say everyone is special in their own way.\u00a0 In theory, if we are all special, then we are all equally deserving.\u00a0 A nice sentiment, except hidden in this sentiment are degrees of specialness. Some are more special than others. Then you are back to fighting for attention.<\/p>\n
Imagine your best interests are not separate from those around you.\u00a0 Imagine the best outcomes are those that benefit everyone. That everyone deserves kindness and consideration. You may say that I\u2019m a dreamer but I\u2019m not the only one. I hope someday you will join us.\u00a0 And the world will be as one.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Do you remember the first time you heard John Lennon\u2019s song, Imagine?\u00a0 The sixties are over, but the mind expanding and radical sentiments are not. Imagine there\u2019s no countries It isn\u2019t hard to do Nothing to kill or die for No religion, too Imagine all the people, living life in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":619,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n